If you live in or around Annapolis, Maryland, in the United States, and want to know about the current legal landscape surrounding online casinos in the Old Line State, you’ve come to the right place.
Let’s dive straight in to find out what’s happening in Maryland and reveal what the best options are for anyone living here who is looking to play online casino games in the real money mode.
Is online casino gambling legal in Maryland?
No. Only a handful of states in America have fully legalized state-governed online casinos, and Maryland isn’t one of them.
Official discussions for legalizing online casinos in Maryland started in early 2024 when State Senator Ron Watson (D-Prince George) confirmed his iGaming bill to legalize online casino gambling at some point in 2024. However, they didn’t become legalized last year.
According to more recent reports, state legislatures nationwide, including Maryland (where bills have already been filed), will consider legalizing online casinos this year.
In other words, it’s looking likely that Maryland could very well be the next state to legalize online casino websites.
What online casino options are there for Maryland citizens
Although regular online casinos aren’t yet legal in Maryland, anyone aged 18 or above living here can still enjoy playing thousands of computer-generated classic table & card games like poker, roulette, blackjack, baccarat and craps, online slot machines, video poker, bingo & lottery style games and hundreds of highly sophisticated live dealer games on a growing number of legally permitted sweepstakes casinos.
Unlike regular casino sites, which require a deposit to play games, no purchase is necessary on sweepstakes casinos. This is why they are not considered real money gambling sites.
You get to use virtual currency to play their games, and you can even win real-world prizes, including cash prizes, the latest electronic gadgets, vouchers for your favourite online stores, merchandise for your favourite brands, luxury vacations, cars, and more.
To find a suitable site, the best thing to do is to check out the Sweepstakes Casino Sites Reviewed by Jaxon.gg. Their dedicated team of expert researchers and writers have carefully handpicked today’s safest sweepstakes sites, which can be accessed by anyone aged 18 or above living in Maryland.
When you join any of their top-rated sweepstakes casino sites, you will instantly receive a guaranteed welcome bonus, which usually includes free gold coins and free sweeps coins, both of which are native to each site and have no monetary value in the real world.
You can use your gold coins to play any of their games, and when they run out, you can top them up for free in many ways.
However, the gold coins can’t be used to win real-world prizes. To win prizes, including cash, you must use your sweeps coins, which can’t be topped up for free and usually expire within 60 or 90 days if you don’t use them.
To buy more sweeps coins, which are usually available in packages or bundles of $5, $10 or $20, you can use various secure, low-cost, and convenient online payment methods like Visa, PayPal, or even Bitcoin.
The important thing to remember is that to withdraw any cash prizes you win on a social gaming site like this, you typically must complete the industry-standard Know Your Customer (KYC) age and ID verification checks, even though it’s not gambling.
Players aged 21 or above living in Maryland can also access foreign-controlled ‘off-shore’ online casinos, but not all of them are trusted, which is why you should trust what the experts say and stick to playing on legally permitted Sweepstakes Casinos instead, at least until Maryland fully legalizes and regulates regular real money online casinos.
Final thoughts
Although social/sweepstakes casinos aren’t classed as real money betting sites, it’s still best to practice responsible gambling just in case you do ever try a real-money online casino if they are eventually legalized here.
In other words, always learn the rules and odds before playing any new games for the first time, and start by setting a reasonable spending budget if you decide to purchase bundles of sweeps coins.
Never log in to play your favourite games while tired or intoxicated and never spend more money than you can afford just so you can play your favourite games.
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