Last Friday Gov. Janel Mills vetoed proposed legislation that would have seen sports betting legalized in Maine and seen Maine join 12 other states that have approved both land-based and online gambling on sporting events.
The Bill would have prohibited betting on youth sport, including high school athletics, but would have left the door open to a number of amateur and semi-pro sporting events.
The sports betting bill was sponsored by Sen. Louis Luchini, D-Ellsworth who was disappointed by Mills’ veto. He revealed that Mills called to inform him of her decision a little while before publicly releasing her two-page veto message. It would also have given almost every entity with an interest in gambling a slice of the revenue and would allow casino operators, off-track betting parlors, harness racing tracks and Native American tribes in Main to host sports betting operations.
Luchini commented that he is willing to keep working on it to make it a more acceptable measure for anyone who has issues with it.
According to Mills’ veto message, she believes that they need to examine the issue more clearly; better understand the evolving experiences of other states; and thoughtfully determine the best approach for Maine.
Main’s casino operators in Oxford and Bangor supported the measure which would have allowed them to take sports bets at their facilities, saying that sports betting was just one more activity that could help draw customers to their businesses and keep them competitive with casinos in the states that allow it.