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The Maine Gambling Control Unit recently announced that sports betting in the state will go live at 9 AM ET on Friday morning. This press release was made on Tuesday, and it ended speculation from residents of the state over the last few weeks.
It has been a long and winding road to get sports betting up and running in the state as a bill was passed over 18 months ago. The Maine Gaming Control Unit (MGCU) has been working on establishing sports betting rules since that time, and it was a process that took a lot longer than expected.
Bettors in the state can actually get in on the action a bit on Wednesday as that is when registration will open up. Customers can also make a deposit on Wednesday to ensure that their accounts are ready to roll once Friday morning hits.
Maine is a state without any professional sports teams, and the sports betting market is expected to be very small. This part of the country is loaded with sports betting though, and legislators in Maine were looking for a way to add some more revenue.
The MGCU believes that it should be a smooth process to launch sports betting, especially based on the app that will be available.
No Major Surprises
When the MGCU sat down to try and plan for the sports betting industry, it did not want to create a market that was unique. Instead, the MGCU studied some other sports betting markets in order to create an industry that was modeled after other smaller states.
The initial set of sports betting rules that were released in Maine placed some very strict restrictions on advertising, and there was some major pushback. Those rules were changed a bit in the final version, but you won’t see promotional offers being advertised in the state of Maine.
That was really the only major change from some of the other states with legal sports betting as rules from eight different states were studied.
Caesars Ready to Roll
Sports bettors in the state of Maine are going to be very limited in their options, as there will be just two online sportsbook apps. That’s actually an improvement from the list just a week ago as DraftKings didn’t enter the state until this week.
There are four Native American tribes in Maine, and each tribe was granted the ability to apply for an online sports betting license. Caesars was quick in partnering with three of the tribes, and it looked as if they were going to have a monopoly.
DraftKings didn’t want to miss out on the chance to enter the state, and it was finally able to come to terms with the fourth tribe in order to launch.
DFS Industry Takes a Hit
Just as the state was working to get the sports betting launch ready to go, regulators were also taking a close look at the DFS industry. The DFS industry has come under fire in many states over the last few months, especially when it comes to pick’em contests that have become extremely popular.
Underdog Fantasy received a complaint earlier this summer about its pick’em contests, and they were facing the potential of a huge fine. The DFS operator chose to pull that style of game from its list of offerings, but that also takes away something that allowed it to stand out.
