The Town of Chesapeake Beach in Maryland announced it will hold a public hearing on January 20 to discuss a measure that would allow the town to collect tax revenue on sports betting at the same rate as all other gaming activities there.
The hearing will be held at 6:45 PM and will address Ordinance O-21-7, which seeks to expand Admission and Amusement Tax to include Sports Betting for Class A1, A2, Class B1 and Class B2 licenses.
During the 2020 town election, citizens answered two ballot questions related to expanded gambling activities in town. In response, the town council passed Ordinance O-21-1, prohibiting full casino licenses or sports betting licenses and communicated citizens’ desires to the state. This new ordinance would turn that down, as Maryland state has successfully launched sports betting operations at casinos.
“While the town council voiced town citizens overwhelming disapproval of expanding gaming activities in town, the State of Maryland has preempted the town, authorizing sports betting within Chesapeake Beach”, Mayor Patrick Mahoney stated in a release. “Although not approved by the town, the town is burdened by the expanded gaming activity and therefore should receive tax revenue to offset the burden these activities place on our residential community”.
The public hearing will be held just prior to the regularly scheduled town council meeting on January 20, 2022, 7:00 PM. Both the public hearing and the town meeting can be joined remotely by phone or computer, and they will be recorded for public view and made available on the town’s channel.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan signed the approval of the state’s sports betting bill in May last year, thus legalizing online and in-person sports betting in Maryland. Maryland’s sports betting market officially began on June 1, but due to several delays in the licesing process, casinos launches sportsbook operations early December.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2022/01/12/60892-maryland-39s-chesapeake-beach-sets-public-hearing-to-tax-sports-betting
