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Is online gambling legal in Maine? Everything to know before the official launch

While Maine online casinos have been legalized, licensed operators have yet to launch. Here's everything we know so far about the industry.

ByGrant Lucas·Updated: Oct 23, 2026 3:28PM ET·5 min read

In early 2027, lawmakers helped Maine become the eighth state to legalize online casinos. While licensed operators have yet to go live or even be announced by state regulators, we have a pretty clear view of what the online gambling landscape will look like. Already featuring legal sports betting, Maine expects to welcome legal online casinos by early 2027.

Gambling, including online gambling, is nothing new to Maine at this point. In November 2023, the state launched retail and online sports betting. Thanks to tribal gaming partnerships with four Wabanaki Nations tribes, DraftKings Sportsbook and Caesars Sportsbook went live with sports betting in Maine.

The state also features two land-based, retail casinos: Hollywood Casino in Bangor and Oxford Casino, in addition to pari-mutuel horse betting and the Maine Lottery, which offers scratch-offs and draw games like the Powerball and Mega Millions.

With all of that already in place, Gov. Janet Mills allowed LD 1164 to become law, and online casinos were legalized in the state, overseen by the Maine Gambling Control Unit, to further expand the gambling landscape.

As noted, just a few days into 2026, Mills had LD 1164 land on her desk, a bill that was passed by lawmakers to allow legal online casinos in the US to lay roots in Maine. Mills didn't sign the bill but allowed it to pass into law and open the door to online casino gambling in the state.

As detailed in the law, Maine carves out four licenses for platforms that have a tribal gaming partnership with one of the Wabanaki Nations tribes. That effectively creates a tribal-exclusive licensing model as Maine becomes the eighth state to authorize regulated iGaming.

However, while green-lit, online casinos have yet to receive licenses or launch in the state just yet. As detailed in our Maine online casino guide, the expectation is that platforms could go live by early 2027.

There are a few things that still need to occur before Maine online casinos can launch. Among them is the Maine Gambling Control Unit (MGCU) establishing rules and regulations for online gambling operators. The MGCU has already published three drafts of potential regulations, with a fourth draft hinging on a public comment period that has a deadline of Oct. 30.

Once that timeline passes, the MGCU has up to 120 days to adopt the rules, while the Attorney General's Office has up to 150 days from that date to complete its legality review.

Beyond that, regulators will need to review and approve applications from interested and qualified brands that look to roll out their online casino platforms.

There's another hurdle that stands in the way in the form of a lawsuit. Churchill Downs Inc., which operates Oxford Casino, contends that the tribal-exclusivity model unlawfully excludes Maine's two retail casinos. While that could delay a potential early 2027 launch of Maine online casinos, a court ruling is not necessarily required before they can go live.

As detailed under state law, users must be a minimum age of 21 years old to register an account with licensed online casinos in Maine. 

That standard is on par with the age requirement for customers visiting land-based casinos in the state as well as for legal sports betting.

Licensed online casinos will verify customers' age and eligibility to play casino games online during the sign-up process, requiring users to submit their full name, address, birth date and Social Security number when they create an account.

As of now, there are no legal online casinos currently live in Maine. If residents see a platform offering casino gambling online, those are unregulated sites that are not recommended workarounds.

When legal online casinos do launch, they will be overseen and regulated by the MGCU. Those operators earn licenses after proving they have security measures in place to protect consumers' personal and financial information, establishing themselves as safe online casinos that can be trusted.

Unlicensed sites also don't offer the same responsible gambling measures that are required to be featured at legal online casinos. That includes tools such as setting limits on how much money can be deposited, bet or lost over a certain period of time, among others.

Maine currently features legal online sports betting via Caesars and DraftKings sportsbooks. While the state has legalized online casinos, brands have yet to receive licenses and go live just yet.

Yes. Legal sports betting launched in Maine in November 2023, with Caesars Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook taking advantage of tribal gaming partnerships with the Wabanaki Nations.

Regulators are still reviewing and finalizing the rules for legal online casino gaming in Maine but expect licensed operators to launch by early 2027.

Customers will need to be at least 21 years old and otherwise eligible to create an account with licensed online casinos in Maine.

Those who are interested in seeking support for responsible gaming or problem gambling can contact the Problem Gambling Help Network by calling or texting 1-800-MY-RESET. Maine also has state-specific resources that can help treat gambling addiction:

Written by Grant Lucas

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