Maine’s Scarborough Downs Off Track Betting closes permanently
After 72 years, Scarborough Downs Off Track Betting has closed due to financial difficulties.
US.- Scarborough Downs Off-Track Betting (OTB), in Maine, has permanently closed. After 72 years opened, the firm is closing its off-track betting club. The business, which employs ten people on site, has been experiencing financial difficulties for almost 20 years.
The venue was sold in 2018 to a group of developers. Until the end of 2020, the track hosted live racing but its final race was on November 28, 2020. Since then, Scarborough Downs had remained active via its off-track betting club.
Scarborough Downs OTB president, Denise Terry, said: “[With] the expenses, it just all doesn’t add up for me to hold on. Unfortunately, I was not able to figure a way to make it all continue.”
Spokesman Michael Sweeney added: “They need to move forward with a more modern state of the art facility, and that’s something that Scarborough Downs just cannot provide the industry. We’ve always been strong proponents of the harness racing industry here in the state of Maine. We want to do the right thing by the industry.”
Maine governor signs sports betting bill
In early May, Maine governor Janet Mills signed a law legalising sports betting in the state and giving the state’s tribes exclusive rights to conduct online wagering. The new law allows Maine’s existing casinos to conduct in-person sports betting. The legislation will take effect in late July.
Each of the 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.
