URL on 798,000 Maryland license plates no longer redirects to online Filipino casino

A URL on 798,000 Maryland license plates commemorating the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and the national anthem no longer redirects to an online Filipino casino.

As of Wednesday night displayed on about 15% of the state’s plates instead redirects to the homepage of the Maryland Vehicle Administration, according to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

The web address, starspangled200.org, had been redirecting to a landing page for the Fafa855 Internet casino’s branch in the Philippines since at least December 2022.

“In partnership with the state Department of Information Technology, the MVA engaged the services of a reputable domain broker and was able to successfully recover the URL,” MVA Deputy Director of Media Relations told WTOP-FM.

The address had originally taken visitors to a page for the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail. The nonprofit Star Spangled 200 Inc. received a commission for every bicentennial plate purchased. 

Ownership of the domain changed after the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission lapsed in 2015, with the old trail page still being displayed until at least August 2022.

The bicentennial plate itself was standard issue between 2010 and September 2016, when Maryland’s existing state flag plates were released.