The Maryland Board of Elections recently fined a sports betting group $48,000 for failing to make timely disclosures about its spending during the campaign three years ago, according to published reports. In that campaign, the state’s voters overwhelmingly approved Maryland online sports betting as well as retail sportsbooks.
The group that was fined is the Sports Betting Alliance, an organization that advocates on behalf of sports gambling interests including some of the well-known online sports wagering companies.
Why MD Sports Betting Entity Was Fined
The group was fined for failing to comply with a state requirement for a 48-hour disclosure of expenditures. The requirements are aimed at reporting expenditures of $10,000 or more.
A spokesman for the gambling group said that the late disclosure issue was a filing error and the matter was quickly reported to the proper authorities.
The fine was the result of an audit of the most recent fundraising cycle.
Along with the Sports Betting Alliance, several other organizations or political action committees were fined for various failures, such as record-keeping and disclosures. Many of the fines were much lower than the one paid by the sports betting group.
