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 also make a public assertion Wednesday.
The regulatory company may also publish a discover of a public listening to on the foundations, scheduled for Jan. 31. After Gov. Janet Mills signed the laws into regulation in Might 2022, Champion informed 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 mentioned he was engaged on the foundations and taking “introductory” conferences with trade stakeholders. The Maine sports activities betting regulation 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 alter.
“I hate to be disappointing to folks, however I’d relatively be practical after which roll them out in six to eight months and have folks comfortable as a result of we did it so fast,” he mentioned in July 2022.
Many of the guidelines shall be acquainted to operators and different trade stakeholders, Champion mentioned. 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 yr’s profitable effort got here doubtless 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 accepted 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 price the state cash.