Online Gambling in Maine: What You Can Use Now

Maine has licensed mobile sports betting through DraftKings and Caesars for adults aged 21 and over. Online casinos have a legal framework, but their launch has not been confirmed. Dual-currency sweepstakes casinos with cash redemption are prohibited, and official lottery tickets cannot be bought online.

Fact-checked October 11, 2026. This guide covers the US state of Maine, not the Isle of Man. Authorization for one gambling category does not extend to every product offered by the same brand.

The sections below explain these distinctions with links to official sources. Maine’s physical casinos, Hollywood Casino in Bangor and Oxford Casino, are a separate category: the existence of a land-based casino does not mean its games are available online.

Online casinos: authorized, but not yet live

Maine has enacted an online casino framework, but rulemaking was still underway on the fact-check date, and no confirmed launch date was found.

LD 1164 became law without the governor’s signature on January 11, 2026, as Public Law 2025, chapter 538. That is the enactment date, not a statement that casinos went live then. The enacted law provides:

• §1402: a definition of internet gaming that includes poker.
• §1406: one internet gaming license for each federally recognized Maine tribe, with no more than one management services licensee for each tribal licensee.
• §1406: players must be physically in Maine when placing bets.
• §1412: a minimum player age of 21.

The Wabanaki nations therefore have a central role in the licensing framework. A commercial partnership announcement, however, does not establish that a license has been issued or that an operator has begun accepting bets.

The Maine Gambling Control Unit’s rulemaking page lists the September 30, 2026 third publication of proposed chapters 70–84. Comments on changes highlighted in red are due October 30. These are proposed rules, not adopted final rules. The introduction to the published proposal still contains a date marked TBA.

Official Maine notice for the third publication of proposed online casino rules

Official English-language source, captured October 11, 2026. The September 30 publication is a proposal; comments on the highlighted changes are due October 30. Publication does not mean online casinos have launched.

Poker’s inclusion in the law does not confirm a live online poker room. Nor does it establish interstate poker pooling. Until the regulator confirms authorized sites and the start of operations, do not treat an advertisement or preregistration page as proof that gambling is available.

Sports betting: DraftKings and Caesars are available

Licensed mobile sports betting is available through DraftKings and Caesars. Oxford appears in the official list for retail sports wagering, not as a third mobile app.

You can check the names in the official sports wagering list. The Gambling Control Unit’s main page also identifies DraftKings and Caesars as operators.

You must be at least 21, as required by §1213. You must also be physically in Maine when placing a bet, use your own account and complete identity verification. A residential address entered in your profile does not replace geolocation.

Visitors who are physically in Maine may meet the location requirement. Account eligibility, identity documents and requirements for visitors from outside the United States can vary by operator. Physical presence is therefore a necessary location check, not a guarantee of access.

Which sporting events are prohibited?

You cannot bet on a game involving any Maine collegiate team, wherever the game takes place. Maine does not prohibit all college sports betting.

§1202(11) allows betting on other games in the same tournament when those games do not involve a Maine collegiate team. High school events and events in which most participants are under 18 are also excluded.

Check the teams in the specific game rather than relying only on the tournament name or venue.

How to verify an operator before depositing

Verify both the operator and the gambling product through the regulator before sending money. You do not need to open an account to perform this check.

1. Open the official sports wagering list.
2. Find the operator and check whether the listing covers mobile or retail wagering. Sports wagering approval does not establish online casino approval.
3. Follow the relevant operator link on the regulator’s main page. Check the official brand, website domain and app rather than relying on an advertising copy.
4. Before depositing, read the Maine eligibility rules, including age, account opening, identity verification and geolocation. Also read payment, withdrawal and market settlement rules.
5. If a bonus is offered, read its terms separately. An advertised bonus amount is not necessarily cash you can withdraw.
6. Set an affordable deposit limit using the operator’s available controls. If you cannot verify authorization for the product you want to use, stop and do not send money.

Maine’s official sports wagering list showing DraftKings, Caesars and Oxford

Official English-language source, captured October 11, 2026. The list includes DraftKings and Caesars, with Oxford listed for retail wagering. Oxford is not a third mobile operator.

A foreign license, downloadable app or successful payment is not a substitute for Maine authorization. Even a familiar brand must be checked for the particular product.

What should you do about a location error or dispute?

For a geolocation error, check device and browser location permissions, update your software and contact operator support. Do not use a VPN, spoof your location or use someone else’s identity or account.

If you suspect a site is unlicensed or have a withdrawal dispute:

1. Save the website URL, transaction IDs, support ticket number, applicable terms and support messages.
2. Keep identity documents, bank details and other private information out of public posts.
3. Contact operator support first and keep its response.
4. Then contact the Maine Gambling Control Unit at (207) 626-3900 or Gambling.Control@maine.gov. These contacts are published on its official website.

Contacting the regulator does not guarantee recovery of funds, particularly from an offshore operator.

Payments: credit card wagers are prohibited

Do not use a credit card for sports or online casino wagers: Maine law prohibits credit card wagering in both categories.

LD 2080, Public Law chapter 628, was enacted April 3, 2026. The prohibition appears in §1214-A for sports wagering and §1412-A for internet gaming; see the enacted law. The general effective date for nonemergency legislation was July 29, 2026, as listed by the Maine Legislature.

Check the operator’s current terms for other deposit and withdrawal methods. Do not assume that a method is available or that a withdrawal will take a particular amount of time. Read verification requirements, fees and restrictions before transferring money.

Money needed for housing, food, essential bills or debt repayment is not a gambling budget. A deposit limit restricts deposits within its stated scope; it does not guarantee a cap on losses across all your accounts.

Fantasy contests, horse racing and the lottery

These categories are regulated separately. Authorization for one does not allow an operator to offer every form of online gambling.

Fantasy contests

Licensed fantasy contests are available to adults aged 18 and over, but not every prediction-based product falls within this category.

The age requirement is set by §1104. §1101 defines qualifying contests using team rosters and athletes’ statistical performance.

Check listed brands on the regulator’s fantasy contests page. A brand’s appearance there does not mean that every product it offers is approved, including every player-prop or pick’em product. Check the specific contest you intend to enter.

Advance deposit wagering on horse racing

Advance deposit wagering, or ADW, is account-funded horse-race wagering subject to separate licensing. It is not interchangeable with a regular sportsbook account.

Start with the official ADW page. Then check the relevant operator’s age requirement, account eligibility and access rules for Maine. Do not automatically apply the sports betting or fantasy contest age threshold to horse-race wagering.

Official lottery

Maine Lottery tickets can be bought by adults aged 18 and over, but not over the internet. Nonresidents may also buy tickets while physically in Maine.

The official lottery FAQ dated February 5, 2026 addresses age in question 19, the absence of internet ticket sales in question 20 and nonresident eligibility in question 21.

Viewing results, scanning a ticket you already bought or creating an electronic playslip does not constitute a purchase. The availability of an app does not change this restriction.

Sweepstakes casinos and offshore sites

Dual-currency sweepstakes casinos offering redemption for cash or cash equivalents are prohibited in Maine. An offshore site’s foreign license also does not make it a Maine-approved operator.

LD 2007, Public Law chapter 645, was approved April 6, 2026. The law prohibits operating, promoting and supporting online casino-simulation games using a dual-currency model with cash or cash-equivalent redemption. The general effective date was July 29, 2026, as listed by the Maine Legislature.

That model is not a legal fallback while licensed online casinos await launch. The prohibition should not, however, be extended to every free social game without cash redemption. Check whether game currency or prizes can be redeemed for cash or cash equivalents rather than relying on the word “free” in an advertisement.

An offshore operator operates in another jurisdiction. Its foreign license does not establish Maine authorization, and website access does not provide Maine-regulated dispute resolution. This distinction also does not justify declaring every individual player’s action automatically criminal or applying operator penalties to every participant.

How to check a sports bet calculation

The ToolsGambling odds converter helps compare odds formats and check a potential total return. It does not verify licenses, taxes, live sportsbook offers or the true probability of an outcome.

Consider a hypothetical $20 stake at American odds of −110. This is a learning example, not an available operator offer.

1. Open the converter and select “Moneyline”, the interface label for American odds.
2. Enter -110 in “Odds value”. Use this plain-text minus sign when entering the value.
3. Enter 20 in “Stake”.
4. Results appear automatically; there is no Calculate button. Leave the optional probability field empty.

English odds converter showing a stake of 20 and American odds of −110

English interface captured on a local localhost server. This screenshot demonstrates the tool’s fields; it is not a verification of the production site.

Amounts are rounded to two decimal places. Net profit is calculated as 20 × 100 / 110 = 18.181818…; total return is 20 + 18.181818… = 38.181818…. Decimal odds come from 1 + 100 / 110, displayed as the rounded value 1.91. Use the original odds, rather than the rounded decimal display, to check the exact return.

Implied probability is 110 / 210 × 100 = 52.380952…%. It is derived from the price before removing the sportsbook margin, not a measurement of the event’s true chance. It is neither a prediction nor proof that a bet offers value.

If the bet loses, the net result is −$20. A push returns $20 with zero net profit only when the market’s settlement rules allow it. Read those rules separately.

For more on formats, see the guide to how betting odds work. The bankroll management guide can help with planning limits, but no budgeting calculation guarantees protection from losses.

Taxes: withholding is not your final tax bill

Gambling winnings must be reported even when you do not receive a Form W-2G. Withholding is an advance tax payment, not a universal final tax of 24%.

IRS guidance requires reporting all gambling winnings. Keep records of wins, losses, deposits and withdrawals. A deposit is not itself a winning, and account transactions should not automatically be treated as the taxable result.

Maine does not have a single income tax rate for every player. Its 2026 tax rate schedule, revised May 20, includes graduated rates of 5.8%, 6.75% and 7.15%, plus a 2% high-income surcharge where applicable.

Nonresident tax treatment may differ. Use current filing instructions and professional advice where needed: the amount withdrawn or withheld does not, by itself, determine your final liability.

How to set limits and get help

Set limits before gambling, and stop if you find yourself trying to win back losses. Deposit limits and self-exclusion can restrict participation, but neither is a universal safety guarantee.

Check the controls available in your account and do not increase your budget to recover money already lost. For a stronger restriction, start with the self-exclusion information on the regulator’s official website, which links to AdCare Maine.

The Maine self-exclusion program description covers casinos and sports wagering and explains in-person enrollment and assisted remote enrollment. Check the restriction’s duration and scope before applying.

Do not assume self-exclusion automatically covers every gambling category or offshore site. Use the regulator’s official links for help and current contact options rather than relying on an unfamiliar gambling site’s promises.