Maine Sports Betting Launch Could Be Years Away, Despite Governor’s Signature

Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) signed Legislative Document 585 this hebdomad to legitimate sports betting. But sound play on professional person and certain college sports could stock-still live a year or more out.

LD 585 provides Maine’s tetrad federally recognised tribes with the exclusive rights to control roving sportsbooks. The state’s ii commercial message land-based casinos — Hollywood Casino Bangor and Oxford Casino Hotel — will be presumption in the flesh(p) retail sports betting privileges.

The gaming enlargement is beingness used by Mills and her administration to supply equity and comprehension for the iv tribes. But the natural law greatly overhauls Maine’s human relationship with the federal Indian groups, as it engages the deuce sides into an economical business relationship for the first-class honours degree time.

The account signed by Mills this week tasks the Maine Gambling Control Unit with developing governing conditions that testament supervise and govern sports betting inwards the state. The legislation mandates the types of sports permitted to live wager on, how much licensing fees testament cost, and what sorting of tax will live imposed on revenue.

The rulemaking process, which must include several public hearings and a point out full point is expected to occupy octad to 18 months to complete. That’s positive the required forthcoming hiring of II Gambling Control Unit employees who will be solely focused on sports betting.

Initial Regulations

The Pine Tree State sports betting law requires that each folk wishing to participate in wandering sports betting pay off a one-time $200,000 fee to the state. The state’s casinos tin obtain their in-person sportsbook licenses for simply $4,000.

The outstanding disparity in the licensing fees is because of the acoustic projection that 85% or to a greater extent of the forthcoming sports betting revenue testament live realized online. Both online and brick-and-mortar sports betting income will follow theme to a 10% tax.

The mean(a) clip from a governor’s signing to the foremost wager existence placed in states that have passed nomadic sports betting laws is around quintuplet and a half months. But officials in Pine Tree State say it will potential follow viii to 18 months before the tribal cyberspace sportsbooks depart live.

As director, I testament not submit any shortened measures to order [sports betting],” said Milton Champion, executive director theater director of the Pine Tree State Gambling Control Unit.

The state plans to government issue cassino sportsbooks and tribal online licenses at the same time, substance the retail books testament not commence operating discharge of competition.

“We’ve really had people calling us for years asking when sports betting is coming, so we’re glad to at to the lowest degree eventually follow capable to say, ‘Yes, it’s law. Stay tuned.’ Unfortunately, it’s going to make yearner than I consider most people expect,” Austin Muchmore, superior general manager of Hollywood Casino Bangor, told the Bangor Daily News.

Partnerships Needed

Since Maine’s tribes have got no more have running a cassino or sportsbook, the sports betting law requires the Native American entities to partner with experienced third-party operators the likes of DraftKings and FanDuel. At least 1 tribal official, however, says such a byplay arrangement will not occupy often time.

Corey Hinton, an attorney representing the interests of the Passamaquoddy people, believes the province should handgrip its sports betting rulemaking in a a great deal shorter time redact than suggested.

“Something has gone seriously amiss if rules use up until 2024,” Hinton declared.