Sports Betting in Maine is Legal Now, So What’s the Holdup?

Do you remember when Maine Governor Janet Mills signed a bill allowing sports betting in Maine into law? That was nearly a year ago in May of 2022, but so far there's nowhere in Maine you can place a bet on who will win the Super Bowl or on the winner of the NCAA Championship. What gives?

According to Legal Sports Betting, Bill LD 585 was signed in May of 2022 but did not take effect until August of 2022, because any new bills signed in Maine do not go become law until 90 days after being signed. That law allows for up to four online sportsbooks and up to 10 sportsbook locations in Maine.

So what's taking so long? Milton Champion, the executive director of the Maine Gambling Control Unit said back in January that betting could begin in the summer of 2023, but he and the only other staff member of the Gambling Control Unit are currently sorting through public comments, so now it looks like the most likely launch date for Maine sports betting is now early 2024.

Applications for online betting and in-person betting at a location are available now to those that are interested, but so far no one has filed an application with the Gambling Control Unit. Maine's four indigenous tribes will be the ones that get to run the mobile betting like Draft Kings.

So now, sports betting in Maine is in a holding pattern until at least late 2023, but more likely this will all get off the ground in early 2024.