While Maryland lawmakers argue about whether to permit slot parlors, there are thousands of gambling machines in local businesses and bars.
The video poker machines available in Baltimore City and Baltimore County bars were licensed by the government as amusement devices. Since the 1990s, those gambling machines can be found in various locations including convenience stores, cigarette stores and bowling alleys. The business operators pay the players their winnings behind the bar.
According to an Abell Foundation study, there are about 3,500 gambling machines in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, 1,000 more than the legal gambling machines at Dover Downs in Delaware.
