Is sports betting legal in Maine?

Who holds the licenses

Maine's sports betting law is Chapter 35 of Title 8, and section 1201 makes sports wagering lawful when it's done under that chapter. It came in with Public Law 2021, chapter 681, which the Legislature's record shows the Governor signed on 2 May 2022. The regulator is the Gambling Control Unit in the Department of Public Safety.

What stands out in Maine is who gets the phone apps. Under section 1207, only a federally recognized Indian tribe in Maine can hold a mobile sports wagering license, one per tribe, and it can't be sold on except to a Maine business the tribe wholly owns. So every legal app in the state runs through a tribe and its partner.

In person, section 1206 allows up to ten facility licenses, for the casinos, a commercial track outside Bangor, and the off-track betting sites, and the bet has to be placed at a physical location the licensee controls.

I can't give you the day the first bet went in. The Gambling Control Unit's site wouldn't load for me today, and the statute doesn't say, so I've left the date out rather than guess it.

The rules that matter to you

The age is 21. Section 1213 bars books from taking a wager from anyone who hasn't reached it.

The college rule is the one I'd read closely. Under section 1202, high school games and youth events are off the board, and so is any college game in which a Maine college team plays, wherever it's held. If a Maine team is in a tournament, the other games in that tournament can still be bet. Section 1214 also stops books from offering bets on injuries, penalties, disciplinary rulings and replay reviews for leagues based in the United States. I like that one. Those are the bets where somebody inside always knows more than the book.

Winnings are fully taxable on your federal return.

Where the offshore books fit

Offshore books take players from Maine, but none of them holds a Maine license, so the Gambling Control Unit can't make one pay you or settle a dispute. A licensed book is one the state can hold to account. Our offshore sportsbooks section explains how those books work, and the VPN question covers why hiding your location goes wrong at payout time.

If betting has stopped being fun, call 1-800-GAMBLER, and our responsible gambling page has more.

*Checked against the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 8, Chapter 35 on 28 October 2026. Laws change; this page is re-checked every quarter. This is not legal advice.*