The Maine House of Representatives on Thursday passed a long-debated proposal to allow tribes to have a new online gaming market after a 2022 law gave them control of mobile sports betting, but Gov. Janet Mills may wield her veto pen to block it.
The “iGaming” bill from Rep. Ambureen Rana, D-Bangor, needs more votes in each chamber and may need at least two-thirds support to override a potential veto from Mills, a Democrat whose administration and top gambling regulator opposed the measure at a hearing this year.
Mills has stood in the way of tribes and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle over the years who have sought expanded tribal sovereignty by overhauling a 1980 settlement that allows Maine to govern them like cities and towns. Mills allowed the 2022 sports betting compromise after two years of negotiations and amid pressure to collaborate with the Wabanaki Nations.
Lobbyists working for the Churchill Downs-owned Oxford Casino in western Maine and Penn Entertainment-owned Hollywood Casino Bangor have been involved in the debates over internet gaming that seven states have legalized. National sports betting operators have not seen eye to eye on it. FanDuel testified against Rana’s measure while being shut out of Maine’s sports betting market dominated by DraftKings in partnership with the Passamaquoddy Tribe.
The House voted 85-59 on Thursday to pass Rana’s proposal, with most Democrats supporting it and most Republicans opposing it. The amended plan would direct 18 percent of internet gaming revenue to different areas, such as gambling addiction treatment, dairy farms, emergency housing relief, veteran homes and school renovations. The state is projected to raise $1.8 million in 2026 and $3.6 million in 2027 through internet gaming.
The two non-voting tribal representatives, Aaron Dana of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Brian Reynolds of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, backed Rana’s internet gaming bill. A 2022 Harvard University study found the Wabanaki Nations have underperformed economically compared to tribes in other parts of the country.
Similar internet gaming bills in the past have stalled, and debates on the issue have grown testy while exposing disagreements among members of the same party. That was evident Thursday, when Reps. Mark Blier and Nathan Carlow, both Republicans from Buxton, stood up to make competing arguments. Carlow cast internet gaming as “way more addictive” than casino gaming and argued it “preys on our poorest and most vulnerable people.”
Blier acknowledged some tax revenue from internet gaming may flow out of state but said the Wabanaki Nations are “spending their resources right here in our state.”
“I hate gambling, but it’s here,” Blier said. “Let’s give them the opportunity. Let’s help our neighbors.”
