Maryland Online Casinos: When Will They Be Legal, Alternatives In September 2026

Maryland online casinos have been the source of significant debate among lawmakers in the Old Line State. While real money online casino apps are not currently legal in Maryland, efforts have been made to change that, albeit unsuccessfully.

For now, iGaming in the state is limited to sweepstakes and social casinos. These are casino gaming platforms that are free to play while still providing the opportunity to win real cash prizes like Betr, BetRivers, Fliff, WinZone, and Chalkboard. They are legal and allowed to operate in the state of Maryland through its existing sweepstakes laws. That includes the sweepstakes casinos listed below:

Could real money online casino giants like BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars Palace one day be available to Maryland residents? That topic has been debated by legislators, but hasn’t led to any successful legalization. Despite that, we can still look ahead to what legal Maryland online casinos might look like in the future.

Maryland Online Casino Details

Will Online Casinos in Maryland Become Legal?

Since launching online sports betting in December 2022, several Maryland state legislators have been working—at different times—toward the legalization of real money online casino apps as well.

While none of these bills made it to the finish line to become law, SB 885, sponsored by Maryland Senator Ron Watson, was introduced in 2026 and seemed to have some traction before it was removed by Watson prior to the end of the legislative session year.

Internet Gaming – Authorization and Implementation (the title of the bill), states that the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency would be responsible for issuing iGaming licenses to qualified applicants, which could include licensed sports betting operators, in-person casinos, and other businesses.

Tax revenue collected from online casino games will be transferred to the State Lottery Fund, which distributes money to multiple state programs. SB 761, also introduced by Watson, was proposed legislation introduced in 2026 that would bring the idea of legalizing online casinos up to a public vote in November.

This bills didn’t pick up enough steam and support to make it out of committee, but Watson has been consistent in introducing legislation for years and more iGaming legalization talk will likely continue in 2027 as Watson hopes Maryland becomes a new legal US online casino state.

The Old Line State also had legislation considered that would ban sweepstakes casinos in the state, but it also didn’t gain enough traction to become law, keeping the dual-currency products legal in Maryland.

Maryland Sweepstakes Casinos

Without real money online casinos being legal in the state, you have the option to turn to Maryland sweepstakes casinos, which are legal. These are free-to-play casino apps that give you the opportunity to win cash prizes.

You will have the option of making purchases of packages featuring the apps currency, but you do not have to do that in order to play or enjoy the app. These operators are legal in Maryland through the state’s sweepstakes laws.

Just like a real money online casino, many of these sweepstakes casinos feature a full range of games you would see on an iGaming platform or in a retail casino.

Top Maryland Sweepstakes Casinos

If you are looking for online casino gaming in Maryland, we personally suggest these apps.

Betr Social Casino

Betr is an all-encompassing social casino app that incorporates casino gaming and sports picks in one location. Users will like the easy-to-use options like quick picks, which simplify the process for new users. Customers can find all forms of popular casino games and sports prediction options.

If you’re new to Betr Casino, you can get an exclusive welcome offer of a $100 deposit match by using our Betr Casino promo code “DIME100.” On top of the deposit match, you’ll also receive a $10 bonus.

Fliff Social Sportsbook

Fliff simplifies the craziness of sports gaming with watered down markets to keep users from feeling overwhelmed. There’s multiple free play options to use so you don’t have to make any financial commitment to get started.

New users for Fliff Social Sportsbook can get $50 in Free Play plus a 100% deposit match, up to $100 using our exclusive Fliff Sportsbook promo code “DIME50”.

BetRivers Casino

Though BetRivers Casino is one of the bigger names in legal iGaming, it also has a free-to-play casino option that is available in Maryland. Users can find all the great bells and whistles that makes BetRivers a successful online casino in the legal US market, but in a free-to-play sweepstakes format.

New users can secure $200 in virtual currency and a $500 Free VC No-Deposit Bonus by signing up.

What Maryland Online Casinos Could be Available in Legal Market

When predicting which online casino apps could be available in Maryland if any online casino bill leads to legalized iGaming in the state, it’s best to start with the current online sportsbooks.

So here’s a look at which online sports betting sites are available in Maryland and what their online casino counterparts would be.

With each online casino would come various promotions and bonus offers. That includes welcome offers and the best online casino bonuses for new users upon launch within the state. Based on these available online sportsbooks, we could expect there would be a betPARX Casino bonus code offer, as well as a Horseshoe Casino bonus code offer.

Many of these online casino brands would also include a loyalty program that would allow you to earn additional perks, promotions, and bonuses as you use their iGaming app.

Overall, Maryland can expect the best payout online casinos to launch in the state and be competitive among other top US iGaming markets.

What Maryland Online Casino Games Would Be Available

Should Maryland ever comes to terms on legalizing online casinos, the state would feature many of the same games we see in other legal and regulated US markets.

Online Slots

In a legal market, the largest amount of games available will be real money online slots. There will be a wide variety of slot types, as the game category is constantly evolving. Maryland residents would be able to look forward to:

• Progressive Slots
• Megaways Slots
• Cascading Reels
• Stepper Slots

When it comes to slot titles, users will have all the big names and slot series that have helped drive business for the other legal casino states. That includes Divine Fortune, Buffalo, 88 Fortunes, Cash Eruption slots, Huff N’ Puff online slots, and more.

Among the available slots will be games of varying Return to Player Percentages (RTP). RTP details the expected lifetime payback of a given slot based on the wagers it took in. Popular slots in the US right now are many of the higher RTP slots on the market. These slots feature a RTP of 96.0% or greater and would definitely be part of the Maryland market.

If looking to enjoy some of these types of slot games now, many of the Maryland sweepstakes casinos feature these different slot categories, and even some of the same titles in a free-to-play format.

Online Table Games

Maryland online casinos would definitely have their fill of available online table games. These are first-person games of your favorite commercial casino games. That includes:

• Baccarat
• Blackjack
• Craps
• Poker
• Roulette
• Sic Bo

Just like in a retail casino, there are multiple options for each game with different minimum wagers. The digital versions, however, allow for many different variants of each game, like branded blackjack games, speed versions, and multi-handed versions.

Maryland sweepstakes casinos also provide many of these top table games in various formats to give users a full casino experience.

Live Dealer Casino Games

For those looking for more of a connection to a commercial casino, live dealer games bring a real person into the mix as you play the table game from simulcast from a studio that would be located within Maryland.. In the best live dealer casinos, a real dealer is dealing real cards to you in real time. Real enough for you?

Many of these games also come with a chat function, to add a bit of a social aspect to the iGaming experience. Popular live dealer games include:

• Baccarat
• Blackjack
• Craps
• Dice Games
• Poker
• Roulette
• Sic Bo
• Wheel Games

Along with these basics, you can find a wide array of live dealer game shows, an increasingly popular iGaming option. Live dealer game shows are games that you don’t typically find in a commercial casino.

Not all sweepstakes casinos or Maryland social casinos will feature live dealer options, but it has become a growing part of the platform. You can find live dealer games on some of the top sweepstakes casinos, including select live dealer game shows.

Video Poker Games

Video poker at online casinos is the one rival to online slots for being equal to its retail casino counterpart. The games are the same as you would sit down to play at the casino bar, but available in the palm of your hand.

Video poker is not the same as online poker played between other real people, so you won’t be playing in tournaments, but they do offer versions of Texas Hold’Em and other popular poker games.

Sweepstakes casinos do also feature video poker games to enjoy in the meantime.

Peer-to-Peer Poker

Having real money poker apps go live in a state is different than having an online casino app. Peer-to-peer poker is a separate entity that would need separate rules and regulations. They also feature different operators in some cases. Maryland could pursue having online poker be part of the state. It could also look to enter the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) to allow for Maryland poker players to compete against others in legal poker states for bigger prize pools.

Commercial Casinos in Maryland

There are six brick and mortar casinos in Maryland. Four of them—Hollywood Casino, Horseshoe, Live! Casino and MGM National Harbor—feature poker rooms, but all feature table games and slots.

Advantages of Playing at Legal Maryland Online Casinos

Playing at legal, real money online casinos is always the better option than the alternative.

Here are the main advantages of legal iGaming if Maryland every joins the mix:

• Security: Anytime you’re online, you want to know that your personal information is safe, and that’s especially true when money is involved. Real money live casinos that have gone through the regulatory process in their respective states must meet the highest security standards to ensure their customers’ personal and banking information is safe.
• Consumer protections: In the rare case of a security breakdown, the governing body that oversees online casinos—in Maryland, that would be the MLGCA—can step in and make sure iGaming providers are held accountable. It can also step in when there’s a dispute over funds.
• Responsible gambling tools: While much of the onus on gambling responsibly falls on the player themselves, the gambling problem awareness tools available at legal online casinos can be a massive help. Whether it’s setting deposit, wagering or time limits for yourself, taking a timeout or putting yourself on a self-exclusion list, each real money casino must offer access to those options.
• Customer Service options: A legal US online casino is going to feature the best customer support options, as it will be in their best interest to solve any issues you may have while using their platform.

Advantages of Maryland Sweepstakes Casinos

Just like real money online casinos, there are advantage of playing sweepstakes or social casinos in Maryland as opposed to looking for any unregulated and illegal offshore gaming.

• Free-to-play: You don’t have to commit any of your actual funds to play these social casinos. If you choose to spend, it’s completely up to you and comes with no added pressure by operators. You can still enjoy daily free gaming without spending a dime.
• Top game offerings: You can also enjoy many of the type online slots and slot formats while using sweepstakes and social casinos, without having to commit any funds.

Maryland Online Gambling History

Gambling in Maryland dates back to the beginning of the country, but regulated gambling in the Old Line State started to take off after the Maryland Racing Commission was formed in 1920, regulating horse and dog racing.

As home of the Preakness Stakes, Maryland has a very rich horse racing and betting tradition.

The Maryland Lottery became legal in 1973, and Hollywood Casino Perryville became the state’s first casino in 2008.

Online gambling came quite a bit later, as online sports betting did not launch until December 2022. In-person sports betting became legal in 2021, after being passed by voters in 2020.

Repeated bills have been introduced in Maryland legislature to legalize online casinos, but none have made much serious ground in terms of passing.

Marylanders can look to PA real money casinos as a preview of what a regulated Maryland online casinos market might eventually look like here.

Maryland Online Casino FAQs