800K drivers unknowingly advertised foreign gambling site. Were you one?

License Plates in Maryland Advertise Philippine Gambling Site

Did you know that your Maryland license plate might be promoting an online casino based in the Philippines? It turns out that around 13 years ago, Maryland printed the URL www.starspangled200.org on hundreds of thousands of license plates to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812. However, the state has failed to preserve the link, resulting in it now being used by an online casino. This means that about 15 percent of all registered vehicles in the state have unwittingly become advertisers for “Philippines Best Betting Site.”

How Did This Happen?

The discovery was first made by a Reddit user whose curiosity led them to the site. According to Ashley Millner, a representative for Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration, the URL was previously “maintained by Star Spangled 200, Inc., a nonprofit formed under the War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission formed in 2007 through an Executive Order.” However, the non-profit has since been disbanded, and the URL probably expired under the previous registrants and was then hijacked by a third-party.

What’s Being Done?

Millner clarified that the agency is currently working with their IT department “to identify options to resolve

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