Maine Declines to Give Exclusive Rights to Tribe

State Legislature Shoots Down Bill Expanding Online Betting

This week, the Maine House of Representatives narrowly voted against a bill which would have provided the state’s Wabanaki tribes in the state the exclusive right to control online gambling in Maine.

Maine’s decline of exclusive rights for the Wabanaki goes against what was approved by lawmakers in the state’s previous legislative session with pretty much all Republicans voting against the measure and nine Democrats joining to defeat the bill 74-71.

If passed, the bill would have resulted in an estimated $100 million for the Wabanaki in the next couple of years. However, much of the opposition centered around the fact that granting exclusivity to the Wabanaki would, by definition, prevent existing casino operators from getting a piece of the online gambling revenue pie.

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Sports betting online is so popular that, the bill’s critics say, brick-and-mortar casinos would suffer greatly by not being able to participate.

There are also the common refrains about how opening up online gambling to the masses in Maine would lead to worsened gambling addiction, job losses at casinos where in-person gambling could be cannibalized by online gambling, or decreases in gambling-related tax revenue for the state because of the high tax rate on in-person gambling as opposed to the proposed level for online gambling.

None of these critiques is particularly unique to Maine because opponents of online gambling legalization have made these concerns known in every game where legalization has been on the table.

Bill Was Designed to Aid Tribes

While not explicitly said by those lawmakers who voted against the bill, the specific focus on the bill on providing the exclusive online betting control rights to the Wabanaki tribe seems to be a sticking point.

Initially, the bill — L.D. 1777 — was designed to uplift Maine’s Native American tribes, which have struggled economically.

The tribes, and the legislators which represent their areas, say they not only need the money from online betting but also would reinvest those dollars into the state, not bring them out of state like a more national betting operation might.

Maine’s decline of exclusive rights for the tribes would be a huge blow as it would prevent the tribes from accessing that lucrative revenue stream. If national operators like DraftKings or FanDuel were able to get licenses for Maine, it would be incredibly difficult — actually close to impossible — for the tribes to realistically compete.

Expert picks offered on DraftKings garner a lot more attention than they do if promoted by an in-house Wabanaki betting app.

In the event that online sports betting in Maine is opened up to a license-type system as has been done in more states where it is legal, the tribes could maybe partner with a national gaming company — like a Penn National — to create a competing sportsbook.

But, without exclusivity over the marketplace, gaining a legitimate foothold is hard because the tribes don’t have the built-in cache that name brands do.

Could Hold Up Delay Rollout in Maine?

Now, the bill will go to the State Senate for review. Maine’s decline of exclusive rights for the tribes in the State House obviously doesn’t bode well for its eventual passing but there is a chance that the bill can be amended to potentially lower the amount of exclusively held by the tribes to allow for some outside involvement in the online betting market.

That seems to be the more likely path to success because it could appease the tribal leaders by granting them a large chunk of the overall market as well as existing casino operators who would at least have a chance to develop their own online sportsbooks to capture some of that revenue.

Those negotiations can be complicated, though, and the tribes still might not be able to have a large enough share of the market to offset the potential reductions in in-person gambling that could occur.

In all likelihood, though, Mainers won’t see best sports bets today in their state for awhile as all of this stuff gets sorted out in Augusta (the state capital). When money and politics and thorny issues (like how to best compensate the tribes for past legal and financial inequities), things get difficult and neither side wants to budge.

So, there is a lot of runway left before any concrete online betting systems are implemented in the Pine Tree State.

For Gambling news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.


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