Maryland’s third push in three years to put online casino legalization before voters ended on March 13, 2026, when Sen. Ron Watson withdrew Senate Bill 761, the session’s referendum measure. With no other vehicle advanced, Maryland will have no iGaming question on the November 3 ballot and no law authorizing online casino play. American Future PAC’s $3.2 million in legislative race spending did not change that outcome, and Senate President Bill Ferguson’s continuing doubts remain a central obstacle.
Watson pulled the referendum before a committee vote
Watson filed three Senate bills in early 2026: SB 761 for the voter referendum, SB 885 for licensing and tax rules covering online casino games and online bingo, and SB 884 for internet poker. The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee heard SB 885 but never recorded a vote; the poker hearing was canceled, and Watson withdrew it the same day he pulled SB 761, Maryland Reporter reported. Del. Caylin Young sponsored House versions, HB 1343 and HB 1255, but the Ways and Means Committee heard them without voting. Fiscal notes from the Department of Legislative Services state that online gaming beyond sports wagering is not presently authorized in Maryland.
Constitutional referendum rule sets the calendar
Maryland’s constitution permits new or expanded commercial gaming only through a referendum approved by voters at a general election, following an act passed by the General Assembly. That provision, Article XIX, has two consequences: lawmakers must pass an authorizing bill first, and the vote itself can happen only in a general election year. The 2025 bills therefore targeted the 2026 ballot, but after Watson’s withdrawal no authorized question remained. The Maryland Reporter comparison noted that Indiana’s framework, by contrast, was enacted through ordinary legislation without a referendum requirement.
Ferguson's Senate skepticism remained a barrier
Senate President Bill Ferguson told a reporter in 2025 that he sees unresolved issues with internet gaming that need to be worked through. The Baltimore Banner called his position a brick wall because he controls the Senate agenda. His district benefits from Horseshoe Casino revenue, and this year’s Senate licensing bill died without a committee vote. The House has shown more support, passing a 2024 version 92-43, but the chamber could not overcome Senate inaction.
PAC money is aimed at future lawmakers
American Future PAC, a Texas-based group within the online gaming-funded Win for America network, spent $3.2 million on General Assembly races this year, according to The Baltimore Banner. In District 30, the PAC directed $289,000 into negative digital ads against Republican Jessica Haire while supporting appointed Democratic Sen. Shaneka Henson. It also spent $290,000 on ads and mailers backing Ferguson during his primary challenge. The PAC’s apparent aim, the Banner reported, is to improve the chances that future lawmakers support online casino legalization. A Ferguson spokesperson said outside groups make independent spending decisions with no direction from him, and no one from the PAC responded to a request for comment. The group invested in 64 of 188 legislative races through August, mostly backing Democrats, but it stayed away from Watson, whose own caucus support was strong enough that PAC aid might have hurt.
Revenue estimates did not overcome the blockade
Watson told a Senate committee that online casino games would generate $1.6 billion in tax revenue over five years, helping close a projected $3 billion state budget gap by 2029. His SB 885 would have allowed operators to keep 60% of proceeds from non-live-dealer games and projected $290.4 million in fiscal 2031, while Young’s House bill projected $489.7 million in the same year, according to Maryland Reporter. Every implementation bill would have allowed operators to keep 80% of live dealer proceeds. In 2025, the General Assembly did raise the mobile sports wagering tax from 15% to 20%, which the Department of Legislative Services expected to yield $31.8 million in fiscal 2026, but that required no voter referendum. The larger online casino estimates never came to a floor vote.
What happens next
No online casino bill is currently before the General Assembly for the next session. A future referendum would require lawmakers to pass an authorizing act in time for a later general election, and any such bill must first clear the Senate. American Future PAC’s spending suggests the gambling industry will keep trying to shape the legislature’s membership, but Ferguson’s agenda control and the constitutional ballot requirement mean the path remains long.
