Maryland launched online sports betting in November 2022, but online casinos are a separate thing and repeated bills to legalize them have failed, most recently in 2026. Real-money online casino play from Maryland happens offshore, and the biggest brands refuse the state. We verified which offshore casinos take Maryland players, tracked 9 that accept it, and ranked the ones worth your deposit.
By Tum
Last updated
Facts checked against Maryland law and casino terms: 24 July 2026
Sports betting is easy to find in Maryland. DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Caesars have all been legal here since mobile wagering launched in November 2022, and their apps are everywhere. But those are sports-betting licenses. Open the casino tab inside the same app from a Maryland location and it is switched off, because Maryland has never legalized online casino games.
It keeps trying, and keeps stopping short. In 2024 an iGaming bill passed the House of Delegates but died in the Senate. It came back in 2025 and again in 2026, and each time it stalled: one sponsor withdrew the 2026 version in March after the Senate cancelled its hearing. There is an extra hurdle in Maryland that most states do not face. Legalizing online casinos here would require amending the state constitution, which means the legislature cannot do it alone: it would have to send the question to voters at a general election. Nothing has cleared that path.
Until it does, a Marylander who wants real-money online slots or blackjack has the sportsbooks and their in-state casino tabs closed to them, and the offshore casinos below are what is left.
Verified for Maryland · 24 July 2026
Ranked by our review scores. The green line under each casino is our eligibility check: the date we read that casino’s own terms and confirmed Maryland players are welcome. One casino is still waiting on its check, so its card makes no promise yet.
Terms name no US states; Maryland not excluded · checked 22 Jul 2026
Unique Saucify games with global acceptance, but light on protections.
✓ Accepts Maryland players · terms checked 22 Jul 2026
Fastest payout 36 hours via E-wallets
✓ Accepts Maryland players · terms checked 22 Jul 2026
Fastest payout Up to 48 hours via Crypto
Terms name no US states; Maryland not excluded · checked 22 Jul 2026
Terms name no US states; Maryland not excluded · checked 22 Jul 2026
Fastest payout 36 hours via E-wallets
✓ Accepts Maryland players · terms checked 22 Jul 2026
Terms name no US states; Maryland not excluded · checked 22 Jul 2026
Terms name no US states; Maryland not excluded · checked 22 Jul 2026
Maryland does not license online casinos, so there is no state-approved casino app to recommend. The casinos above are offshore: they run from outside the US, mostly under Curacao or Panama licenses, and they take Maryland players because no Maryland law reaches them.
The trade-off is real and worth stating. If an offshore casino treats you badly, no US regulator will step in for you. The operator’s own record is your protection, which is why payout history and dispute handling weigh so heavily in our reviews, and why we run a complaints desk on every review page and take unresolved cases up with the casino ourselves.
Maryland’s field is short, and it is worth being upfront about why. Four of the strongest names in the offshore market refuse the state outright: Bovada, our usual top US pick, along with the entire Ignition family, meaning Ignition, Slots.lv and Cafe Casino. All four list Maryland on their published restricted pages, so they are gone from the page before we even rank. That is why our top pick here is Vegas Casino Online rather than a brand you would see leading our Texas or Florida list. For the wider picture of who licenses these sites, read our offshore casino guide.
Every offshore casino publishes a list of US states it refuses, and no two match. Bovada and the three Ignition brands all block Maryland; BetOnline blocks exactly one state; Red Dog blocks only Kansas and Michigan. So we check each casino against its own terms:
Maryland has six casinos and legal sports betting, but online casino play is not among the things the state permits.
| Vertical | Status | The facts |
|---|---|---|
| Online casinos | Illegal | No legal online casino. HB 1319 (2024) passed the House of Delegates but died in the Senate; refiled bills stalled in 2025 and again in 2026, with one withdrawn in March 2026. Legalizing iGaming here requires a constitutional amendment approved by voters, a step no bill has reached. |
| Land-based casinos | Legal | Legal. Six casinos operate: MGM National Harbor, Live! Casino and Hotel, Horseshoe Baltimore, Ocean Downs, Hollywood Perryville and Rocky Gap, authorized by voter referenda in 2008 and 2012 and regulated by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission. |
| Sports betting | Legal | Legal. Retail sportsbooks opened in December 2021 and mobile betting launched in November 2022, regulated by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission. |
| Lottery | Legal | The Maryland Lottery has run since 1973. |
| Daily fantasy sports | Legal | Fantasy competitions are legal and regulated by the state. |
| Sweepstakes casinos | Gray area | No Maryland statute bans the dual-currency sweepstakes model. SB 860 (2025) to ban it passed the Senate 47-0 but died in the House Ways and Means Committee; separately, the Maryland Lottery ordered sweepstakes operators such as VGW to leave the state. |
| Charitable bingo & raffles | Legal | Bingo and raffles run by qualified organizations are licensed at the county level. |
Maryland's gambling statute, Criminal Law 12-102, targets people who make books, keep gambling houses or receive and forward bets, not the individual placing one; a violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months or a $5,000 fine. The same statute and related sections reach bookmakers and the operators of gambling houses and betting operations. Enforcement targets operators; there is no record of Maryland prosecuting anyone for playing at an offshore online casino. Federal law points the same way, since the UIGEA targets gambling businesses and payment processors, not players.
Law facts last reviewed 24 July 2026.
Sources: Md. Criminal Law 12-102 (betting, wagering, gambling) · HB 1319 (2024): iGaming bill, passed House, died in Senate · SB 860 (2025): sweepstakes ban, passed Senate 47-0, died in House · Casinos authorized by 2008 and 2012 referenda; mobile sports betting live November 2022 · Comptroller of Maryland: state income tax up to 6.5% plus local income tax up to about 3.3% · IRS Topic 419 (gambling winnings are taxable income) · One Big Beautiful Bill Act (2026): 90% loss deduction cap · UIGEA, 31 U.S.C. 5361 (federal law targets gambling businesses)
Maryland put its casinos and its sportsbooks to a public vote, and it would have to do the same for online casinos, which is where the process keeps breaking down.
Voters approve a constitutional amendment authorizing slot-machine casinos, and the first ones open over the following years.
A second referendum adds table games and a sixth casino, building the land-based market Maryland has today.
Mobile sports betting launches in November, regulated by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission.
An online-casino bill passes the House of Delegates, then dies in the Senate. Died in the Senate
Refiled iGaming bills stall again; one is withdrawn in March. Because it needs a constitutional amendment, any change still requires a statewide vote. Shelved
Maryland taxes gambling winnings twice at the state level, and this is where it stings more than most. The state income tax is graduated, topping out at 6.5% for the highest earners, and on top of that every Maryland county and Baltimore City levies its own local income tax, which can add up to about 3.3%. So a Maryland player is looking at a combined state-and-local rate well above the headline figure, and winnings count as income for both.
Federal tax applies over the top of all that. The IRS treats every dollar of gambling winnings as taxable income whether or not a W-2G is issued (IRS Topic 419), and offshore casinos issue none, so the record is yours. From the 2026 tax year, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, only 90% of gambling losses are deductible federally, still capped at your winnings. Break even over a year and you can still owe tax on the losses federal law no longer lets you deduct.
The takeaway: keep session-level records, and know your own county rate. Dates, deposits, withdrawals, results. With no casino paperwork coming and two layers of state tax to answer to, your log matters more here than in most states.
No Maryland law stops a deposit. The friction is your bank: an issuing bank can decline a gambling charge, which is routine and not a legal problem. Visa clears more often than Mastercard, and several of these casinos add 5 to 15% fees on card deposits. Cards also cannot receive a withdrawal.
Crypto is what these casinos are built around, and the only method good in both directions. Bitcoin deposits are free at most of them, and payouts run in minutes to hours once the standard approval clears. New to crypto? Our Bitcoin buying guide walks it through.
Courier checks remain an option for the crypto-averse and still take one to two weeks. Our banking hub compares every method, and each review’s banking section lists the fees we measured.
Because Maryland legalized sports betting only. Online casino games were never included, and adding them would require a constitutional amendment approved by voters. Bills to start that process have stalled in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
They refuse the state. Bovada, Ignition, Slots.lv and Cafe Casino all list Maryland on their published restricted pages, so none of them will open an account for a Maryland player. That is why our top pick here is Vegas Casino Online instead.
Maryland’s gambling statute, Criminal Law 12-102, is aimed at people who run books, keep gambling houses or forward bets, not the individual placing one. There is no record of Maryland prosecuting anyone for playing at an offshore online casino.
Yes, and at two state levels. Maryland taxes winnings under its income tax, up to 6.5%, plus your county or Baltimore City local rate of up to about 3.3%, with federal tax on top. Details in the taxes section above.
18 at most offshore casinos, though a few require 21. Maryland’s casinos and sportsbooks are all 21. Each casino’s terms state its own minimum, so check before you deposit.
Rules change at every border. If you cross one, here is the picture next door:
