Bear in mind Maine Sports activities Betting? Proposed Guidelines Set For Launch

The seemingly dormant course of to launch Maine sports activities betting is ready to take a big step ahead this week.

The Maine Playing Management Unit announced Monday it should launch the proposed guidelines for ME sports activities betting Wednesday. Playing Management Unit Government Director Milton Champion may even make a public assertion Wednesday.

The regulatory company may even publish a discover of a public listening to on the foundations, scheduled for Jan. 31. After Gov. Janet Mills signed the laws into legislation in Might 2022, Champion instructed LSR a sports activities betting launch could possibly be someday in 2023 or early 2024.

Fairly a slog for Maine sports activities betting

In July 2022, Champion stated he was engaged on the foundations and taking “introductory” conferences with trade stakeholders. The Maine sports activities betting legislation went into impact August 2, 2022.

The mid-January 2023 launch for the foundations is just not far off from Champion’s authentic end-of-2022 prediction. Slightly than rush to launch, Champion hoped to roll out guidelines with out a lot to vary.

“I hate to be disappointing to individuals, however I’d moderately be reasonable after which roll them out in six to eight months and have individuals comfortable as a result of we did it so fast,” he stated in July 2022.

Many of the guidelines will likely be acquainted to operators and different trade stakeholders, Champion stated. The 4 federally acknowledged tribes in Maine will facilitate on-line sports activities betting, by both working their very own platform or partnering with a B2C platform like DraftKings and FanDuel.

Lenghty course of in Maine

Mills’s signature final spring got here following a number of years of legalization efforts within the Pine Tree State. Final 12 months’s profitable effort got here possible as a result of it was half of a bigger tribal sovereignty deal.

The 2022 laws was not the primary time Maine lawmakers handed a sports activities wagering invoice. The legislature authorized an effort in 2019 solely to see it vetoed by Mills.

The legislature additionally agreed to a deal in 2021 for a tethered system connected to casinos and race tracks, however was left on the Appropriations Desk, a committee that opinions payments that make or value the state cash.