If the voters statewide approve this referendum, Chapter 492 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 2020 will authorize the General Assembly to pass a law allowing the State Lottery and Gaming Control Commission to issue licenses to offer betting in the State on sports and other competitive events. Such a law must specify (1) who is eligible to apply for a license to operate sports and event betting; (2) what forms of betting are allowed; (3) how betting must be conducted; and (4) where an individual can place a bet.

Chapter 492 also provides that State revenues generated by sports and event betting must be used primarily for funding public education.

Article XIX of the Maryland Constitution, approved by the voters at the November 2008 general election, authorized commercial gaming by the operation of video lottery terminals, also known as slot machines, at multiple locations in the State. Article XIX also requires that additional forms or an expansion of commercial gaming in the State, such as the legalization of sports and event betting, be approved by referendum in a general election.

Betting on sports in most states was illegal under federal law until the United States Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that the federal law was unconstitutional. As a result, states are free to authorize sports betting. Under current Maryland law, betting on sports is illegal.

Sports and event betting is a gambling activity in which an individual places a bet on the results of a sporting event or a particular play or action during a sporting event. Sports and event betting can also extend to non–athletic events, such as reality television competitions or entertainment awards shows.