Maine Ramping Up For November Sports Betting Launch

Dec 30, 2021; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Maine Black Bears guard Ja’Shonte Wright-Mcleish (2) lays the ball up against Rutgers Scarlet Knights forward Aundre Hyatt (5) during the first half at Jersey Mike’s Arena. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY SportsMaine is one month out from its proposed sports betting launchCaesars is the only sports betting operator with a tribal partnership so farThe Secretary of State’s Office awaits the final sports betting rules from the attorney general’s office

Maine sports betting (remember Maine sports betting?) is on track to launch next month after the state’s proposed sports betting rules are approved by the Secretary of State.

The Pine Tree State has been waiting on sports betting since Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed the bill in law in May 2022. The final sports betting rules are currently being reviewed by the Maine Attorney General’s Office and will be sent to the Secretary of State soon for final adoption.

Maine sports betting will likely be live in early to mid November.

Final Sports Betting Rules Need Approval

According to Maine Public, Milt Champion, executive director of the Maine Gambling Control Unit, said Maine sports betting is likely to launch between Nov. 5 and Nov. 15 after the state attorney general’s office approves the final sports betting rules and sends the list to the Secretary of State’s office.

The Secretary of State will review the rules and post them to their website. Once the rules are published, he noted, Maine sports betting can go live.

It’s been a long journey for Maine sports betting. After Mills signed the bill, legislation officially went into law on August 2022. State regulators initially predicted Maine’s sports betting rules would take between eight months to a year-and-a-half to draft.

It took the state 14 months to draft the sports betting rules and submit them to the Attorney General Office.

Bill LD 585 gives the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Mi’Kmak Nation, and Maliseet Tribes exclusive control over online sports betting in the state and will also legalize retail sports betting for state casinos and off-track betting establishments. Each tribe can partner with up to one online sportsbook operator.

The Mi’kmak Nation, Maliseet Tribe, and Penobscot Nation have all partnered with Caesars Sportsbook for their retail and online sports betting services.

The Passamaquoddy Tribe has yet to partner with a sports betting operator.

The tribes will control an estimated 85% of the sports betting market in the state, as online sports betting comprises the vast majority of all sports betting markets. The bill also included concessions to the tribes, such as tax relief and consultation rights with the state for issues that would directly affect their affairs.

The bill does not allow Maine sports bettors to place wagers on Maine colleges or esports of any kind.

A Multi-Year Process for Legalization

In 2021, Maine legislators approved bill LD 1352, which would have legalized statewide in-person and online sports betting. However, it was never brought to Mills for a signature and it never became law. The bill had a strange journey to approval, as its original sponsor Senator Louis Luchini (D-7) actually spoke up in the 2021 session and asked that legislators vote his bill down. Luchini originally wrote his bill as not having a tethering requirement for online sports betting, which became a controversial point of the betting plan.

Luchini’s original draft of the bill proposed a Maine sports betting plan that would open the state to an uncapped amount of online sports betting licenses that would not have to be tethered or partnered to a brick-and-mortar facility.

Tethering is “anti-competitive and anti-free market,” he explained last year.