Maine holds final public hearing on sports betting rules
The Maine Gambling Control Unit has set March 3 as the deadline for feedback.
US.- The Maine Gambling Control Unit held its final public hearing on rules regulating sports betting in the state. It comes eight months after Maine governor Janet Mills signed a law to legalise sports betting in the state, giving tribes exclusive rights to conduct online wagering.
Questions were raised about the requirement for licence applicants to submit recent state and federal tax returns and a rule that would prohibit advertising sports gambling on college campuses and limit the amount of sports betting advertising on local television stations, something tribal leaders and Maine broadcasters strongly oppose.
March 3 is the deadline to submit written comments on the proposed rules. The gambling control unit will soon be launching applications for provisional licences. Sports betting in Maine could start this summer.
Sports betting is expected to generate between $3.8m and $6.9m in revenue for Maine. Casinos and other legal gambling generated $64m in 2022.
Under Maine’s sports betting legislation, each of four Native American tribes will be able to apply for a single mobile sports betting licence, and the state will receive 10 per cent of adjusted gross sports wagering receipts. Upon launch, it’s expected that four sportsbooks will be operational, each partnered with one of the state’s four tribes. FanDuel and DraftKings are live in Maine via their fantasy offerings.
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.
