Maine’s Sports Betting Market Will Most Likely Take Until 2024 to Launch
Gov. Janet Mills has signed sports betting into law, but residents won’t be able to place wagers anytime soon. According to a news outlet, the sports betting market will most likely not launch until 2024.
Drafting the Rules and Regulations May Take Some Time
Drafting the rules and regulations cannot start right away, but the Maine Gambling Control Unit executive director stated that he could not wait to work on it. Milton Champion noted that the rule-making process could take until 2024.
The Maine legislative session ended on April 25th, so the process can begin 90 days later. The biggest roadblock is the amount of time it takes to draft the important details.
Drafting the rules and regulations for the Pine Tree State’s sports betting market could take eight months to a year-and-a-half. The state must hire multiple employees to supervise the process before it could be signed into law.
It is slower than the preparations many other jurisdictions made for their launch. Some markets launched in less than a year, while other markets took six to eight months. Champion stated that other jurisdictions encountered problems during this process, and he hopes Maine will avoid them as well. He added;
“I’m the executive director. I’m not going to do anything to embarrass myself, I need to look into a lot of things, from acquisitions to violations. Shouldn’t I be looking at this industry a little longer than just willy nilly, Here’s the rules and application, go for it.'”
How is Maine’s Sports Betting Market Structured
Gov. Janet Mills signed the sports betting into law without hesitation. She stated;
“This law provides meaningful economic opportunities for the Wabanaki Nations. It incentivizes investment in Tribal communities, and it formalizes a collaboration process on policy that sets the foundation for a stronger relationship in the future.”
Most of the legal sports betting market will be controlled by the tribes, as the number is estimated to be 85 percent. Mobile sports betting will be how the majority of the operation will be conducted once the market launches.
In addition to tax relief and consultation rights with the state, the legislation provides concessions to the tribes. Representatives of Penn National Gaming led the charge to push for changes from the original bill. The original sports betting bill didn’t allow gaming facilities to have retail sportsbook locations once the market launched.
Sports Betting is Finally on its Way to Maine
The state has been unsuccessful in its last three attempts. Champion hopes that his estimates of when the market will launch are wrong. He hopes the market will be able to take bets by Super Bowl LVII, which takes place in 2023.
Maine also approved LD 1352 last year, which was sponsored by Senator Louis Luchini. However, the bill was never signed into law because he asked legislators to vote his bill down. The hope is that Maine doesn’t run into any big issues moving forward, as Maine’s neighboring states offer some sort of sports betting.
