Maryland casinos are asking permission to lower the average payouts of their slot machines by as much as 3 percent. Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission formally approved the proposed change in state regulation, but timing of a final decision by state officials has not yet been decided.
A review by the News4 I-Team found Maryland casino slot machines have an average payout that trails those in some casinos in neighboring states but is higher than the average payouts in some casinos in West Virginia and New Jersey. Maryland slot machines, formally referred to as video lottery terminals, pay out slightly less on average than they did in 2012, the I-Team’s review found.
The request to allow lower payouts comes amid criticism from some gamblers about “tight slot machines” at D.C.-area casinos. Several of those formal complaints were obtained by the I-Team through state of Freedom of Information Act laws. The I-Team’s review found many of the complaints are unsupported by state data but are written in forceful language.
One Maryland casino patron wrote state officials, “These machines have a low to nonexistent payout.”
Another complained Maryland casinos are driving out “gamblers on fixed incomes.”
Gamblers can expect to wear face masks, encounter hand sanitizing stations, and be cased in plexiglass fortresses for table games, as Anne Arundel’s Live! Casino begins a phased reopening.
Casinos might opt against lowering their payouts, even if regulations allowed them to do so, state gaming officials said. Casinos are under competitive pressure with each other to lure and keep customers, officials said.
Hollywood Perryville Casino was the only one of Maryland’s casinos to agree to comment on the proposed regulation change. “There is an opportunity for additional revenue for the state and the casino,” a spokeswoman said. “We support the change but do not plan to have a specific strategy to change our operation in any way. We have to stay competitive within the state and outside our borders, and customers need to know they can win here as much as at any casino around the area.”
A regulation allowing lower slot machine payouts would negatively impact problem gamblers, health advocates said, because the state would not require the industry to spend additional money on programs to help the addicted. “The state would keep more money, because there would be more revenue from the slot machines, but there wouldn’t be more money going into the problem gambling fund,” National Council on Problem Gambling Executive Director Keith Whyte said.
Problem gamblers are unlikely to notice or care if casinos lowered slot machine payouts, he said. “Problem gamblers are not very sensitive to payouts,” he said.
The regulation change, allowing casinos to lower average slot machine payouts, is better aligned with current Maryland state casino laws, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission said. 'Our research indicated that Maryland was the only jurisdiction that restricted casinos’ ability to control their floor average beyond the statutory machine minimum payout, which is 87 percent,” the spokeswoman said. “This change was made to align our regulations with the industry standard and provide the casinos with the flexibility they need to remain competitive.'
Maryland slot machine casino gambling consists of six land-based casinos with video lottery terminal (VLT) slot machines. Cruise ships traveling in international waters also offer onboard gambling options.
A minimum theoretical payout limit was been set by Maryland law. However, no actual return statistics are publicly available.
This post continues my weekly State-By-State Slot Machine Casino Gambling Series, an online resource dedicated to guiding slot machine casino gambler to success. Now in its third year, each weekly post reviews slots gambling in a single U.S. state, territory, or federal district.
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The minimum legal gambling age in Maryland depends upon the gambling activity:
Further, the minimum gambling age is 18 for cruises shipping out of Baltimore.
In 2008, Maryland voters approved having slot machines at five locations. This constitutional amendment included a licensing and regulatory legal framework for casino operators, employees, and contractors as well as specifying where to allocate state gaming income tax revenue.
In 2012, Maryland voters further approved a gaming expansion bill allowing table games at Maryland’s casinos as well as another Maryland casino. This sixth gambling license, awarded in December 2013, resulted in MGM National Harbor’s opening 3 years later.
*The purpose of this section is to inform the public of state gambling laws and how the laws might apply to various forms of gaming. It is not legal advice.
It is legal to own a slot machine in Maryland privately if it is 25 years old or older.
The state gaming commission is Maryland Lottery and Gaming, responsible for overseeing gaming regulations compliance, employee background checks, the day-to-day operation of machines at each casino, and more.
There are six non-tribal casinos and two international cruise ships based in Maryland.
The largest casino in Maryland is Live! Casino Hotel Maryland with 3,853 gaming machines in January 2020.
The second-largest casino is MGM National Harbor with 3,135 gaming machines in January 2020.
Maryland’s six land-based casinos are:
Maryland has no tribal casinos due to having no federally-recognized American Indian tribes.
As an alternative to enjoying Maryland slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering Maryland is:
Each of the links above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to Maryland.
Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in Maryland? If so, join our new Maryland slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to join this closed Facebook Group freely.
There, you’ll be able to privately share your slots experiences as well as chat with players about slots gambling in Maryland. Join us!
Maryland gaming regulations require a minimum theoretical payout of 87%, on average over its lifetime, for each VLT gaming machine. Further, overall for all VLTs at a casino, the minimum and maximum theoretical payouts must average between 90% and 95%.
Unfortunately, monthly revenue statistics from the gaming commission excludes amount returned to players. Therefore, actual return statistics are not publicly available.
Maryland slot machine casino gambling consists of VLT-style slot machines at six casinos. Further, two cruise ships offer slot machines when sailing out of the Port of Baltimore to international destinations.
Maryland gaming regulations set a minimum theoretical payout of 87%. Also, overall for each casino averaged over all slot machines, they’ve set minimum and maximum payout returns of 90% and 95%.
Over the last year, there has been no change in the slots gaming industry in Maryland.
Have fun, be safe, and make good choices!
By Jon H. Friedl, Jr. Ph.D., President
Jon Friedl, LLC