Betting the line: Maine sports gambling veto may threaten NH businesses
The veto last week by Gov. Janet Mills of a bill that would have legalized sports betting in Maine may be having unintended consequences just over the state line.
New Hampshire on Dec. 30 made this form of gambling legal, under a contract with web-based sports gaming company DraftKings Inc. But there’s a glitch.
Because the wagering has different legal status in the the two states, New Hampshire users of the DraftKings app have been unable to place bets within roughly a half-mile of the Maine border, according to a news report Tuesday by the Portsmouth Herald.
That area encompasses much of Portsmouth’s downtown and waterfront, across the Piscataqua River from Kittery, and portions of Somersworth, N.H., next to Berwick — as well as presumably any Granite State community touching Maine along the 170-mile boundary.
Mills' office refused to comment on the border betting blackout. But in New Hampshire, some businesspeople expressed concern to the Herald.
The outage may be turning away patrons who want to gamble while they watch sports at a Portsmouth pub, its owner said. Bethany Hayes, who runs TJ’s Food and Spirits, said she received a notice from DraftKings saying online betting wasn't permitted in her location, "which means that you will need to move further into the state of New Hampshire to place wagers."
Hayes has complained to DraftKings and New Hampshire officials, who are looking into the matter.
“Our identity and such a large portion of my income is sports-related,” Hayes told the Herald. “The legalization of sports betting does cast a wider net of what people will watch. If people have a little bit of money on a game, it’s more interesting.”
At least two dozen Portsmouth eateries and hotels lie within a half-mile of the Maine border, according to Hayes.
DraftKings spokesman James Chisholm on Friday told Mainebiz this "buffer zone" is intentional and an industry best practice, designed to ensure people in Maine don't illegally get in on the athletic action. Chisholm called blackouts like the one at TJ's "isolated instances" and said the company has been working with the app's geolocation vendor to minimize them.
In Somersworth, Mayor Dana Hilliard said the DraftKings blackout is troubling for his community because local leaders are looking for any edge to spur economic growth.
“Every state shares a border with another state. That’s part of being part of 50 united states,” Hilliard said in the Herald story. “Just like everyone else in a sport has to play fair, I think the state of Maine has to play fair when it comes to commerce and legalized activities [in New Hampshire].”
Covering the spread
Such border state conflict may not be unique to the Maine-New Hampshire area.
Spurred by a 2018 Supreme Court decision that voided a federal ban on most sports betting, states have gone all in. According to ESPN, 14 of them now have legalized sports betting, while another seven have passed laws but not yet legalized it. Another two dozen states are considering legislation.
But besides New Hampshire, there's currently only one New England state, Rhode Island, where wagering on competitive sports is permitted.
In Maine, Mills nixed a legalization bill that had been held over from the Legislature’s first session, preferring to take a wait-and-see approach.
“Before Maine joins the frenzy of states hungry to attract this market," Mills wrote in her Jan. 10 veto letter, "I believe we need to examine the issue more clearly, better understand the evolving experiences of other states, and thoughtfully determine the best approach for Maine.”
The legislation would have generated over $5 million a year for Maine's General Fund, according to state estimates.
However, fantasy-team sports gambling — in which players bet on imaginary teams of real players, using their actual performances — is legal in Maine under a 2017 law. DraftKings originated in 2012 as an online platform for that form of wagering.
The Boston-based company now provides betting platforms for 13 sports, from pro football and baseball to cricket and darts. In December, DraftKings announced plans to merge with two other companies and go public in the first half of this year, creating an entity with an expected $3.3 billion market capitalization.
Back in Portsmouth, pub owner Hayes told the Herald she’s hoping DraftKings and New Hampshire can come up with a solution for the dilemma by March 17. Not only is that St. Patrick’s Day, a popular holiday for any pub. It’s also the start of the NCAA men’s basketball championship, otherwise known as March Madness.
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