Maine sports betting could go live in November
The executive director of the Gambling Control Unit says sports betting could be launched by Thanksgiving.
US.- The executive director of Maine’s Gambling Control Unit, Milton Champion, has said that sports betting in the state launch by Thanksgiving in November in a “best case scenario”. The state has released an updated version of its draft sports betting rules, which are open to comment until June 16.
The rules were revised after a first draft released in January resulted in nearly 600 public comments. If further feedback does not lead to changes, the rules will be sent to Maine’s attorney general for approval. The attorney general’s office will have up to 120 days to approve the updated rules.
Champion said: “I think we have a good product at this point. I just don’t see any rhyme or reason to prolong this anymore. But we’ll see how the comments come out.
“Best-case scenario, mid-November, we could go live. We could be live by Thanksgiving. Even if the attorney general took the full 120 days, that still (enables) me to go live before Thanksgiving. What a great present that would be.”
Maine’s governor Janet Mills signed a law to legalise sports betting in May 2022, giving tribes exclusive rights to conduct online wagering. 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.
