Bill Allowing Maryland Casino Owners to Finance Politicians Proposed 

Bill Allowing Maryland Casino Owners to Finance Politicians Proposed 

Maryland casino

Senator Jon Cardin has proposed a piece of legislation that, if passed, would make it legal for owners of Maryland casinos to provide money to political campaigns. Gaming license holders, sometimes known as casino owners, would have the option to make contributions to state legislators if House Bill 54 were to become law.

Cardin asserted that the bill would make it possible to treat comparable firms in the gaming industry in the same manner and that it would result in “an equitable playing field.”

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At the moment, the only organizations that are not allowed to make campaign contributions in the state are casinos. In 2012, a law was passed with the goal of making it harder for successful businesses in the state of Maryland to have a big say in how laws are made.

According to the Baltimore Business Journal, this is not Cardin’s first attempt to bring the topic of political contributions to the forefront of the conversation. The previous year, he proposed legislation that, instead, would have prohibited the owners of sports gambling companies from contributing to campaigns prior to the practice’s legalization.

However, the bill was never given a second hearing and was ultimately defeated. In contrast to casinos, there is no law that expressly prohibits operators of sportsbooks from contributing to the political campaigns of legislators.

Consistency in the Maryland Sports Betting and Casino Market

Cardin stated that he is still committed to creating “consistency” in the industry during a hearing held by the Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday of last week. In order to do so, even if it means introducing a bill that would allow for more contributions rather than fewer, Cardin is willing to do so.

As reported by the cited source, he stated that the company believes that its top priority on the legislation that we are passing is to try and create consistency, transparency, and integrity in government processes. He also stated that his primary concern is that these contributions are now treating two players in the same industry differently. It is currently against the law for individuals or businesses that control more than 5% of a gaming license to contribute to political campaigns. However, the same rules do not apply to businesses and individuals who own more than this percentage of sports wagering companies, as well as owners of racetracks or bingo halls. These owners are exempt from the regulations.

According to Senator Cardin, the current political and legal climate has encouraged owners of casinos to find and take advantage of loopholes in the law by making political contributions via organizations that are not directly connected to the casino. The lawmaker believes that if his bill were passed, it would result in a more standardized procedure. It is currently unknown whether or not Cardin’s most recent proposal will be brought up for a vote in the House during this session.

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About Lou De Aguila

Lou Aguila is a news and feature writer for Golden Casino News. For over a decade, Lou has published news and featured articles for some of the most reputable sports betting and online casino sites in the world, including BetNow.UK, VegasOdds, and BWin. Apart from being a hardcore live casino punter, he also covers sports stories in North American leagues from time to time.