Maine will allow tribes to offer online sports betting

(The Center Square) — Maine’s federally recognized tribes will have exclusive rights to develop sports betting in the state under a proposal that outgoing Gov. Janet Mills has allowed to become law without her signature.

The legislation, which has been debated for years, will update a decades-old compact with the state’s Wabanaki Nations – the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Micmac and Houlton Band of Maliseet – allowing them to set up an online sports gambling market, including setting regulations and taxes on bets placed on professional sports. Each nation will get a state license to host online sports betting venues such as MGM and DraftKings.

Mills, who has previously opposed an expansion of gambling in the state, said she met with the five elected Chiefs of the Wabanaki Nations this fall who “spoke passionately about the life-changing revenue for Tribal communities, as well as providing a form ...