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Maine will launch sports betting on Friday (November 3) after the final adoption of its regulations earlier this week, with DraftKings set to occupy the last remaining mobile wagering skin in the state.
The state’s Gambling Control Unit announced that its sports-betting rules have been formally adopted, and wagering will go live Friday (November 3) at 9am EST.
Licensed operators and suppliers were permitted to begin pre-launch advertising, as well as accept new registrations and deposits as of Wednesday.
The state’s sports-betting legislation, which was enacted in May 2022, allows each of the state’s four federally-recognized Indian tribes to be licensed to offer mobile sports betting.
In addition, casinos, as well as some state-licensed racetracks and off-track betting parlors, are permitted to offer on-site retail betting.
Three of the tribes announced partnerships with Caesars Sportsbook to utilize their online sports-betting skin in May, but the fourth tribe, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, had been silent to date on its sports-betting plans.
However, on Tuesday, DraftKings announced it had reached an agreement subject to licensing and regulatory approval to partner with the tribe.
“Building a relationship with the Passamaquoddy Tribe is a fantastic opportunity for DraftKings, as we look to bring customers in the state of Maine safe and legal sports betting,” said Jason Robins, DraftKings CEO.
“We look forward to our continued collaboration with the Maine Gambling Control Unit as we become the official mobile sports-betting provider of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and launch in our industry-leading 25th state.”
The company also announced it would donate $100,000 to the Lewiston-Auburn Area Response Fund to support those affected by the mass shooting that killed 18 people and wounded 13 others at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine, on October 25.
Maine’s sports-betting journey is one that began in 2019, when legislators passed a bill that would have allowed the aforementioned entities to be licensed as well as given opportunities for online operators to receive untethered licenses, which, at the time, would have been a rarity in the U.S. market.
But Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, vetoed the bill in January 2020, expressing skepticism about the potential revenues and concern about the advertising that would accompany legalized betting.
Mills also infamously added that although legalized sports betting would add revenue to the state, “the same economic premise in theory would justify legalizing all forms of gambling — betting on the weather, spelling bees, and school board elections for instance.”
The legislature attempted to override Mills’s veto, but the effort failed in the House, and sports-betting legislation was effectively put on ice for two years until Mills agreed to grant exclusive mobile sports-betting rights to the state’s four Indian tribes as part of a larger package that centered on tribal sovereignty.
The state’s four tribes are the Aroostook Band of Micmac Indians, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and the Penobscot Nation.
