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Sponsor proposes tighter consumer protections for mobile sports betting, including ban on credit cards and auto-referral to counseling
Summary
Delegate Julie Plockovich Carr presented a bill that would prohibit credit-card use for mobile sports betting, require deposit limits, prohibit marketing to temporarily excluded players, ban player-specific college prop bets, raise fantasy competition age to 21, and link voluntary exclusion to counseling referrals.
Delegate Julie Plockovich Carr presented House Bill 465, a package of protections aimed primarily at mobile sports betting and other gaming products.
The bill would: prohibit use of credit cards to fund mobile sports betting accounts; require bettors to set deposit limits; prohibit sending marketing emails to players who have temporarily suspended accounts; codify a directive banning player-specific proposition (“prop”) bets in college sports; raise the minimum age for regulated fantasy competitions from 18 to 21; and automatically refer persons who join the voluntary exclusion program to free counseling and support services unless they opt out.
"The warning signs are flashing that certain demographics, namely young men aged 18 to 24 are at greater risk of problem gambling with mobile sports betting," sponsor Julie Plockovich Carr said, urging stronger protections. Supporters included the Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling, which testified that a centralized referral from the lottery’s voluntary exclusion list would allow the center to proactively reach people seeking help.
University-affiliated and peer-recovery witnesses described increases in harassment linked to player-specific college prop bets and cited NCAA data showing athletes sometimes receive threats tied to betting. The bill would codify a prior lottery directive banning player-specific college prop bets and extend that prohibition into statute to make it harder to reverse.
The sponsor said she planned a technical amendment after consultations with the Lottery and stakeholders. The hearing record shows broad support from problem-gambling advocates and planned coordination with the agency; no committee vote was recorded at the hearing's close.
