Last year, Maryland legislators passed a bill that would allow for the state’s sports betting apps to have their content and marketing materials audited by “independent evaluators.” This year, legislators are trying to pass a bill (House Bill 1291) that would mandate the state’s sports betting operators have their content audited by approved independent evaluators.

The effort is being met with significant pushback.

A hearing for the bill took place in the House Committee on Ways and Means on Feb. 29, and some state lawmakers questioned both the need for the bill and its overall intent.

The general premise for the bill, which has been vocally supported by SharpRank — a Maryland company expected to perform some of the independent evaluations — is that sports betting content needs a watchdog to ensure its credibility.

The idea that Maryland sports betting content could use oversight doesn’t seem to garner much debate, but there are concerns that the bill doesn’t fully and fairly address the topic.

Perhaps most importantly, the bill would only mandate the state’s licensed sports betting operators have their own in-house content and that of their affiliates audited.

Most misleading sports betting touts aren’t working with licensed sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel. Random social media touts who mislead the general public wouldn’t fall under the audit, meaning the bill doesn’t actively work to keep them from reaching Maryland bettors.

As a result, operators would have to pay companies like SharpRank for content audits while other less credible sports-wagering content creators would continue operating audit-free.

“That’s sort of singling them out for this additional evaluation and cost, which maybe it’s feasible, maybe it’s good, but then it’s leaving this huge section of the industry out there,” Del. Jason Buckel said.

House Ways and Means Committee Vice Chair Jheanelle Wilkins shared concern that the bill is being put forward solely to benefit SharpRank. She said she wanted to ensure that there are multiple licensed independent evaluators, not just SharpRank. Lottery officials were asked to provide the committee with a list of license applicants at their earliest convenience.

Wilkins also suggested the bill is premature, given that SharpRank hasn’t even been approved yet to start evaluating content in Maryland. The company is still working through the licensing process related to last year’s bill.

“I don’t think it’s premature, and if anything, it’s proactive in nature,” SharpRank CEO Chris Adams said.

The idea of evaluating sports betting content resonated with legislators last session, but a potential mandate of independent content evaluations seems less appealing to legislators. SharpRank and others supporting the bill will need to convince legislators it’s a worthwhile process in the coming weeks.

Crossover deadline for bills in Maryland is March 18, meaning there are less than two weeks left for the bill to move into the Senate. If it moves forward, it’ll need Senate approval by April 8 to reach the governor’s desk and become law.