Efforts by Maryland legislators to legalize online casino gaming hit a roadblock Monday. SB 267, which potentially would legalize online casino gaming in the state via voter referendum, failed to pass into the House on Monday’s crossover day.
Failing to pass into the opposite chamber on crossover day doesn’t end a bill’s hopes of becoming law in Maryland, but it does decrease those chances. A bill moved into the opposite chamber after the crossover deadline is subject to referral to rules committees, an additional legislative hurdle.
Maryland’s legislative session is scheduled to conclude on April 10.
Sen. Ron Watson proposed the legislation, and when he spoke at a Senate committee hearing in February, he estimated that online casinos could generate more than $100 million in annual tax revenue for the state.
