Chris Boline
From the moment that legal sports betting in Maryland was launched in late November, people have been loving things in the state. With so much intrigue and interest for all the different sports teams in the area, it only made sense that legal wagers would be a big-tiem attraction. However, did anyone expect this? The official numbers for Maryland sports betting have been off the charts and things are only going to go up from here.
According to a report, the first week of Maryland sports betting brought in $186 million worth of bets. That’s not a typo, as people have been left shocked by the success. While the betting numbers for December are yet to be posted, there’s a huge expectation that it’s going to be a historic amount. People had been waiting for sports betting to arrive for a while, and all the success shows how smart of an idea it was to move forward.
With betting launching on Wednesday, Nov. 23, it opened the door for people in Maryland to check the NFL betting odds and then place their money on the big-time Thanksgiving matchups. Per another report, Maryland actually led the USA with the amount of bets that were registered on Thanksgiving. This is wild to think about, but it’s exactly what was able to get done right after the launch.
Thanksgiving is always going to be a popular time for betting, but not a lot of people thought that Maryland would be No. 1 in terms of wagers placed. You might have thought it would have gone to a bigger state, but that wasn’t the case here. In the coming months, you better believe that even more excitement will revolve around Maryland sports betting. Officials and lawmakers must love what they’re seeing.
It was a great first weekend for Maryland sports betting – delivering on the promise of new education funds and consumer protections.
Maryland’s Thanksgiving launch saw 16.5m geolocation transactions, almost double neighboring Virginia. pic.twitter.com/GcAOUs44lV
— GeoComply (@GeoComply) November 28, 2022
The NFL postseason is already a big hit in Maryland
As you might have been able to expect, the NFL postseason is already a big hit in Maryland, as people are rushing to make their bets. The bummer for people in the state is that the Washington Commanders weren’t able to make the playoffs. They had a chance late in the season to grab an NFC Wild Card spot, but things weren’t able to get done for them. Despite Washington being eliminated, the NFL betting interest is still high all around.
During the Wild Card Round, countless bets were made in Maryland, including for the New York Giants vs. Minnesota Vikings game. With the Giants being divisional rivals of the Commanders, it only makes sense that so many bets were recorded. In stunning fashion, the Giants were able to record quite the upset victory, as they beat Minnesota 31-24 at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday night.
Quarterback Daniel Jones had the best game of his career, throwing for more than 300 yards and two touchdowns, while also adding another 78 rushing yards. Now, the Giants are set to take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round, and you already know that a lot of bets are going to be placed for that matchup as well. Both the Eagles and Giants are hungry to move on to the NFC Championship Game, though Philly is favored to come out on top.
As for the AFC, a lot of bets have gone on the Buffalo Bills, though Josh Allen and Co. gave bettors quite the scare over the weekend. Despite Tua Tagovailoa not being able to play due to his concussion, the Dolphins nearly upset the Bills in their showdown. Luckily, Buffalo was able to come out on top and the Super Bowl betting odds remain quite high. A lot of people, including in Maryland, think the Bills will be the ones to take home the Lombardi Trophy.
Won and not done!!!! pic.twitter.com/Gi8pTg399p
— New York Giants (@Giants) January 16, 2023
Maryland betting success has sent a message to several other states
From our chair, it really feels like the Maryland betting success has sent a message to several other states out there who haven’t moved forward with legal betting. With all the revenue that’s being recorded, you’ve got to figure that places like Texas, California, Florida, Alabama and more are following this closely. These states feel like they could be close to turning things around in the near future.
If lawmakers out there have any kind of hesitation to moving forward with a sports betting bill, then the millions of dollars being recorded in Maryland should open their eyes quite a bit. The state is raking in a ton of money and it’s being used to help out other resources. This is something you’re seeing across the United States. Keep in mind too that Maryland sports betting has only been active for less than three months.
Despite things being relatively news, record-breaking numbers are being posted and the state is showing quite literally no signs of slowing down. If a state of Maryland’s size can do this, imagine what would be possible in Texas, California or Florida. All in all, it’s been so much fun to follow the success for Maryland. Once the numbers come in for their first quarter, we have a feeling even more big news will be on the way.
