A Caesars Online Sportsbook In Maryland Is Up For Approval

Those interested in online Maryland sports betting could soon be hailing Caesar. Caesars Sportsbook, that is.

The Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, which already offers a physical Caesars book on its premises, is just about ready to start taking wagers online in Maryland as well.

The casino submitted its application for an online license on Thursday, becoming one of the first casinos in the state to do so. There’s no timeline for when regulators could approve the application or when the online sportsbook could actually launch, though.

Online Maryland sports betting license application is in

According to a press release from Caesars, the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore submitted its online sports betting license application in conjunction with two partners. Those partners are:

• Letha Christian, an IT professional in the Baltimore area
• PRT 2 Digital, a consortium of investors in Baltimore

Caesars says the participation of those individuals satisfies the state’s minority interest req
uirements. Specifically, “women and minority partners will hold a 40 percent ownership interest.” Additionally, “diversity partners would hold an interest of at least 25 percent.”

The important issue now is whether regulators in the state will agree and find Caesars’ application suitable in all other facets as well. As far as when Marylanders will actually be able to place bets using Caesars’ app, the action on that is still open.

So when might Caesars actually go live in Maryland?

Currently, your guess is just about as good as anyone else’s. The Maryland Sports Wagering Application Review Commission just recently agreed to accept these applications and potentially approve them individually as they come in.

That body has up to 45 days to make a decision on each application, though. Once approved, there is more regulatory work left before Caesars can finally start taking bets, too.

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency will conduct background checks on interested personnel at that point.

If the Lottery signs off on all persons of interest, then a testing phase can begin. Testing is done to ensure the app is compliant with all regulations. Once completely satisfied with the app’s performance, regulators could then issue a go-live date.

It’s completely possible that Caesars might launch in Maryland before the end of 2022 but there are no guarantees. At the very least, that process has begun.