Legal sports betting moves forward in Maine
The Maine Senate has voted 23 to 11 in favor of a bill that would allow for both retail and online sports betting in the state.
US.- The Maine Senate has approved LD 585, a bill that would allow sports betting in the state. The bill will now head to the desk of Gov. Janet Mills for her signature. Under the bill, the state’s four federally recognised Indian tribes would control online sports wagering in Maine, with commercial casinos only able to operate retail sportsbooks.
Each of the four Native American tribes would be able to apply for a single mobile sports betting licence, and the state would receive 10 per cent of adjusted gross sports wagering receipts.
LD 585 states: “With respect to mobile sports wagering, the Legislature finds that, if conducted by federally recognized Indian tribes in the State, mobile sports wagering will serve as an effective economic development tool for tribal governments and tribal members and will provide economic stimulus to rural areas of the State.”
Meanwhile, LD585 will allow commercial casinos, The Hollywood Casino Hotel & Raceway and Oxford Casino Hotel and their respective partners, Penn National/Barstool Sports and Churchill Downs Incorporated, to apply for licences for retail sports betting only.
Tax revenue would be distributed in several ways including to the state’s general fund. Each mobile licence would cost $200,000 and last four years, while the four-year retail sports betting licences would cost $4,000.
Bettors would have to be 21 or older and physically located in Maine to wager. Betting markets could be offered on professional, college, and amateur sports, minus any games involving Maine’s colleges and universities. Bills in 2019, 2020, and 2021 failed to become law despite reasonable support within the legislature.
