The Wild Story of How Maryland License Plates Promoted a Filipino Casino

At some point during 2022-2023, the website www.starspangled200.org, once dedicated to informing visitors about Marylander Francis Scott Key's inspiration to write the national anthem after witnessing the British attack on Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, was redirected. Instead, it led to a site called globeinternational.info, where an ad featuring a flashing image of a bikini-clad Filipina woman promoting "Philippines Best Betting Site, Deposit 100 Receive 250." So how did this happen, you may wonder.

In a digital-age plot twist, Maryland’s commemorative War of 1812 license plates, intended to celebrate history, have been unintentionally sending drivers to a Filipino online casino. This bizarre story broke in May 2023 when a Reddit user discovered the unexpected redirect.

Introduced in 2010, these special vanity plates feature thw website: starspangled200.org, a domain that was originally meant to inform people about the War of 1812’s bicentennial. However, domain names need to be renewed, and after Maryland’s ownership expired some time in 2022 or 2023, a Filipino casino swooped in, snapping up the URL. 

The digital detour was first flagged by a Reddit user, sparking disbelief across social media. Many wondered how an innocent link to a historic commemoration could lead to a gambling site. The mistake gained momentum online, with users poking fun at the state’s accidental promotion of a casino instead of its patriotic past.

The site's legality in the Philippines seemed to operate in a gray area, as it advertised online casinos, but Maryland authorities had no involvement in or control over the transition of the URL. It’s also important to note that the Philippine gambling site was and i not illegal in the context of this domain transition as they obtained strictly when the domain license expired, but it certainly wasn’t the intended outcome when the plates were designed.

For over a year, about 798,000 vehicles in Maryland proudly display these War of 1812 plates, all now inadvertently promoting an online casino. The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) clarified that they didn’t exactly own the domain printed on the plates, which made reclaiming the URL all the more pressing.
In June 2023, a month after the Reddit discovery, Maryland state officials took swift action and successfully were able to buy back starspangled200.org for $1,000 (though you would think the casino would have been savvy enough to ask for more, given the gravity of the situation and the leverage they had.) The domain now redirects correctly to the Maryland DMV homepage, putting an end to this strange saga. 

This massive mishap is a cautionary tale and shows the risks of putting digital addresses on long-lasting physical objects like license plates. In a world where expired domains can lead anywhere, it’s a wake-up call for brands and organizations, as well as marketing and social media professionals to stay vigilant in managing online assets. 

In the meantime, if you see Maryland’s War of 1812 plates, you’ll always know the inside story.

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