| Sports (online) | Live | Nov 3, 2023 | Monopoly Tribal | Mobile sports wagering is exclusively reserved for Maine's 4 federally recognized tribes (Penobscot Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Mi'kmaq Nation); each may hold only 1 mobile license and may contract with 1 management-services provider (e.g. a national sportsbook brand) to operate it. $200,000 fee pre-9/1/2024, $50,000 after; 4-year terms pre-9/1/2024, 1-year after. Went live online Nov. 3, 2023. 8 M.R.S. §1207 [1],[2] |
| Sports (retail) | Live | Legalized May 2, 2022 | Competitive | Up to 10 facility sports wagering licenses (§1206) available to commercial tracks (outside Bangor), licensed casinos, and off-track betting facilities; $4,000 fee pre-9/1/2024, $1,000 after; 4-year terms pre-9/1/2024, 1-year after. 8 M.R.S. ch. 35 (§§1201-1219) [3],[2] |
| Online casino | Legal, not launched | Legalized Jan 11, 2026 | Monopoly Tribal | LD 1164 became law without Governor Mills' signature on Jan. 11, 2026, creating a tribal-exclusive online casino ("Internet gaming") regime: only a federally recognized tribe physically located in Maine may hold an Internet gaming license (1 per tribe, $50,000 fee, 1-year term); min age 21; taxed at 18% of adjusted gross Internet gaming receipts. Covers blackjack, poker, craps, roulette, baccarat and similar approved games via app/platform; excludes slots/table games at casinos, pari-mutuel, fantasy contests, sports wagering, and ADW. As of Oct. 2026, no operator has launched: the Gambling Control Unit's implementing rules (Chapters 70-84, covering licensing, house rules, internal controls, cybersecurity, geolocation, RG, and advertising) remain in rulemaking, with comment periods closing June 5, July 27, and (a third round) Oct. 30, 2026, and no chapters yet listed as adopted. Churchill Downs' Oxford Casino sued the Gambling Control Unit's executive director in the U.S. District Court for Maine on Jan. 23, 2026, calling the tribal-exclusive licensing scheme an unconstitutional "race-based monopoly" under equal-protection and Commerce Clause theories; all 4 Wabanaki tribes intervened, and the suit's outcome was unresolved as of the research conducted. Commercially, Caesars Entertainment announced June 24, 2026 that it is expanding its existing Wabanaki sports-wagering partnership to cover online casino gaming, bringing 3 brands (Caesars Palace Online Casino, Caesars Sportsbook & Casino, Horseshoe Online Casino) pending regulatory approval; DraftKings is separately partnered with the Passamaquoddy Tribe. One low-confidence industry blog (DeucesCracked) claims specific operators already went live Mar.-May 2026, but this conflicts with the open rulemaking status and more credible reporting framing 2026 as a target, not a confirmed launch, so it is not relied on here and the vertical is kept at legal_prelaunch rather than operational. 8 M.R.S. ch. 39 (§§1401-1417), enacted by PL 2025, c.538 [4],[5],[6],[7],[8],[9],[10] |
| Online poker | Legal, not launched | Legalized Jan 11, 2026 | Monopoly Tribal | Poker is listed among the games approved under the Chapter 39 tribal Internet gaming framework (same authorization as igaming); no separate standalone online-poker statute.[5] |
| Commercial casinos | Live | Jun 1, 2012 | Competitive | 2 licensed facilities - Hollywood Casino Bangor (slots authorized by 2003 referendum, opened 2005 as a slots-only "racino"; table games added after a 2011 law change) and Oxford Casino (approved by 2010 statewide referendum, opened 2012). Combined 2022 net gaming revenue reported at ~$165M. 8 M.R.S. ch. 31 (§§1001-1073) [11],[12] |
| Tribal casinos | Not authorized | | | Maine's 4 federally recognized tribes have no independent Class III casino gaming rights. The Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 subjects tribal lands to state law and excludes the tribes from IGRA, unlike tribes in other states; any gaming rights (sports wagering, and now Internet gaming) have had to be separately granted by the Legislature.[11] |
| Lottery | Live | Jan 1, 1974 | Monopoly State | Established in 1974 following voter referendum approval; offers scratch tickets, in-state draw games, "Fast Play" terminal instants (Tri-State compact), and multi-state games (Powerball, Mega Millions). Title 8, ch. 15 (Maine Lottery) [13] |
| iLottery | Not authorized | | | The Maine Lottery does not sell tickets or e-instants directly over the internet. Residents can buy Maine draw-game tickets online only through third-party couriers (Jackpocket, Lotto.com) rather than a state-run online-sales channel; the Lottery's own website/app is used mainly for results and retailer lookup, not direct ticket purchase.[14],[15] |
| Daily fantasy | Live | | Competitive | Fantasy contests are treated as a distinct, lawful category separate from both "sports wagering" (8 M.R.S. §1202) and the new tribal "Internet gaming" chapter, which explicitly excludes "fantasy contests" from its definition of Internet gaming (8 M.R.S. §1402(5)). The specific chapter establishing fantasy-contest registration/consumer-protection requirements was not independently located this session; DraftKings and FanDuel DFS products operate in Maine.[5] |
| VGTs / VLTs | Not authorized | | | Slot machines are authorized only at the 2 licensed casino/commercial-track premises (8 M.R.S. §1035); no freestanding VGT-in-bars program exists.[3] |
| Historical horse racing | Not authorized | | | No HHR statute identified among the Title 8 chapter 31 sections (slot/table games) reviewed this session.[16] |
| Sweepstakes casinos | Prohibited | Legalized Jul 29, 2026 | | LD 2007 ("An Act Regarding the Prohibition of Online Sweepstakes Games"), introduced by Sen. Craig Hickman, passed the Legislature Mar. 26, 2026 and was signed by Gov. Mills on Mon., Apr. 6, 2026, making Maine the 2nd state (after Indiana) to ban dual-currency sweepstakes casinos by name in 2026. The law defines a prohibited "online sweepstakes game" (8 M.R.S. §1351(6)) as an internet-based dual-currency game simulating casino-style play (slots, poker, lottery-style games, bingo, sports wagering); violations draw civil fines of $10,000-$100,000 per violation to the Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund, with mandatory license revocation/ineligibility for Maine Gambling Control Board licensees found in violation. Became effective July 29, 2026 per the Gambling Control Unit's own advisory (confirmed primary source; supersedes earlier secondary-source estimates of "early/mid-July"), now codified at 8 M.R.S. ch. 38. An estimated 50-60 sweepstakes operators were reportedly serving Maine players when the bill was signed. Companion bill LD 2080 separately bans credit-card funding for all online gambling in Maine.[17],[18],[19] |
| Prediction markets | Not authorized | | | Corrected from "unknown" to "not_authorized" per the national prediction-markets rule: no Maine AG action, statute, or litigation regarding CFTC-registered event-contract platforms (Kalshi, Polymarket) identified this session, despite a multi-state 2025-2026 wave of such actions elsewhere (MA, NY, NV, NJ, OH, and others). Contracts are available to Maine residents statewide under claimed CFTC/federal preemption, with no Maine regulator, AG, or court action against them as of this file's as_of date. Maine sits in the 1st Circuit (which also covers MA, NH, RI); no 1st Circuit ruling on prediction-market preemption has been identified, so no binding circuit precedent applies here. The 3rd Cir. ruling for Kalshi on preemption (NJ, decided 2026-04-06) and the 6th Cir. ruling against Kalshi (KalshiEX v. Orgel/Schuler, decided 2026-09-25) do not bind Maine. |
| Skill games | Not authorized | | | Section 1841 bars licensing a "machine or slot machine" for operation except a licensed "electronic video machine," and separately prohibits any game of skill incorporating a mechanical or physical device that impedes the player's skill, or any game where the operator controls the outcome; Maine's crane/claw-machine rules (16-222 CMR ch. 8) similarly deem a device a prohibited game of chance if it fails to meet listed skill-verification criteria. Consistent with this framework, an August 2026 Gardiner, Maine enforcement inquiry into a cash-accepting "skill" machine dispensing collectible cards found that licensed nonprofit organizations may legally operate such machines but for-profit businesses may not; no charges had been filed as of reporting. No statewide "skill game"/grey-machine terminal program for for-profit operators (of the Pennsylvania/Georgia type) exists in Maine. 17 M.R.S. §1841 (Prohibited Acts) [20],[21] |
| Card rooms | Not authorized | | | No stand-alone card-room/poker-room licensing category outside the 2 licensed casinos; general unauthorized-gambling provisions of 17-A M.R.S. ch. 39 apply.[22] |
| Lottery couriers | Not authorized | | | No Maine statute, regulation, or AG opinion specifically licenses or prohibits third-party lottery couriers; a 2025 industry regulatory review places Maine among the ~17 states (plus DC) where couriers operate unregulated rather than among the few states (NJ, NY, and by 2025 AR, CO, OR) that expressly license them. Despite the lack of a Maine-specific legal basis, couriers operate openly and visibly: Lotto.com announced in July 2025 that it had gone live in Maine (its 11th state) with its full suite of Maine draw games, and Jackpocket also lists Maine as a state where it fulfills ticket orders (e.g., for Tri-State Gimme 5/Megabucks) via a licensed in-state retailer.[23],[14],[24] |
| Pick'em fantasy | Prohibited | | | The MGCU found player-vs-house "pick'em" contests fall outside Maine's fantasy-contest framework, which requires wagers against other contestants (not the operator) and bars a winning outcome keyed to a single real team's score/performance. In an order dated Oct. 20, 2023, the MGCU fined Underdog Fantasy $391,850 (50 dollars x 7,837 Maine participants since Jan. 2021) and ordered it to stop offering pick'em contests in the state; Underdog had argued its products were "flexible fantasy contests" and said it would seek an adjudicatory hearing (outcome not confirmed this session). In April 2024 the MGCU reported that 5 DFS operators - Underdog, Data Force, Bidventures, Boom Shakalaka, and Sportshub - no longer held Maine licenses after failing to renew. Peer-to-peer fantasy products (DraftKings, FanDuel, and PrizePicks' peer-to-peer "Arena" format) continue to operate under the `dfs` vertical.[25],[26] |
| Pari-mutuel | Live | | Competitive | Harness racing is live at 2 commercial tracks (Hollywood Casino Hotel & Raceway in Bangor, and First Tracks Cumberland at the Cumberland Fairgrounds) plus short meets (up to 8 days) at 6 agricultural fairs, July-Oct. Off-track betting parlors operate in Lewiston, Sanford, and Waterville. 8 M.R.S. ch. 11, ch. 13 (repealed/superseded by current racing law) [11] |
| Advance deposit wagering | Live | | Competitive | Advance deposit wagering is licensed under §1073 (the prior competitive-bid licensing path in §1071 was repealed); overseen by the Gambling Control Unit. 8 M.R.S. §1073 [16],[11] |
| Charitable gaming | Live | | Monopoly State | Eligible nonprofit/community organizations may run bingo (prizes capped at $400 per §317, unless conducted under the separate high-stakes bingo program in §314-A, which allows unlimited prize values and is available to the 4 federally recognized tribes), raffles (prize values up to $75,000 under §1837), and card games (reported $1/hand maximum bet). 17 M.R.S. §317 (bingo); 17 M.R.S. §1837 (raffles/games of chance); 17 M.R.S. §314-A (high-stakes bingo) [11] |
| Esports betting | Live | | Competitive | Esports is an approved wager category under the MGCU-approved operator catalogs: the DraftKings Sportsbook Maine Wagering Catalog (as of 03.19.26) lists "19. eSports" with specific approved leagues/events (Call of Duty League, CS:GO incl. BLAST Premier/ESL/ DreamHack/IEM, League of Legends incl. LCK/LCS/LEC/Worlds, Dota 2, NBA 2K League, Overwatch League, Rainbow Six, Valorant). 8 M.R.S. §1202 does not itself define "esports," but sports wagering is permitted on any event approved through the operator-catalog process under Gambling Control Unit sports-wagering rulemaking (Ch. 51 "universal list"), and esports events have been approved via that mechanism.[27] |
| Social casino | Live | | | Free-to-play, no-cash-prize social casino apps fall outside Maine's gambling/wager definitions and are unregulated.[5] |