It has taken nearly 18 months and a public scolding from the governor, but Maryland is at last on the cusp of launching legal mobile sports betting. And DraftKings Maryland is offering $200 in free bets — and the potential for much, much more.
Maryland may set a formal launch date for mobile betting on Nov. 21. And industry titan DraftKings will be ready. It has a preregistration offer that starts with $200 in free wagers. It includes entry into a sweepstakes that will earn five Maryland bettors $100,000 in free bets.
Both offers expire one second before midnight the day before Maryland launches mobile sports betting. New customers who sign up before the deadline will receive eight free bets worth $25 each when DraftKings mobile goes live in the state, according to the operator’s terms and conditions. Within 48 hours of launch, five of those customers will be chosen at random to receive $100,000 in free bets. Bettors in Maryland must be at least 21 years old to wager. They also must be physically in the state to bet over a mobile device.
And they will be able to take advantage of a full plate of betting offerings from DraftKings Maryland.
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✔ Bet $5, Get $200 in Bonus Bets
✔ Favorite NFL Team Option
✔ Same-Game Parlays on all Sports
DraftKings Maryland $200 Idea: Ravens (+1400) To Win It All
DraftKings was founded as a daily fantasy site in 2012 by three friends in Boston. It pivoted to sports betting when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the nationwide ban on the practice in 2018. Once known for its brash and ubiquitous television commercials, DraftKings has matured into one of the best and most trusted platforms in the American sports betting industry.
The registration process at DraftKings is as simple as it gets. It involves steps to confirm both a user’s identity and physical location. DraftKings has a minimum deposit of $5. The sportsbook is well-known for its wealth of promotions, props, and odds boosts involving wagers on local-market teams. It often features dozens of wagers on each NFL team every week – including the Baltimore Ravens, which it lists as +1400 to win the Super Bowl and +1000 to be the top playoff seed in the AFC.
DraftKings mobile is currently available in 18 U.S. states, a number that will increase by one when Ohio goes live on Jan. 1. It was one of the first 10 mobile sportsbooks qualified for license approval in late October by Maryland Sports Wagering Application Review Commission, which is handling mobile regulation and application procedures in the state. DraftKings Maryland must next demonstrate controls and systems to the state’s Lottery and Gaming Commission, which will ultimately issue licenses and give an OK to launch.
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Launch Day Announced Nov. 21?
Maryland’s mobile launch day will be a relief for a state that’s struggled to get to this point. The delay is largely because of a byzantine law accompanied by 89 pages of regulations. Mobile sports betting has lagged well behind the implementation of retail wagering in Maryland, which launched on Dec. 9, 2021. But states typically see 90 percent of bets or more placed over mobile devices if that option is available.
Frustration reached a boiling point in June when Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan scolded SWARC in a public letter for the slow pace of the process. Months passed as SWARC was mandated by law to explore minority involvement among potential license holders and receive approval from legislative bodies. It then had to cobble together an application process largely from scratch.
✔ Bet $5, Get $200 in Bonus Bets
✔ Favorite NFL Team Option
✔ Same-Game Parlays on all Sports
Now, though, Maryland seems in position to salvage part of the current NFL regular season. That of course depends on when an official mobile launch takes place. Reports indicate that SWARC could announce a launch date in its next scheduled meeting on Nov. 21. And thanks to DraftKings, bettors in the Old Line State will have an extra $200 with which to wager when the state’s mobile launch day at last arrives.