Gambling is relatively new on the agenda for Maine. The first establishment, the Hollywood Casino Hotel and Raceway in Bangor, which comes with its own harness racing track, did not start operating until 2004, first as racino and then added table games to its roster in 2012, making it the first fully-fledged brick-and-mortar casino in the Pine Tree State.
Maine did not welcome a second casino property until the Oxford Casino Hotel in Oxford opened its doors in 2012 (now owned and operated by Churchill Downs Inc).
Unusually, the four tribes in the region have not been granted the rights to establish their own casinos with several attempts being made by the tribes, all of which have failed at the first hurdle in the courts despite some heavy lobbying by the tribes. However, they are all allowed to offer high-stakes bingo-rooms on Native American soil.
The state is also home to another harness horse racing track: Scarborough Downs in Scarborough, which has been in operation since 1950. Players can wager on racing events there and it holds simulcast meetings from events around America.
As of March 2019, there is no sportsbook betting taking place at any of the gambling establishments in Maine, but as with many other states it is on the agenda for discussion when the legislature session begins.
With their New England neighbors such as Rhode Island looking increasing likely to legitimize all forms of gambling, it could be that lawmakers in Maine will look to follow suit quite quickly on what could be a good income stream for the state.
Although every care has been taken into providing the information for this map, state law can often change and this map is how we at GamingUSA understand the gambling law in each state to be as of March 27th 2023
