Legislative season is never dull for the gaming industry and this latest roundup includes a potential tax hike in Maryland and a sweepstakes bill in New Jersey.
Bills to legalise online casino gaming in Wyoming and Indiana, a proposed gambling tax rate hike in Maryland and a bill to legalise “sweepstakes gaming” in New Jersey were all rolled out this week as what tends to be a four-month flurry of legislative activity across the US begins.
In Maryland, gambling expansion backers have said they intend to reintroduce their own igaming legislation soon. But the more immediate news on Wednesday (15 January) was that Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, introduced his annual budget. It notably includes his endorsement of a boost in sports betting tax from 15% to 30% and a rise in casino table game rates from 20% to 25%.
Ohio and Illinois already have raised their sports betting tax rates in the past year. The former did so less than a year after the first legal bets were placed.
New York’s massive tax haul from its 51% rate on such gambling hasn’t gone unnoticed elsewhere. More than $2 billion in gross gaming revenue was gained from $22.6 billion in wagers. But the number that really catches any lawmaker’s eye is the $1 billion in taxes collected in 2024.
States such as Maryland can’t realistically demand such a tax rate, nor take in anywhere near what New York does. But 15% was a bit below the national benchmarks, while 30% would be above the average rate.
New Jersey to regulate sweeps?
In New Jersey, Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese this week introduced the bare bones of a bill that “Designates sweepstakes casinos as internet gaming; requires licensure, oversight and taxation thereof within internet gaming framework.”
Read the full story here.
Casino Reports is an independently-owned publication dedicated to covering the regulated US online
casino/igaming industry, with news, features and original reporting on industry happenings, business, legislation, regulations and more.
