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Maine sweepstakes casino ban bill moves closer to enactment
Legislation banning the operation of websites offering casino-style games based on sweepstakes has been approved by a Maine legislative committee.
The Maine Senate's Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs has advanced a bill that could make online casino gaming that relies on dual-currency sweepstakes explicitly illegal to operate or promote in the state. Although it is a preliminary vote, the legislation could ensure that forthcoming licensed iGaming platforms have less competition for Maine residents' attention in the future.
Maine LD 2007 gets strong vote of confidence from committee
The Maine Senate Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs held a hearing on LD 2007 on Feb. 18 and the 10 present members voted 8-2 to report the bill out favorably. Maine Sen. Craig Hickman prefiled the legislation in December 2025.
The text of the bill, which remained unaltered by the committee, targets websites that offer casino-style games with real money payouts possible by virtue of a dual-currency sweepstakes model. Violations of the potential statute include fines of $10,000 and $100,000.
Illegal actions, should LD 2007 become law, would include running a website that offers casino games online using the dual-currency model to remit payouts to players and selling digital currency packages in connection with such websites. People convicted of promoting the sites could face penalties as well.
The Maine Gaming Control Unit issued an advisory to residents about the unlicensed status of such sites in June 2025. LD 2007 would give law enforcement in the state more leverage to prosecute associated individuals, though.
LD 2007 could also boost the confidence of operators of the top regulated Visa casinos in regulated markets to make the investment necessary to expand their businesses into Maine. Opportunities should arise for them in the state in the near future.
LD 2007 may set stage for regulated online casinos in Maine
Maine became the eighth US state to legalize iGaming in January 2026, giving tribal authorities within the state the option to expand their online gaming products to include online casino play. Provided the statute survives a legal challenge, regulated online casino apps could be coming to Maine in 2027 or shortly thereafter.
Should LD 2007 also become law, sweepstakes casino operators may geofence the state out of their service areas. That would effectively reduce the competition that licensed instant withdrawal casinos would encounter in Maine.
There is no official timeline as of yet in terms of when regulated iGaming could begin in Maine. Regulators still need to draft rules, and tribal bodies have not yet announced any partnerships with online casino brands.
Only Rush Street Gaming, which operates the BetRivers and PlaySugarhouse iGaming platforms, has publicly expressed interest in Maine to this point. However, there are multiple opportunities for licensing, which could make new player offers like the Golden Nugget Casino promo code available in Maine.
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LD 2007 will face further scrutiny before potentially coming up for a vote in the full Maine Senate. The committee's vote is another sign that the days could be numbered for sweepstakes casino operators accepting purchases from people in Maine.Â
