Monster Sportsbook-in-Waiting Opens at Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland

  • Sports & Social Maryland is a 212-seat, $15m venue with a 100-foot media wall
  • The final go-ahead for sports betting in the state is expected “late summer or early fall”
  • Nearly 100 sports betting licenses for in-person and online venues are up for grabs in Maryland
  • Cordish’s president said the new venue is the “best sports viewing venue anywhere in the region”
Live! Casino Maryland
The $15m Sports & Social Maryland has opened with the expectation that its FanDuel sportsbook will go live once the state gives the nod by summer or fall of this year. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Venue to host a FanDuel sportsbook

The $15m Sports & Social Maryland venue made an instant splash when it opened last week as a sports bar. The 212-seater venue is currently akin to a sports betting Trojan horse, just waiting for the state to give the signal so its FanDuel-powered sportsbook can spring into action.

The sports bar and restaurant located at Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland in Hanover opened April 29, which the casino resort shared news of via Twitter:

Reed Cordish, principal of The Cordish Companies, said: “We will be ready to implement sports betting at Sports & Social as soon as the state allows.”

Sports & Social is a national brand with venues in Texas, St. Louis, and Atlanta. It is owned by the Baltimore-headquartered real estate development and entertainment operating company The Cordish Companies, which also owns the Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland

The Baltimore Sun quotes Cordish as saying the final go-ahead from the state could come “late summer or early fall.”

FanDuel-powered sportsbook ready to rumble

According to the Baltimore Sun, the Sports & Social brand has a partnership with FanDuel that will allow bettors to place wagers “either on premises at the Arundel Mills casino or from a mobile device.”

As described on its website, The Sports & Social Maryland venue offers “a perfect blend of sports viewing excellence with integrated casino and social games.” Along with over “100 linear feet of LED screens, including a giant, 47-foot wide main screen,” the complex also features bars, VIP lounges, casino games, and interactive social games such as super-sized foosball and mini-bowling.

“Patrons coming to Sports & Social will have the ability to either walk up to a teller or a kiosk and wager on a game they’re watching,” said Mr. Cordish.

In April 2021, lawmakers in Maryland passed a bill to legalize sports betting. After the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee removed caps on the number of licensees set by the House, Maryland’s market has the potential to be a big one, with nearly 100 licenses for in-person and online venues up for grabs. Cordish told the Baltimore Sun that Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland and FanDuel will be applying for the casino’s licenses.

Whetting Marylanders’ sports betting appetites

While Maryland awaits Governor Larry Hogan’s final signature, Sports & Social is already whetting sports bettors appetites. Last week, Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland retweeted a comment by Baltimore online sports talk show veteran Glenn Clark on the Glenn Clark Radio Twitter feed, saying: “I can’t wait to lose all my money here during the NCAA Tournament next year.”

President of Cordish Gaming and Live! Casinos, Rob Norton, told the Baltimore Sun that the casino is awaiting “final regulations from the state to determine some details about how sports betting will work.” Norton said he was hopeful the multimillion dollar venue will attract new customers to wager on sports.

the absolutely by far best sports viewing venue anywhere in the region”

“We have built what I think is the absolutely by far best sports viewing venue anywhere in the region,” Norton concluded.

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