Maine iGaming rules face fourth publication if major changes made

Maine's Gambling Control Unit (MGCU) is accepting comments until 30 October on the third publication of its proposed iGaming rules, which was released on 30 September. Executive director Milt Champion told a Tuesday meeting that the agency would issue a fourth publication if it accepts any major substantive changes to the draft.

Champion said that without major substantive changes the process would continue. Under Maine's rulemaking law, a fourth publication would open a new comment period, after which the MGCU would have up to 120 days to adopt the rules and the Office of the Attorney General up to 150 days from the close of comments to approve them for legality. The sequence could delay launch beyond the first quarter of 2027. Champion did not give a specific timeline at the meeting.

According to Champion, the MGCU has secured approval for a fresh licensing database and portal. Through it, people seeking licences can submit applications and make payments over the internet, while the system takes care of much of the operational work, from approvals to invoicing. Those holding licences are able to set up logins and get alerts about such activity. Champion described the tool as "a great addition to our regulatory oversight".

Six new employees focused on iGaming oversight are being brought on by the regulator. Champion drew a parallel between this rulemaking and the state's sports wagering rollout in 2022 and 2023, remarking that the pace had matched that period and even exceeded it, since iGaming is a new product.

LD 1164 became law in January after Governor Janet Mills declined to veto it, despite a letter from the state's gaming regulators urging her to do so. The law gives Maine's four federally recognised Wabanaki tribes exclusive rights to run online casinos, mirroring the structure used for online sports betting in the state. In that sports betting market, Caesars partners with three of the tribes, and the Passamaquoddy Tribe works with DraftKings.

Several provisions were altered between the July version and the September draft. With the director's approval, live dealer studios are now permitted to run outside Maine, and backend systems are no longer required to sit in the state, though live dealer wagers must still be accepted and stored on a primary server located in Maine. Patches and security fixes, among other routine game updates, will no longer need separate approval.

Under the revised rules, marketing directed at people under 21 is curtailed, and ads have to show the beneficiary tribe's name and logo at the same font size as that of its operator partner. A third party will run a real-time automated system for self-exclusion. As for the money terms, they stayed the same as in the earlier draft: an 18% tax on adjusted gross iGaming receipts, a $50,000 operator licence fee and a $500,000 bond still apply to operators.

As the report notes, Maine is set to launch an online casino market, making it the eighth US state to do so.