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Maryland: Sports betting firms are buying attack ads in House of Delegates primaries

Tuesday, June 23, 2026 2:48 PM
Photo: Shutterstock
  • Pamela Wood, The Banner

The flyers are dramatic.

Hasan “Jay” Jalisi has “too many red flags” to be sent back to the House of Delegates, including a reprimand from his colleagues, a protective order sought by his daughter, and “shady” business practices.

“Jay Jalisi has shown us who he is,” the mailer warns.

CMTC email web

Del. Frank Conaway Jr., meanwhile, “supported Donald Trump’s ICE tactics” and also shouldn’t be elected, another mailer alleges.

The attacks come not from Jalisi’s and Conaway’s opponents in their Baltimore-area races but from a political action committee funded by national sports gambling corporations.

Those companies are spending big on efforts to expand sports betting, according to The New York Times, including attempts to legalize it in Georgia and Texas.