The prospect of ushering in online casino gambling in Maine this year is fading fast after the House voted the bill down earlier this month. However, the Senate now has an option to vote for it and convince the House, as well as the governor, to legalize iGaming in the Pine Tree State.
Let’s go a little further into this bill’s obstruction and analyze how the future looks for the online sportsbook industry in Maine.
Narrow Loss
The Maine House of Representatives voted 74-71 not to pass Representative Laura D. Supica’s LD1777 bill that would allow online casino gaming in the state. Although any hopes of the legislation passing at this point are dim, there is still a remote possibility the Senate could vote yes and send it back to the House for reconsideration before it reaches the governor’s desk for her signature.
It is a long shot to be sure but the measure does have many supporters. However, this particular bill cedes all iGaming control to the state’s Native American tribes, which would exclude Maine’s commercial casinos from any revenue sharing.
Representative Supica is acutely aware of why some of her colleagues have voted against her bill, saying, “Much of the concern comes from the fact that it is exclusively for the tribes. But for me, that is why I wholeheartedly support it, because this is a wonderful opportunity for the state of Maine to begin to make some corrections to how they have enacted past gaming laws.”
Nevertheless, Representative Supica is hoping the Senate could keep her bill alive, “the hope is the Senate will pass and we will recede and concur. Now, folks are on the record and folks can try to flip their votes,” she said.
Yet, all of this is moot if the Senate doesn’t turn this bill around quickly, as April 17th is the last day of the regular session. If this bill fails to pass, it is likely another iteration of an online casino gambling bill will make its way through the legislative chambers at some point next year.
Casino Inclusion
Representative David Boyer is among those who feel casino operators should get a piece of what would be a highly lucrative revenue stream. Boyer rallied support against the bill and urged his colleagues to revisit it next year.
“As much as I want to play online poker, this isn’t the way to do it,” Boyer said. “I’m concerned with the jobs that are at stake in Oxford and Bangor. The tax rates are not comparable. The brick-and-mortar casinos have a very high tax rate.”
The tax rate proposed on iGaming via LD1777 is 16% but some believe it is too low and would not optimize revenue for the state. But even that rate would reportedly generate approximately $17 million per year in taxes for the state, not to mention a financial windfall for the tribes and their affiliated platform providers.
However, Representative Aaron Dana, who represents the Passamaquoddy Tribe, said indigenous tribal nations were excluded from land-based casino projects and should they get exclusivity to iGaming, the revenue would be spent in their communities and throughout the state.
“We would be spending all of that money here in the state of Maine because we are also state of Maine citizens,” Dana said. “This economic empowerment will not only strengthen tribal sovereignty but also enhance the overall (well) being of tribal members.”
This was also a contentious issue when mobile sports betting came to Maine but legislators ultimately relented and the state’s indigenous tribes were granted a monopoly on mobile sports betting.
The online sports betting market launched in November 2023 and the Mi’kmak Nation, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and the Penobscot Nation partnered with Caesars as their management service provider in Maine. Meanwhile, the only other sports betting platform, DraftKings, is aligned with the state’s fourth tribe, the Passamaquoddy Tribe.
