Gambling in Maine
Maine, also known as The Pine Tree State, is nearly 90% forest. It’s famous for its lobsters, long miles of beautiful, sandy beaches and Stephen King. It’s a popular holiday destination (so much so that its other nickname is Vacationland), but, outside of the season, has a relatively low population. You may not be surprised to learn, therefore, that up until fairly recently Maine’s gambling options were pretty limited.
Top Gambling Cities in Maine
If you're looking for gambling city in Maine hotspots, you’ll find that the lovely city of Bangor offers up a good range of options. The Hollywood Casino offers slots, table games and a racetrack, as well as a hotel, eateries and a live poker room. For another top choice of gambling city Maine offers the Oxford Casino, also with hotel and restaurant, slots and table games. There are also plans for more casinos to open in the state, but at the moment these are in the planning stages.
State of Online Gambling in Maine
As with many states in America, there is not a specific law prohibiting online gambling in Maine. However, it seems that this is more because the legislation has not caught up with the availability of online gaming rather than any laxity in the law. Therefore it’s safe to assume that online gambling is not legal in Maine.
However, in 2020, new guidance did come into effect that allowed people to make online wagers on horse racing, but we'll have to wait and see if online gambling becomes legal.
Maine Online Poker
Online poker is not legal in the Pine Tree State. So if you're looking for a real money online casino, you may have to spend the weekend elsewhere to access online gambling activities.
Is Sports Betting Legal in Maine?
In May 2022 Maine passed a law which legalized sports betting. In-person sports betting will be allowed in casinos, but the rights for online sports betting have been exclusively given to Maine tribal groups. However, there is a long way to go before this law comes into practice.
Maine Horse Racing Betting
Parimutuel wagering is available on harness racing at Maine’s racetracks, including Scarborough Downs and the Hollywood Casino in Bangor. Betting on harness racing is also allowed during special fairs held throughout the year. In 2020 Maine also legalized online gambling on horse racing.
State Lottery
In common with lots of other states, Maine has a popular state lottery, and profits from this go towards supporting education and infrastructure. The state lottery started with a weekly draw feature, but the only options now available are scratch-card and instant-win pull tab games.
Tribal Gaming in Maine
There are currently no tribal casinos in Maine. There are four federally recognized tribal nations currently living in Maine who have the right to hold high prize bingo games, but these tribes don’t have the same gaming rights as those of other tribes living elsewhere in the USA. Recently, plans have been unveiled for a tribal group to open a casino, but this was not approved. Rights to online sports betting have also been given to tribal groups in Maine.
Maine Casinos FAQs
What is the legal gambling age in Maine?
The legal gambling age in Maine is 18 to take part in the state lottery games and parimutuel betting on horses. In order to play in a casino in Maine, as with most of the rest of the country, you must be 21 or over.
Is online gambling legal in Maine?
No, online gambling is not currently legal in Maine. There do not appear to be any plans to change this in the near future, so if you're a fan of online gambling Maine should not be your first choice of residence.
What is the most popular casino in Maine?
It’s difficult to say which is the more popular out of the two Maine casinos. The Hollywood Casino in Bangor is bigger, brighter and glitzier than the Oxford and offers more gaming options. Bangor and Oxford are currently the only two
Is sports betting legal in Maine?
A recent legal change means that sports betting is now legal in theory in Maine. In practice, though, we're still at least a year away from being legal sports betting Maine becoming a reality.
Does Maine have a state lottery?
Yes. There is not a weekly draw at the moment, but it does offer scratch-card and pull-tab-style games. Betting on charity events such as raffles is also allowed.