Maryland casino owner supports online gambling

David Cordish, chief executive of the Cordish Companies group, which owns and operates land casinos in the state of Maryland, came out in support of online gambling legalisation on the New Jersey model in a television interview with Brittany Umar of “The Street” this week.

The executive said that in his opinion legalisation in the United States will not be on a federal basis, but state by state, and that based on the New Jersey model where existing land casinos are given the opportunity to offer online gambling as well, this is a good thing for the industry.

Cordish said that he believed Maryland will eventually follow Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey on the legalisation path, creating more business opportunities for brick and mortar casino operators, and more tax revenues and employment in the states where it is legalised.

The Cordish group is Maryland’s largest tax payer and employs several thousand state residents.

Cordish revealed that his company presently generates a million dollars a day in tax revenues, which are mandated for use in the Maryland education system; he expected the addition of online gambling could boost that tax contribution to around $430,000 to $450,000 a year.

View the interview here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1roPm-QcGw