In-person sports betting in Maine has been legal for nearly two years but the only bets being placed on sports in the Pine Tree State are through online or mobile sportsbooks, and one lawmaker is wondering why.
What’s the Delay?
The average time between the legalization of in-person sports betting and an actual launch is roughly six months. However, such is not the case in Maine, where sports betting has been legal for nearly two years and even mobile betting has been up and running since November 2023, but still no signs of a brick-and-mortar location accepting sports bets.
One Maine lawmaker believes it is the red tape that has confounded the state’s two casinos from creating a sportsbook and taking retail wagers. According to Senator Joe Baldacci (D-Bangor), “It’s a complete lack of transparency and accountability for the taxpayers of Maine and the city of Bangor.”
Stalled at the Starting Line
Senator Baldacci also noted the prolonged period that has elapsed since Governor Janet Mills signed the sports betting bill (May 2022) and when it became law (August 2022) to where we are now and still no sign of retail sports betting.
“For every other state that’s done in-person sports gambling, the average amount of time from enactment to the time rules were fully implemented was six months,” said Baldacci. “This is completely out of the norm.”
Red Tape
The state’s Native American tribes have control of the online sports betting market through partnerships with DraftKings and Caesars. Yet, the state’s two casinos are non-tribal, with Hollywood Casino owned by Penn and Oxford Casino owned by Churchill Downs, and both are allowed to have retail sports betting.
Yet, neither has embarked on a retail sportsbook and Baldacci believes he knows why. “The regulatory framework implemented by your office has proven excessively burdensome,” Baldacci wrote. “Many potential retail operators have decided not to participate altogether due to the onerous and unique requirements imposed within our state.”
Baldacci went on to say in his letter that he found it “both surprising and unacceptable that not a single retail operator has commenced operations.”
Executive Director of the Maine Gambling Control Unit (GCU), Milt Champion, is responsible for sports betting in the state but has not responded to Baldacci nor the concerns coming from the industry about the onerous requirements to establish retail sports betting in the state. However, Maine’s Gambling Control Board has been responsive, unlike its counterpart the GCU, but it lacks authority in the sports betting realm.
Who Calls the Shots?
Gambling Control Board Chair Steve Silver said his group oversees casino gambling and parimutuel wagering but that Baldacci could advance legislation to have sports betting remanded under its control and away from Champion and the GCU.
“I have never understood the legislative choice to do that,” Silver said of the separate oversight. “I tried to raise this issue with the Legislature many times.”
Hollywood Casino Bangor’s vice president and general manager, Austin Muchemore, is eager to bring a retail sportsbook to his establishment, saying, “We greatly appreciate Sen. Baldacci’s efforts to bring sports betting to Maine and his continued dedication to the people and business community in the greater Bangor area.”
Retail sports betting is projected to bring in just 15% of the total wagers placed in the state with 85% of the bets coming through a digital portal. Nevertheless, it remains an untapped revenue stream that seems to be hampered by the same governmental agency in charge of overseeing it.
OddsTrader will continue to monitor this story and update our readers as events unfold.
