Education funding contributions grow with Maryland sports wagering
MARYLAND – Sports wagering is getting more accessible and popular in Maryland. Lottery officials say that growth is being reflected in the numbers.
More Ways to Wager
In February 2023, Marylanders had ten retail sports locations and eight mobile operators to choose from. Come February of 2024, those numbers had grown to 13 and 12, respectively.
“The market has continued to grow, and certainly there’s been more awareness as more operators come online,” Seth Elkins of Maryland Lottery and Gaming said.
Boosting Education Funding
That growth is boosting contributions to education funding, as well. In 2021, the Maryland General Assembly passed a law requiring sports books to contribute 15% of their taxable wins toward the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. Taxable wins are what sports books have left over once they’ve paid out winners, and covered other expenses.
Sports wagering brought in $2.8 million for that fund last February; during the same timeframe in 2024, that number ballooned to $4.2 million. By comparison, casinos contributed more than $622.7 million to the state’s Education Trust Fund, and the lottery added $714 million to the state’s general fund.
“Sports wagering is going to be a smaller piece of the pie than that,” Elkins said. “We anticipate about $45 to $50 million a year in sports wagering revenue will go to the Blueprint. It’s not a gamechanger, in terms of revenue, but it is a really nice, steady stream of revenue for education funding.”
Slower Season Ahead
Looking ahead, Elkins says lottery and gaming officials are expecting an annual spring/summer slowdown. That was even the case in Maryland last spring, when the Baltimore Orioles secured 101 wins; a record-breaking season.
“We see a lot of wagering activity in the fall and winter months. Football and basketball seasons in particular just happen generate more wagering interest than some of the spring and summer sports do, even baseball,” Elkins said. “It’s going to ebb and flow as the seasons go along, and that’s really just sort of the natural progression of the sports calendar, year to year.”
