Delegate Plakovich Carr proposes tighter safeguards for mobile sports betting
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Summary
House Bill 518 would ban credit-card wagering on mobile sports-betting platforms, require player-set limits with cooling-off periods, strengthen marketing and identity-verification rules, and codify an existing Lottery policy banning prop bets on college sports; the sponsor cited research showing elevated disorder risk among mobile bettors.
Delegate Julie Plakovich Carr told the committee she supported legalization of mobile sports betting but is now concerned by rising problem gambling and introduced House Bill 518 to add player protections.
"Data collected by the Maryland Center of Excellence on problem gambling show that 20 percent of Marylanders who participate in mobile sports betting show signs of disordered gambling, and another 30 percent are at risk," Delegate Plakovich Carr said. The bill would prohibit credit-card use for mobile sports betting, require players to set daily or weekly limits with mandatory cooling-off periods before increases, bar email marketing to suspended accounts, require periodic identity reverification to limit underage play, and codify the Lottery's existing policy banning prop betting on college sports.
The bill would also automatically refer people who sign up for the voluntary exclusion program to free counseling and support services unless they opt out, a step the sponsor said follows a Department of Legislative Services performance audit and has support from the Department of Health and the Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling. Delegate Plakovich Carr said the bill passed the House unanimously.
No committee vote on HB 518 is recorded separately in the transcript; the committee later moved its voting list to a voice vote at the close of the hearing.
