Media company Urban One may not be getting its retail casino, but it now has its eyes on launching an online casino brand. CEO and President Alfred Liggins III may have failed to persuade Richmond voters to approve his plan for a casino-resort focused on Black culture, but he has not given up on gambling. However, to pursue its new goal, Urban One will have to look elsewhere than Virginia.
Old Dominion lacks for online gambling options, other than its iLottery. However, Urban One’s home state of Maryland is more promising. Already, it has legal online sports betting, and although its online casino effort appears dead for 2025, there’s no doubt that push will continue in future years.
During Urban One’s recent Q4 earnings call, an analyst asked Liggins whether Urban One was considering investing in a Maryland casino. Liggins confirmed the company’s interest in the state, saying:
Yeah. No – well, we like that business. We are looking for opportunities to invest in it again.
However, he clarified that Urban One is focusing on iGaming, rather than a retail casino:
Our Maryland effort was not around a bricks-and-mortar casino, it was around their iGaming legislation. For the last two sessions, they’ve been contemplating trying to introduce iGaming.
And we’d like to position ourselves to be in that business [iGaming] and get a license. And so we’ve been lobbying to be part of a legislation. It died again this year. But iGaming is a great business as well, and it’s only in 6 states versus 37 or 38 states they actually have a bricks-and-mortar casinos operating. So that’s been our most recent gaming effort.
Urban One, formerly Radio One, is a media conglomerate that primarily serves African-American consumers. According to its website, it is the country’s largest distributor of urban content. Urban One entered the gambling space in 2016 by investing in MGM Resorts’ MGM National Harbor in Maryland. However, in 2023, it divested from MGM to focus on its Richmond casino project.
Richmond voters rejected an Urban One casino twice
In 2021, Richmond leaders selected Urban One to develop one of the state’s five planned brick-and-mortar casinos. However, voters narrowly rejected the proposal by a 51-49% margin.
Despite the defeat, Urban One and its founder, Cathy Hughes, remained undeterred, viewing the experience as a learning curve. In 2023, the media company partnered with Churchill Downs Incorporated to launch a renewed casino bid in Richmond. The $565 million proposal featured a casino, a 12-story luxury hotel, a live entertainment venue, and a 55-acre green space. Unfortunately for Urban One, Richmond voters rejected the proposal for a second time in November 2023. The result was even worse than in 2021, with over 60% of residents voting against it.
Following the second rejection, Liggins stated that Urban One still intended to pursue opportunities in the casino industry.
Urban One pushes for iGaming in Maryland
In 2024, many iGaming proponents gave Maryland a good chance of legalizing online casinos, but the effort failed. One primary reason was the fears of cannibalization.
Former Richmond casino partners Urban One and Churchill Downs found themselves on opposite sides of the debate. Churchill Downs has emerged as a vocal opponent of iGaming in multiple states, while Urban One actively supported Maryland’s online casino expansion. During a legislative hearing, Liggins testified and proposed building a live dealer studio in Maryland. The facility would host live dealers for an Urban One-branded online casino and other licensed operators in the state.
Despite last year’s setback, iGaming advocates renewed their efforts in 2025. However, Del. Vanessa Atterbeary and Sen. Ron Watson’s companion bills failed to move past their initial committees.
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