Maryland demands licensed operators create a strong diversity strategy

The establishment of a sports betting marketplace within Maryland’s state borders has been a protracted process to press. The Maryland Sports Wagering Application Review Commission, or SWARC, the group empowered to create a regulatory plan for the Old-Line State’s fledgling sportsbook industry, has been subjected to mounting criticism in recent months. A particularly outspoken critic of SWARC’s approach is Governor Larry Hogan, who has raised grave concerns about the pace of the organization’s application vetting procedures.

The delays to administering licenses have been caused by SWARC’s failure to produce an agreed set of guidelines for prospective operators. Eager to promote the values of diversity and inclusion, the application regulator hired a third-party agency to conduct a ‘disparity analyses’ on the local area. However, with the results of these studies seemingly not forthcoming anytime soon, SWARC have now abandoned their ‘race and gender-based’ licensing criteria.

As an alternative way of ensuring the new sector protects the principles of fairness and equality, it has mandated that each successful licence applicant present a dedicated diversity strategy within a month of receiving their permit. The plan must be in written in narrative style and demonstrate their commitment to delivering on their diversity-based targets.

‘’Each applicant must agree to make a good faith effort to meet the diversity objectives outlined in its Diversity Plan and to periodically report diversity metrics, which along with the Diversity Plan, may be made available to the public’’ states SWARC’s application guidance. Nevertheless, several lawmakers have suggested that once a license has been issued, it cannot be withdrawn, even if an an operator decides to entirely abandon its original Diversity Plan. Therefore, the regulator will in effect need to rely on the integrity of its licensees.

As well as constructing this strategy, retail and online operators must pay $250k and $500k respectively in order to obtain a Maryland sports betting licence. The formal application process will commence on 9^th September.