Internet Gaming - Authorization and Implementation

SB 340 authorizes Maryland’s State Lottery and Gaming Control Commission to issue licenses for regulated internet gaming operations, directly affecting gaming companies, former video lottery facility employees (who gain access to a new Displacement Fund), and local school budgets. Key provisions include requiring licensees to verify participant registration, mandating that local governments subtract internet gaming revenue from education funding calculations starting in 2027, and instead appropriate those funds directly to schools. The bill also creates a permanent fund for displaced video lottery workers and requires the Governor to seek voter approval via referendum before implementing multijurisdictional gaming agreements. This legislation shifts education funding sources while establishing new regulatory and financial mechanisms for online gaming.