Maryland to restrict college-sportsbook partnerships

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The Maryland Senate has passed a college sports betting bill that would require Maryland schools to disclose the complete details of their agreements with sports betting companies and prevent them from receiving compensation based on the number of new users. The bill now awaits the signature of Governor Wes Moore.

Senator Shelly Hettleman’s bill mainly targets the partnership between the University of Maryland and PointsBet, which a spokesperson from the company claims doesn’t offer any sign-up incentives.

The partnership includes advertisement placements in and around the university’s sports arenas and on-campus QR codes.

Sports betting was legalized by Maryland voters in 2020. However, online betting only began last year.

Since online betting is a recent development in Maryland, Hettleman only discovered after reading a New York Times article that Colorado sports betting firms benefited from every student registering for their app. Her goal is to prevent such a scheme from spreading in the state.

PointsBet has previously partnered with the University of Colorado, offering incentives similar to those Hettleman’s bill aims to ban. However, following criticism, both parties terminated that part of the partnership.

Increased scrutiny on college-sportsbook partnerships

According to a The New York Times report, Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to 66 colleges and universities asking for information on any existing or potential collaborations with sportsbook operators.

In December, he wrote letters to Caesars and PointsBet demanding to immediately terminate agreements with educational institutions. He also urged the American Gaming Association to exclude educational institutions from its authorized marketing groups. However, neither Caesars nor PointsBet is a member of the AGA.

Caesars is the only sportsbook company with publicly known affiliations with Louisiana State University and Michigan State University. The company is also facing scrutiny over these partnerships.

On Tuesday, Professor John Kerr from Michigan State initiated a petition calling for an end to the university’s affiliation with Caesars, just a few months after the deal was signed.