Crab Sports mobile sportsbook app launched Thursday in Maryland, making the women-and-minority-owned company the 11th online sportsbook now live in the Old Line State.
The Maryland-based app launched at 8 a.m. ET on Thursday after receiving a mobile sports betting license from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission (MLGCC).
State regulators had qualified Crab Sports and its partner iGaming Cloud, Inc. for a Maryland online sports wagering license on March 23 after the companies were awarded an online license with the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission on Feb. 15.
iGaming Cloud, Inc. is also licensed as an online sports wagering operator in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Crab Sports Maryland will operate its sportsbook on the iGaming Cloud Sportnco wagering platform.
Crab Sports Meets Maryland’s Diversity Rules
Maryland’s latest mobile sportsbook is over 50% women-and-minority owned, with minorities holding over 20% equity in the company, according to SWARC documents. That allowed the company to meet personal net worth requirements for minority investment under Maryland’s sports wagering regulation.
The personal net worth requirement mandates that mobile sports wagering applicants demonstrate personal net worth under $1.847 million for at least five percent of their ownership. It replaced race-and-gender-based criteria that had not withstood legal scrutiny.
“It … became clear that the original intent of the legislation to provide direct support to companies such as ours was going to be subject to significant legal challenges, and so we welcomed the introduction of the Personal Net Worth requirement outlined in COMAR 36.11.02.19,” Crab Sports wrote in its applicant’s statement last year.
“While there are numerous creative ways for some of the larger industry participants to satisfy this requirement, we are proud that no such creative structuring was required for Crab Sports,” according to the statement.
More Maryland Sportsbooks Ahead
The launch of Crab Sports shows continued growth in Maryland’s mobile sports betting market. As many as 60 mobile operators are possible under the state’s 2021 sports betting law, so more could be on the way.
“Additional mobile operators and retail locations are expected to launch in the near future,” Maryland Lottery and Gaming Managing Director of Communications Seth Elkin told Gaming Today in an email Thursday.
Other mobile sportsbooks now live in Maryland that are offering some of the best Maryland sportsbook promos are listed below:
- Barstool Sportsbook (operator for PENN Maryland/Hollywood Casino in Perryville)
- Betfred Sportsbook (operator for Long Shot’s in Frederick)
- BetMGM (operator for BetMGM Maryland Sports/MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill)
- BetRivers (operator for Arundel Amusements/Bingo World in Brooklyn Park)
- Caesars Sportsbook (operator for Caesars Maryland Mobile Opportunity/Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore)
- DraftKings (Crown MD Online Gaming)
- Fanatics Sportsbook (operator for Maryland Stadium Sub, LLC)
- FanDuel (operator for PPE Maryland Mobile/Live! Casino and Hotel in Hanover)
- PointsBet (operator for Riverboat on the Potomac in Charles County)
- SuperBook (SBOpco, LLC)
Sports betting launched in Maryland in Dec. 2021. Retail operations launched first, with MGM National Harbor the first to open to the public on Dec. 9.
To date, Maryland has 10 in-person sportsbooks live at the following locations:
- Bingo World in Brooklyn Park
- Greenmount Station in Hampstead
- Hollywood Casino in Perryville
- Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore
- Live! Casino in Hanover
- Long Shot’s in Frederick
- Maryland Stadium Sub at FedEx Field in Landover
- MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill
- Ocean Downs Casino in Berlin
- Riverboat on the Potomac in Charles County
Figures released by Maryland Lottery and Gaming officials Monday report that sports betting generated $254.4 million in statewide handle in June. Mobile handle comprised 95.8 percent of the total, or $243.8 million.
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