- Betfred Sports is set to open a retail sportsbook in Maryland on Friday.
- Betfred has partnered with Long Shot’s OTB for the retail sportsbook in their Fredrick, MD location.
- Maryland’s mobile betting regulations are still ‘in the works’.
While other companies are exiting the increasingly hostile US market, Betfred Sports continues to prosper. They’ve been extending their US market reach slowly but surely. They started their US subsidiary in 2019 and quickly launched in Colorado and Iowa. They’ve also launched in Pennsylvania–a market fraught with potential though limited by an absurdly high tax rate–along with Washington, Arizona and Louisiana. Betfred Sports is also coming to the Silver State of Nevada and will be operating the sportsbook at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas property.
On Friday, they’ll add another state to the roster with the launch of a retail sportsbook in Maryland. Maryland’s sports betting ecosystem could eventually be one of the better ones in the US. That is, if the state’s regulators learn to operate in the expedient manner necessary for a fast moving industry like sports betting. Retail sportsbooks have already launched in the state with BetMGM, FanDuel. TwinSpires and Caesars Sportsbook already operational.
The big issue has been the creation of a regulatory framework for sports betting. When Maryland’s retail sports betting went live in early December 2021, the expectation was that retail wouldn’t be too far behind. Although there’s plenty of potential in Maryland for a robust sports betting market, the struggles of the commission to get their act together is a huge concern. The latest ‘deadline’ to launch is January 1, 2023. It remains to be seen if this changes. It looks to me like Maryland’s sports betting regulators are ‘missing the forest for the trees’ as they get hung up on minutiae. It’s really not that hard.
Betfred is partnering with a business known as ‘Long Shot’s Betting Beer BBQ’ and if that isn’t a great business model I don’t know what is. Long Shot’s already has a first rate off track betting facility with live and automated tellers to accept bets along with 88 TVs airing wall to wall horse racing. At this point, Long Shot’s lists their hours as 12 PM to 8 PM Sunday through Thursday and 12 PM to 9 PM Friday and Saturday. You have to think that they’ll expand their hours once sports betting goes live but there was nothing in the Betfred Sports press release about expanded hours. They’ll need to open earlier on weekends to be sure–a one hour lead time for the early start NFL games on Sunday doesn’t really work for a retail betting operation. For whatever it’s worth, the Betfred Sports location at the Saratoga Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado is open from 11 AM to 9 PM seven days a week. At the time they received a license, the management of Long Shot’s indicated that they would be innovating the non-wagering portions of the facility.
For now, Betfred will operate a temporary facility while a permanent sportsbook is under construction. Betfred Sportsbook at Long Shot’s has successfully completed its controlled demonstration (that sounds too much like ‘controlled demolition’ for my taste) with the Maryland State Lottery & Gaming Control Agency and will officially open its doors for the betting public on Friday, November 18. All proceeds from the four-day demonstration procedure have been donated to The Community Foundation of Frederick County.
Here’s a description of the forthcoming permanent sportsbook:
A permanent, 6000 square foot, state-of-the-art sportsbook with a video wall and comfortable theater-style and lounge seating will open in the Spring. A robust food and beverage menu is also available to provide a full sports betting and viewing experience.
Long Shot’s CEO, Alyse Cohen is happy to have sports betting added to her product mix:
“We’re excited to open our seventh retail sportsbook in the United States and could not be happier to do so with the Long Shot’s team. We look forward to leveraging Betfred’s 50 years of bookmaking experience to provide a first-class betting experience to the bettors of Frederick County and across Maryland.”
Bryan Bennett, Betfred Sportsbook Chief Operating Officer, is equally pleased to be operational in Maryland:
“We’re excited to open our seventh retail sportsbook in the United States and could not be happier to do so with the Long Shot’s team. We look forward to leveraging Betfred’s 50 years of bookmaking experience to provide a first-class betting experience to the bettors of Frederick County and across Maryland.”
Betfred will also operate a mobile app in partnership with Long Shot’s. They’ve recently secured online betting licenses and will be launching an online betting product in early 2023 pending regulatory approval. Note that the press release lists their start date for mobile betting as ‘early 2023’ so I wouldn’t expect to be placing mobile bets in Maryland come New Year’s Day.
