Maine sustains governor’s sports betting veto

The Legislature of Maine didn’t gain enough support to override the veto on sports betting from the state’s governor.

US.- Maine residents had hopes that sports betting could arrive in the state, despite a veto from the governor. While the Senate had decided to override his veto, the House fell short by two votes and couldn’t confirm such move, leaving sports betting once again off the table.

The vote in the Maine House ended up 87-85 against the attempt to override Governor Janet Mills’ decision to veto the bill. The Senate voted to override the veto last week, with only one vote being the difference.

After the House vote, Mills said: “The House of Representatives made the right decision. It is in the best interest of our state to slow down, to understand the evolving experiences of other states, and to use those experiences to better inform our approach to this issue.”

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Louis Luchini, said that while he was pleased the bill had support from both chambers, he was disappointed that it came up short. “The big thing is that people are doing this illegally now. They´re going to continue to do this illegally. Maine won´t get any taxes from it, and Maine people won´t get any consumer protections,” he said.

Mills believes that Maine needs to take a closer look at sports betting before joining the growing list of states that have legalised the segment. Before legalising it, Maine needs an approach to slow down and stop illegal gambling activities that are already happening in the state as well as it needs to protect young gamblers.