Maryland Casino Adds Venue With Eye Toward Sports Betting
Maryland Live! Casino & Hotel, owned by the Cordish Co., on Thursday will open a 14,000-square-foot sports bar — Sports and Social — that will serve as the casino’s sportsbook when legal sports betting launches in the state.
Maryland Live!, located in Hanover near Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, is about 11 miles from Baltimore and about 30 miles from Washington, D.C.
The casino gave local media outlets a preview of the new venue and Reed Cordish of the Cordish Cos. said it will be “ready to implement sports betting at Sports & Social as soon as the state allows,” according to The Baltimore Sun.
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The state legislature has approved a sports betting bill and forwarded it to Gov. Larry Hogan for his signature. Maryland hopes to have retail sports betting operational in the fall in time for the NFL season. Online sports betting will likely take longer to implement, according to Gordon Medenica, director of the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency.
Retail and online licenses will be available for about 100 entities, including the six casinos in the state, thoroughbred tracks and Baltimore Orioles, Baltimore Ravens and Washington Football Team stadiums, according to the legislation.
Maryland Live! plans to offer retail and mobile sports betting.
Live! Has Partnership with FanDuel
In December 2019, Cordish Cos. and FanDuel announced a partnership to bring FanDuel’s daily fantasy sports and sports betting operations to Live! Casino & Hotel and Entertainment properties throughout the U.S., including Maryland Live!.
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Sports and Social was a $12 million project that has seating available for 200 people. It has more than 100 linear feet of LED screens, including a 50-foot-wide main screen, the story in The Sun said. There are two main bars, and one has electronic table games, tiered sports viewing tables, VIP areas, casino games and duckpin bowling lanes.
Just this week, MGM National Harbor, which is across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., debuted an outdoor gaming terrace where guests can enjoy slot games in a unique setting. The one-floor terrace will be open 24 hours a day.
MGM is also anticipating the launch of sports betting in Maryland.
