Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Five years later, Maryland casinos have addiction, crime, half-filled promises in wake

Horseshoe Casino Baltimore

PRNewsFoto/Caesars Entertainment

Horseshoe Casino Baltimore opened to the public on August 26, 2014.

Casino gambling has exploded in Maryland as a result of the referenda passed in 2008, which allowed for slot machine parlors in five locations, and 2012, which allowed these five slot palaces to expand into full-fledged casinos with table games, including everything from blackjack and roulette to poker, as well as the development of a sixth casino in Prince George's County.

As the five-year anniversary of Maryland's first legalized casino approaches, the state's casinos have been grabbing a growing share of overall commercial casino revenues in the United States, from 1.01 percent in 2012 to 2.45 percent last year, according to the UNLV Center for Gaming Research.

Yet there has been a significant downside to Maryland's casino deluge. Mounting evidence shows that over the last five years, a growing number of gamblers throughout the state have begun to feel the sting of addiction. In turn, this is leading to increased social costs connected with gambling dependencies.

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