Maine Will Become the Eighth iGaming State in U.S.
A bill to legalize online casino gaming in Maine became law in January 2026, continuing a trend of the Northeast being the pioneering region in the nation for such activity.
Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania already authorize iGaming, as do West Virginia and Michigan.
The state's four federally-recognized tribes that are permitted to offer gambling each will have an opportunity to bring on an operator to run their iGaming businesses.
Caesars already is a sports betting partner with the Mi'kmaq, Penobscot, and Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians tribes, while the Passamaquoddy tribe reached an agreement with another leading sportsbook.
That presumably means that they will have a leg up on its national rivals when the tribes announce their online casino deals sometime in mid-2026 – barring any successful legal challenges.
Opposition to Maine’s iGaming bill
The iGaming bill did not pass without controversy. The Maine Gambling Control Board formally opposed the decision to favor the four tribes to the exclusion of the operators of the state's two commercial casinos. Such casinos often become key players in subsequent online casino gaming legalization.
"Cutting out Oxford and Hollywood Casinos entirely from offering iGaming is ill-advised, and creates a monopoly that is harmful to consumers and the Maine workers employed by Oxford and Hollywood Casinos," the Board said in a statement. "Furthermore, removing casino games from the regulatory authority of the Gambling Control Board violates Maine law and renders the Board effectively useless."
The narrow scope of the marketplace also has led to complaints by large-scale gaming businesses such as FanDuel and Fanatics, since it appears very unlikely that all three could obtain licenses.
The relatively low 18% tax rate on iGaming revenue makes Maine an appealing state to the gaming industry.
Maine sports betting tax rate also low
The 10% tax rate on sports betting revenue in Maine is only about half of what is charged in a typical U.S. state, meaning that state lawmakers have lost out on quite a few tax dollars.
While Caesars has those three tribal partnerships, its competitor dominates the Maine mobile sportsbook industry - typically taking on more than 80% of the wagers in any given month. The two casinos have retail sportsbooks, as do several off-track horse race betting sites in the state.
Maine was relatively slow to launch sports betting, with the first legal wager coming in November 2023 - more than five years after the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2018 that paved the way for any state to offer Nevada-style gambling on all sports. The first retail sportsbook in Maine opened in November 2024.
Sports betting revenue is mild
State residents have been fairly typical in their embrace of sports betting compared to other states, with $524.4 million in betting handle in 2024 and $600 million in 2025. But four states in 2025 averaged $1 billion or more per month, as a comparison.
Maine is the 42nd most-populated state at 1.4 million residents. West Virginia, with a population of 1.8 million, took in only $482.4 million in wagers in 2025.
Gross revenue for Maine sportsbooks rose from $56.8 million in 2024 to $68.9 million the following year, meaning a combined tax dollars collection of under $13 million in 2024-2025.
Maine casinos review
The Oxford Casino, located in the southwest sector of Maine, enjoys a consistent month-by-month advantage over its rival Hollywood Casino & Raceway in the central Maine city of Bangor.
For example, in February 2026 Oxford reported $7.3 million in revenue to $5.4 million for the Bangor property. Hollywood casino revenue was up more than 15% compared to February 2025, while Oxford rose just over 5%.
Slot machines are the cash cow for both casinos, as only $1.5 million of the total revenue of $12.7 million came from table games.
Neither casino operator will be thrilled if iGaming launches sometime in 2026, but it is unknown exactly to what extent the negative impact will be on the brick-and-mortar casinos.
With two other New England states already having legalized online casino gaming, the public awareness of such an option in Maine upon launch could be higher than it would be among residents of another state without iGaming in the general region.
