It is well known that Maryland has a long history when it comes to gambling. Despite that, the Maryland casino industry has suffered a lot in the last year because of the global pandemic and lockdowns to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The casinos had to be on lockdown which generated the state to receive less tax revenue. The order of such revenue from the smallest to the largest is:
- Live casinos
- Regular casinos
- Horseshoe casinos
From a year earlier, live casinos revenue went down 7.7%, regular casinos 13.7%, and horseshoe casinos went down 28.7%. This is not surprising due to the huge Covid pandemic and lockdowns but is indicative of how vulnerable the industry is.
Generally, Marylanders don’t see gambling as a priority, especially in the wake of a housing crisis in the state and diminishing earnings across the majority of counties.
Gambling in Maryland
In Maryland, you can gamble in all casinos if you’re a minimum of 21 years old. But, if you are 18 years old you can gamble on bingo, lottery, and horse racing.
Although there are hundreds of bingo halls and retails for the lottery, there are currently only six casinos in Maryland, listed here:
- Hollywood Casino- Perryville
- Horseshoe Casino – Baltimore
- Maryland Live! – Hanover
- MGM National Harbor
- Oceans Downs – Berlin
- Rocky Gap Casino – Flintstone
Even though there are a small number of them they offer a lot of games. From slot machines, blackjack, craps to video poker, craps, and card games.
How Could the Situation Be Fixed?
Regarding the regular casino places, there’s not much that the casino industry can do to make it better. Various businesses and companies have suffered and are still trying to come out of the crisis caused by the pandemic.
We can only rely on and be hopeful that more and more people will be vaccinated and that this pandemic will come to an end. Fortunately, all doctors and experts around the world are persistent in solving this problem, making it possible to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Since the virtual and digital world skyrocketed during the pandemic, the online casino gambling industry in Maryland has some options to improve revenues.
Profits can increase if the main authorities in Maryland step up their game when it comes to online casino sites. Express legalization will put the state on the same track as New Jersey or Pennsylvania that has seen a lot of revenue from this singular source.
It is quite plausible that passing bills such as the recent $1.2 billion dollar relief package would that way be easier if at all needed. Namely, the economy would be less affected if many of the income and businesses are working online.
All games that are allowed in casinos will be available on gambling sites in Maryland as well. Thus they will intrigue the audience which will result in gambling more and the state will receive good tax revenue and people will be entertained and satisfied.
Not only will the state benefit from its people. but people from other US states will be able to gamble through these same sites, making Maryland a huge competitor to the rest of the world.
Advances in Online Gambling
The pandemic has contributed to the rapid development of technology and digitalization. It led to the opening of new businesses over the internet and it can be said that a new era has begun.
It’s undeniable that the online casino industry has shaken up the traditional way of betting and is taking over the world. It cannot be said that such success was not expected but without the whole lockdown period it would certainly not have grown at this speed.
Now it is highly questionable how the traditional way of betting in casinos will attract people’s attention and bring it back or whether it will remotely be the same as before. What is better when Playing Online?
The first and most obvious advantage of online gambling is comfort. You can do it whenever and wherever you want to all you need is a PC or mobile phone and WiFi. So when you feel like playing you don’t have to go to an actual casino or bookmaker.
Secondly, in the traditional casino places the minimum and maximum stakes have tight restrictions because it costs a lot to run a real-life establishment. While the online casino websites are cheaper to run therefore it offers a lot more wagering options.
Thirdly, the variety of game options is much bigger. Not only that all games which are played in traditional casinos are available on the sites, but also thanks to the latest technology there are many more games available only on online gambling sites.
And, over time, they multiply.
Finally, when you bet online you have an option to limit how much money you can lose which is very convenient. While in casinos, if you find some extra money with you, you can easily be tempted to gamble it too.
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