Maryland Statewide Rule
Maryland Casino Locations Limited to Six Sites
Key Facts
- Licensed casino sites statewide
- Six, fixed by statute
- Authorized counties/city
- Anne Arundel, Cecil, Allegany, Worcester, PG County, Baltimore City
- Anne Arundel terminal cap
- 4,750 VLTs
- Baltimore City terminal cap
- 3,750 VLTs
- Civil penalty per violation
- Up to $5,000
- Regulator
- MD Lottery and Gaming Control Commission
- Authorized by
- 2008 and 2012 statewide referendums
Summary
Maryland law names the only places a casino may ever legally operate: one site each in Anne Arundel, Cecil, Allegany, and Worcester counties, in Baltimore City, and in Prince George's County, each pinned to a specific highway, park, or road intersection. State Gov't Section 9-1A-36 sets those boundaries and per-site terminal caps; the Lottery and Gaming Control Commission licenses and polices the six casinos under it. No other Maryland jurisdiction can zone one in.
(h)(1) In order to qualify for a video lottery operation license under this section, a proposed video lottery facility shall be located in one of the following counties: (i) a location in Anne Arundel County, within 2 miles of MD Route 295; (ii) a location in Cecil County, within 2 miles of Interstate 95; (iii) a location on State property associated with the Rocky Gap State Park in Allegany County; (iv) a location in Worcester County, within 1 mile of the intersection of Route 50 and Route 589; (v) a location in Baltimore City that is located in a nonresidential area, within one-half mile of Interstate 95, within one-half mile of MD Route 295, and on property owned by Baltimore City on the date the application is submitted, and not within one-quarter mile of residentially zoned or used property; and (vi) a location in Prince George's County within a 4-mile radius of the intersection of Bock Road and St. Barnabas Road.
Full Breakdown
Maryland voters created this system through a 2008 constitutional referendum authorizing video lottery terminals at five sites, then a 2012 referendum that added table games and a sixth license in Prince George's County. The implementing statute, State Government Section 9-1A-36, does not leave siting to local zoning: subsection (h) requires a licensed video lottery facility to sit in one of six defined footprints, within 2 miles of MD Route 295 in Anne Arundel County, within 2 miles of Interstate 95 in Cecil County, on state property at Rocky Gap State Park in Allegany County, within 1 mile of the Route 50/Route 589 intersection in Worcester County, on Baltimore City-owned nonresidential land within a half-mile of I-95 and MD 295, or within a 4-mile radius of Bock Road and St.
Barnabas Road in Prince George's County. Subsection (i) then caps video lottery terminals per site: 4,750 in Anne Arundel, 3,750 in Baltimore City, 3,000 in Prince George's, 2,500 each in Cecil and Worcester, and 1,500 at Rocky Gap, though the Commission can adjust counts for market conditions up to that Anne Arundel ceiling. The six resulting casinos are Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover (Anne Arundel, opened June 2012), Hollywood Casino Perryville (Cecil, September 2010), Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Cumberland (Allegany, May 2013), Ocean Downs Casino in Berlin (Worcester, January 2011), Horseshoe Casino Baltimore (August 2014), and MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill (Prince George's, December 2016).
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission, staffed by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, issues the video lottery operation licenses under Section 9-1A-04 and oversees each facility's internal controls, accounting, and security. Because the site list and terminal caps are locked into statute rather than left to municipal or county zoning codes, no city or county can independently approve a seventh casino or expand an existing one past its statutory terminal ceiling.
Violations & Penalties
Section 9-1A-25 lets the Commission deny, reprimand, fine, suspend, or revoke a license for violating the subtitle or its regulations, with a civil penalty up to $5,000 per violation and each day of a continuing violation counted separately. The Commission weighs the violation's seriousness, any harm caused, and the licensee's good faith. Because only the six statutory sites can ever be licensed, running video lottery terminals anywhere else in Maryland falls entirely outside this licensing scheme.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Maryland city or county zone in a new casino on its own?
Where exactly are Maryland's six licensed casinos allowed to be located?
How many video lottery terminals can each casino operate?
What penalty applies if a Maryland casino licensee breaks the rules?
Which casino operates at each of the six authorized locations?
Sources
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