On Wednesday, Maine finally issued draft rules for online sports betting sites, five months after its legislature passed the bill that legalized mobile sports wagering in the state. The first public hearings are now set to take place on January 31.
This sets in motion the familiar process of public scrutiny, vetting of sportsbooks, and issuance of licenses that will enable the Pine Tree State to join the current roster of 36 states that have already legal sports betting in the U.S.
However, Maine residents will likely have to wait until summer before they can start placing mobile wagers. That is the expected length of time that Milton Champion, Executive Director of the state's Gambling Control Unit (GCU), expects that his oversight group will need to take before sports betting in Maine can go live.
"I know this is a hot topic," said Champion to reporters. "I know everybody wants it out during the Super Bowl or during March Madness. But let’s face it... it’s just not going to happen."
"Basically, what is happening today is opening the door for having conversations," added Champion with reference to the posting of proposed regulations and call for public hearings to begin at the end of the month.
The state has estimated that sports betting will generate an additional $3.8 million to $6.9 million in revenue on top of the $64 million that Maine casinos and other legal gaming outlets produced in 2022.
Maine will be imposing a middle-of-the-road tax rate of 16% on mobile sportsbooks and a more modest 10% tax on retail outlets.
Baby steps in Pine Tree State
On a cautionary note, Champion reiterated remarks made in August that although the vetting and licensing process could see sportsbook licenses being issued as early as April, the regulatory timeline could extend as late as January 2024.
The GCU chief put a more optimistic spin on his remarks when he later told reporters that he would prefer to see Maine begin its rollout of online sports betting by the beginning of tourist season this summer.
This would allow the state to take advantage of the influx of millions of visitors to the state that will likely see wagering soar well above normal levels for a state with only a tiny population of 1.4 million residents.
"Maine is not a big gambling state," said Champion. "Vacationland is known more for camping, hiking, fishing, skiing, snowmobiling, etc. However, Maine’s citizens and visitors who want the option to wager on sports wagering legally should have the same dedicated regulatory staff oversight as any larger state with a full-time commission and 10 times the number of staff that we have here in Maine."
This latter statement suggested that the typically time-consuming process of vetting prospective online operators would likely take relatively longer than in other New England states such as Massachusetts, which have much larger budgets to evaluate sportsbook applicants.
Betting legislation, rules, and regulations
The state has forecast that mobile sports betting will account for 85% of wagering action in Maine. The revenue generated by sports wagering will be divided between the state's Native American tribes and tethered mobile sportsbook operators.
According to the state's betting legislation, the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Micmac tribes are each permitted to select their own sportsbook partner, which means that a total of four tethered mobile sports wagering licenses are likely to be granted later this year.
Maine’s existing casinos in the towns of Bangor and Oxford will also be entitled to apply for sports wagering licenses in addition to off-track betting parlours.
The proposed set of rules announced by the state Gambling Control Unit on Wednesday further stipulates that all customers of Maine-based sportsbook apps will be subject to geolocation verification. In addition, operators with over 100,000 users and $15 million in revenue will be required to take out cyber liability insurance.
Finally, the draft regulations explicitly outlaw all sports betting advertising that depicts celebrities, cartoon characters, alcohol or tobacco products, or gamblers under the age of 21.
Maine's sports betting legislation, officially known as LD 585, was officially signed into law by Democratic Party Gov. Janet Mills on May 2 and went into effect at the beginning of August.
With respect to which template Maine is following in regard to its rules governing online and retail sports betting, GCU director Champion said that his commission was not "reinventing the wheel" and had essentially examined those rules laid out by other states which have already legalized mobile sports wagering.
