Maine Sports Betting Will Not Be Legalized Until 2021

Conversations on the legalization of Maine sports wagering will have to be postponed until Jan 2022, at the earliest. The Maine Legislature adjourned its 2021 parliamentary session this week without acting on a sports wagering measure passed in the House, LD 1352, which would have allowed statewide in-person and internet sports gambling. The state’s upcoming election cycle will begin on the 5th of  January, 2022.

Maine Sports Betting in 2021 prohibited

The new framework requires internet sports gambling providers to be affiliated with one of Maine’s two casinos, one racetrack, five off-track wagering facilities, or one of the state’s 4 Native American tribes. Louis Luchini, the representative, originally drafted the measure without a tagging provision, which became a contentious element of the gambling proposal.

In June, both the Legislature enacted LD 554, which would permit Maine’s 4 Native American tribes to provide betting on their territories.

The sports gambling law had an unusual route via the Maine House. After an alternative requiring internet sports gambling license holders to be connected to established Maine casinos was adopted, Luchini attempted to kill his own bill in the Senate.

Multitasking for Maine Internet Sports Gambling?

His initial draught of the bill suggested a Maine sports gambling plan that would allow the state to issue an unlimited number of internet sports gambling licenses that would not be tied to or associated with a physical location.

Luchini said that tethering is an anti-competitive and anti-free market practice during a Senate committee in June and would eventually limit customer choice for his people.

Luchini said that the final effect is less customer choice for the consumers and greater operating expenses for our platforms. That expense will not be borne by the online platforms; rather, it will be passed on to the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Mainers who wish to gamble on the online applications. This will be reflected in lower payouts and odds.

Sports gambling is being legalized in New England states

Maine may become the 4th New England state to allow sports wagering if negotiations resume in 2022. In May 2018,  The first state to allow sports betting was Rhode Island, and the next one was New Hampshire in July 2019.