Maine will become the eighth state to legalize real-money online casinos after Gov. Janet Mills announced Thursday she would allow an authorization bill to pass into law.
"I considered this bill carefully, and while I have concerns about the impacts of gambling on public health, I believe that this new form of gambling should be regulated," wrote Mills in a statement announcing her decision, "and I am confident that Maine's Gambling Control Unit will develop responsible rules and standards to hold providers of this new form of gambling accountable while ensuring that Maine's tribes benefit from its operations."
- Maine becomes the eighth state to legalize real money online casinos.
- New York and Virginia lawmakers have reintroduced online casino gaming bills, joining several other states considering iGaming legalization.
- Despite strong revenue potential, iGaming bills continue to face bipartisan political resistance and opposition from parts of the casino industry.
The bill will allow the state's four federally recognized gaming tribes to partner with one third-party operator apiece. Two of the tribes have partnered with Caesars and DraftKings, respectively, giving them an inside edge on offering iGaming in the state. DraftKings was among the few gaming operators to testify in support of the bill.
There is no formal launch timeline.
The pending passage comes as the bill received opposition from the state's Gambling Control Board. The body that manages the Gambling Control Unit, which under the law could not oversee iGaming, wrote to Mills last month that the tribal-exclusive bill would hurt the state's two commercial casinos, neither of which are permited iCasino licences.
"Cutting out Oxford and Hollywood Casinos entirely from offering iGaming is ill-advised and creates a monopoly that is harmful to consumers and the Maine workers employed by Oxford and Hollywood Casinos," the Board wrote. "Furthermore, removing casino games from the regulatory authority of the Gambling Control Board violates Maine law and renders the Board effectively useless."
The bill was also opposed by some commercial gaming operators including FanDuel, Fanatics, and BetMGM. FanDuel's Michael Ventre testified against the bill last year, arguing it "would not create the healthy, regulated market that we have seen in many other states."
Other states try to follow Maine iCasino efforts
Maine's iGaming approval comes as other states look to follow suit.
New York and Virginia are among the most notable states again considering real money online casino gaming legislation this year. These proposals face many of the same obstacles that have blocked passage in most other statehouses.
New York lawmakers in both the state Senate and Assembly reintroduced legislation earlier this week that failed to gain traction in the 2025 session. If passed, the bills would set up the nation’s most lucrative iGaming market.
Meanwhile, Virginia iGaming proponents are re-upping a legalization push after punting on efforts last year. Several years after voters approved the commonwealth’s first legal brick-and-mortar casinos, the new bill would give all five licensed facilities access to three mobile casino partnerships with third-party iGaming operators.
The recently introduced bills coincide with the opening of state legislative sessions in much of the country. Lawmakers in as many as a half-dozen other states are projected to consider iGaming legislation in the coming months.
NEW: Maine will become the 8th state to legalize real money online casino gaming after Gov. Janet Mills announced today she would let the bill pass into law; legislation gives exclusive rights to state gaming tribes; regulators, commerical gaming interests opposed bill
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) January 8, 2026
These bills will join fledgling efforts in Ohio, Massachusetts, and Illinois, all of which have wrestled with online casino gaming legalization the past few years. The struggle to pass any iGaming bills in these statehouses – and the rest of the country – underscores the political and logistical difficulties digital casinos continue to face.
Seven states have approved real money iGaming, and only four – Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey – allow competitive markets. Maine's New England neighbors Rhode Island (only Bally Bet) and Connecticut (DraftKings and FanDuel) also offer online casinos, as does Delaware (exclusively BetRivers).
This comes as 39 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico have legalized some form of legal sports betting.
Despite the availability discrepancies, iGaming generated $8.4 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2024, more than half the $13.7 million total produced by legal sportsbooks. Online slots and table games have significantly higher profit margins and are typically taxed at higher rates than sportsbooks, generating more operator proceeds and state tax dollars.
This has not translated into legislative action.
Why Maine online casino bill is unusual
Digital slots and table games have proven far less politically palatable than sportsbooks across much of the country.
Lawmakers from both parties have criticized iGaming, decrying these offerings as “a slot machine in every pocket.” Republican lawmakers have framed online gambling as a particularly destructive moral vice, while Democrats have painted these games as a way to exploit lower-income players and those with gambling addictions.
Unlike sporting events that are finite and tied to individual games or events, critics note, online casinos are available 24-hours a day, 365 days a year.
The gambling industry is also divided on iGaming. Some smaller brick-and-mortar casino operators such as Cordish Gaming and Churchill Downs (which operates Maine's Oxford Casino) have testified against iGaming, arguing it will hurt brick-and-mortar operations and cost jobs. Other notable in-person casino operators such as Wynn and PENN Entertainment have remained neutral.
This contrasts backing from the nation’s largest brick-and-mortar casino companies, MGM and Caesars. They are joined by the biggest digital-focused gaming companies such as FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics.
Not surprisingly, these companies generate the vast majority of existing iGaming revenue.
Without a unified front, iGaming legalization has proven more difficult in statehouses than the comparatively easy passage for sportsbooks. Lawmakers from both parties have also proven receptive to the arguments that out-of-state digital companies will hurt existing casino jobs.
Legalization proponents in New York and Virginia are among those hoping 2026 will lead to a breakthrough. This will require overcoming many of the same roadblocks that have sidelined previous efforts.
