Following the launching of sports-betting partnerships between the tribes in Maine and digital sports entertainment companies in November 2023, a bill to permit the tribes also to be licensed to operate Internet gaming is being considered by the legislature. A similar measure was turned down in the legislature last year.
      During a March 31 legislative hearing on LD 1164 by the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, Chief Pos Bassett of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik offered his support for "legalizing an activity that's already illegally occurring across the state of Maine." Noting that anyone can now download a number of apps on their smartphones to illegally gamble online, he stated, "Instead of the state of Maine generating tax revenue from this activity, these companies that are located offshore operate a lot like the state's casinos." Allowing the tribes to obtain a license and operate Internet gaming would provide revenue for the state and tribal governments.
      Chief Bassett pointed out that the elderly center, wastewater treatment plant and a number of homes and sacred places at Sipayik are at severe risk of flooding because of rising sea levels. The cost just to relocate the wastewater plant is over $50 million. While sports wagering "has done well" for the tribe, Internet gaming like roulette, blackjack and poker would help the tribe address infrastructure needs and also grow existing businesses.
      Passamaquoddy Chief William Nicholas of Motahkomikuk also testified in support, stating, "Like Maine's two casinos, Maine's illegal Internet gaming operators are simply siphoning money out of the state, just through different customers who play games on apps instead of casinos." Based on information from the American Gaming Association, the state may be losing $37 million in tax revenue each year from the illegal online gaming market in the state. The proposed bill would have Internet gaming operators distribute 16% of gross receipts to the state.
      The Passamaquoddy Tribe has partnered with DraftKings Inc., a digital sports entertainment company based in Boston, for its sports-betting operation, which had earned nearly $30 million for the tribe from November 2023 through December 2024, with gross wagering receipts being more than five times the gross revenue generated by Caesars Sportsbook Maine, which has partnered with the Penobscot Nation, the Houlton Band of Maliseets and the Mi'kmaq Nation.
      DraftKings offered support for gaming expansion in Maine proposed by the bill, with Matt Scalf, the government affairs manager, stating that online gaming "appeals to a different demographic than traditional casino patrons, as many persons likely to engage in online gaming are already doing so through the expansive options in the illegal market." He also cited figures from the American Gaming Association, which estimates that as much as $338 billion a year may be illegally wagered online.
      However, another sports wagering operator, Fanduel, opposed the legislation, with Michael Ventre, senior manager of state government relations, noting that the bill would mirror Maine's existing online sports betting framework that has limited the market to just two operators, DraftKings and Caesars, with DraftKings having nearly 90% of the state's market share. He said that the state's current "sports betting marketplace is suffering, and we are concerned that, unless amended, the iGaming marketplace would follow suit."
      The two casinos in the state also opposed the measure. Chris Jackson of the lobby firm Mitchell Tardy Jackson, representing Hollywood Casino, Hotel and Raceway in Bangor, stated that the bill would "constitute the largest single expansion of gaming in our state's history, without approval from the voters, and threaten facilities in Bangor and Oxford" and thus the cascade of monies that are generated by the two casinos and flow to a number of specified state programs, including the state government's general fund and a gambling addiction prevention and treatment fund. Internet gaming would take money out of the state while creating few jobs, while "likely costing jobs by taking customers away from our two commercial casinos," he said, noting that they provide thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the state.
      The Maine Medical Association (MMA) was among the groups opposing the bill because of concerns over gambling addiction. Speaking on behalf of the MMA, Patty Hymanson of York told the committee that, since Michigan legalized online casino games and sports betting in 2021, the number of calls to the gambling addiction hotline have tripled, with two-thirds of the calls from men. "My sons talk about how easy it is to have a phone with an app always around and how friends have been compelled to use the app too much. My son said, 'There are so many things that are bad in excess. Gambling is one of them.'"
      Milton Champion, executive director of the Gambling Control Unit with the Maine Department of Public Safety, also testified against the measure and expressed concern about the possible harm to problem gamblers. However, Steve Silver, chair of the Maine Gambling Control Board, while opposing the bill, said the state should consider legalizing Internet gaming. But he felt any qualified operator should be able to obtain an iGaming license. "Cutting out Oxford and Hollywood casinos entirely from offering iGaming is ill-advised in my opinion and creates a monopoly that is harmful to consumers and Maine workers employed by Oxford and Hollywood casinos."
      The committee held a work session on the bill on April 7 as it considers whether to expand gaming options for the four tribes in Maine.