Since online sports betting was launched in Maine on 3 November 2023, the state’s gambling regulator Maine’s Gambling Control Unit reports that a total of almost $14 million of bets has been placed in the jurisdiction. As reported by Maine Public, the launch of two mobile sports betting apps has made the state bettors place more than $1 million in daily wagers on popular sports.
$14 Million Wagered in 13 Days:
According to the source, the bettors use the apps to follow the nationwide trend and extensively wager on athletics during the season lacking some major football or basketball events. However, the Maine’s Gambling Control Unit announced that the total handle in the state has reached the level of $14 million already by 15 November 2023 to testify about the enviable daily handle of the mobile sports betting market. Indeed, the wagers placed over 13 days reached the $14 million figure to stand for more than $1 million of daily wagers.
$279,000 in Tax Revenues
The regulator reportedly informed that the lively betting activity has brought almost $279,000 in revenues to the state of Maine over the given period. The state law imposes a 10% tax on the adjusted gross gaming revenues, which means that gambling operators pay the gambling tax upon deduction of payouts to players and payments of federal fees.
Milton Champion, the executive director of the Gambling Control Unit, reportedly expects sports betting activities to generate between $4 million and $7 million in tax revenues in 2024. Based on the revenue figures reached in the first two weeks of legal sports betting in the state, Champion reportedly expects that the market will more likely hit the upper end of the range.
As reported by Maine Public, he said: “I think it’s going well. I like to feel that we’ve opened during a soft time, a soft period . . . So I’m anxious to see how we do over the Super Bowl and March Madness. And like I said, I’m even more anxious to see how we do over the summer months when we have our visitors from out of state. So it’s going to be interesting to track, for sure.”
In-Person Betting To Follow:
The state of Maine followed a majority of states to allow sports gambling after the US Supreme Court provide a legal frame for such actions in 2018. The state of Maine has four Native American communities exclusively allowed to offer sports wagering through partnership with DraftKings and Caesars Sportsbook. These four Wabanaki tribes offer mobile sports wagering through apps of the two operators, with the latest launch to be followed by in-person betting at licensed off-track casinos, according to Maine Public.
The same source reports that one should be 21 or older to be allowed to gamble in the state. Also, betting is banned from high school sports and other events including participants under the age of 18, as well as college sports featuring Maine teams, according to the source. The total gambling handle is subject to the aforementioned 10% tax regime, which allocates 6.5% of gambling tax revenues to the state’s General Fund and 1% for administrative costs within the Gambling Control Unit. As reported, another 1% is used for problem gambling programs while the remaining 1.5% is shared by the State Harness Racing Commission, the Sire Stakes Fund, and the Agricultural Fair Promotion Fund.