Did Maryland Ban Online Gambling? Where 2026 Left Things

Did Maryland Ban Online Gambling?

No. Maryland did not ban online gambling in 2026, and it did not legalise online casinos either. Four bills tried to move the law and none became law, so the position at the end of the session is the position at the start.

Every date, bill number and vote below is taken from the Maryland General Assembly's own record.

What Is Actually Legal in Maryland Right Now

• Legal — six retail casinos licensed by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, online and retail sports betting, the state lottery, and daily fantasy sports.
• Not licensed — real-money online casinos. Maryland has never authorised one.
• Not banned outright — playing at a casino licensed outside the United States. The state's enforcement effort is aimed at operators. See our full guide to what is legal in Maryland.

Why Did the Online Casino Bills Fail?

Senator Watson introduced a pair of connected bills:

• Senate Bill 761, Expansion of Commercial Gaming – Internet Gaming Referendum, which would have put internet gaming to a referendum of the state's qualified voters. Its hearing was cancelled on 10 March 2026 and the sponsor withdrew it on 13 March 2026.
• Senate Bill 885, Internet Gaming and Online Bingo – Authorization and Implementation, which would have let the State Lottery and Gaming Control Commission license internet gaming and online bingo. It was first read on 6 February, had a hearing set for 11 March, and never advanced past it. Its stated effective date of 1 July 2026 was contingent on the referendum that SB 761 never delivered.

The structural obstacle is that referendum. In its own testimony this year the Lottery and Gaming Control Agency laid out the pattern: Maryland voters authorised slot machines by referendum in November 2008, table games and a sixth casino in November 2012, and sports wagering in November 2020. Expanding gambling here means a vote in Annapolis and a statewide ballot question. In a session where the first step failed, the second never arose. Legalisation is shelved until 2027 at the earliest.

Did Maryland Ban Sweepstakes Casinos?

No — and the bills were broader than sweepstakes. Two House bills passed their own chamber and then stopped:

• House Bill 295, Gaming – Prohibition on Interactive Games and Revenue From Illegal Markets, introduced at the request of the Lottery and Gaming Control Agency itself and cross-filed with SB 112. It passed the House 105–24 on 20 March 2026.
• House Bill 1226, the Maryland Illegal Online Gambling Enforcement Act, which passed the House 135–1 on 23 March 2026.

Both were referred to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee — HB 1226 on the day it passed, with a hearing on 31 March — and neither was reported out before the session ended. Nothing became law.

What HB 1226 Would Actually Have Done

Worth reading closely, because it was far wider than a sweepstakes ban. Per the Agency's testimony, HB 1226 would have added a new Subtitle 1F to Title 9 of the State Government Article, prohibiting unauthorised online gambling and empowering the Office of the Attorney General, through its Consumer Protection Division, to issue cease-and-desist orders and enforce them.

The prohibited conduct listed was not limited to running a casino. It covered operating, offering, conducting, engaging in or promoting illegal online gambling — and, in connection with it, processing a financial transaction, providing an online platform, or supplying geolocation services, gaming content or celebrity endorsements.

The remedies were correspondingly broad: restraining orders, frozen bank and credit accounts, platform takedowns, and misdemeanour convictions carrying substantial fines, with violators disqualified from ever holding a Maryland gaming licence.

Why the Agency Wanted the Bill

Because it currently cannot enforce. The Agency's own words, submitted to the Senate committee on 31 March 2026:

The Agency has been trying to address illegal online gambling by sending operators notices to cease and desist offering their illegal online games in Maryland; about 25% of C&D recipients have voluntarily blocked online access to their games in Maryland. However, the Commission is not authorized to take enforcement against illegal gaming or its operators.

That is the current position in one paragraph. The Commission can decide an activity is illegal and write a letter. Roughly a quarter of recipients comply voluntarily. It has no power to compel the rest, and HB 1226 — the bill that would have given it that power — died in committee.

What This Means If You Want to Play Today

Nothing about the 2026 session changed the practical position. There is no licensed Maryland online casino to join, so a Maryland player who wants real-money casino games chooses between the six retail venues and operators licensed offshore. Our comparison of Maryland retail and online covers that trade-off.

What the session did change is the direction of travel. The state's own regulator asked for enforcement powers it does not have, and one chamber voted 135–1 to grant them. It did not pass this year. It is reasonable to expect a version of it back in 2027.

What to Watch in 2027

• Whether the referendum-plus-framework pairing returns, and whether it clears Budget and Taxation this time rather than being withdrawn.
• Whether HB 1226 or a successor is reintroduced. It cleared the House almost unanimously, so the obstacle is the Senate committee, not the floor.
• Whether the Agency gains enforcement authority by statute instead of relying on voluntary compliance from a quarter of the operators it writes to.

Bottom Line

Maryland did not ban online gambling and did not legalise online casinos. Four bills failed: two withdrawn or stalled in the Senate, two passed by the House and left unreported in committee. Sports betting and the six retail casinos remain the only state-licensed options, and 21 is the minimum age.

If gambling stops being fun, 1-800-GAMBLER is free, confidential and available 24/7 — see our Maryland responsible gambling resources.