On eve of sports gambling launch, Maine slaps betting business with $400K fine
Odds look good that Maine's newly legalized sports gambling industry will be taking bets in a matter of days. Meanwhile, the state has cracked down on one wager that remains banned.
The state's Gambling Control Unit has fined a New York fantasy sports betting company $391,850 for taking "pick 'em" sports bets, according to an industry publication, Legal Sports Report.
Fantasy sports gambling, in which bets are taken on hypothetical teams and multiple players compete against each other, are legal in Maine. Underdog Fantasy's pick 'em bets are not, said the GCU, since they involve actual sports teams and wagers against the gambling operator itself.
The Gambling Control Unit began investigating the bets in May, as the state agency, under the Department of Public Safety, was preparing rules that will govern legalized sports gambling in Maine. By Oct. 15, according to Legal Sports Report, the GCU found that Underdog had accepted at least 482,770 wagers from nearly 8,000 Mainers.
While Maine law allows a fine of up to $1,000 per violation, the gambling agency's executive director, Milton Champion, told the publication he chose to levy a relatively modest fine of $50 for each. The betting has generated net revenue of $1.4 million for Underdog since 2021.
“This is the first of its kind and is setting a precedent,” Champion said. “It sets the tone going forward, but any other violations will be looked at separately.”
Neither Champion nor Underdog responded immediately to questions from Mainebiz.
Meanwhile, Champion and the GCU are reportedly finalizing Maine's sportsbook rules, the last step in a lengthy process that began in May 2022 when Maine lawmakers and Gov. Janet Mills approved legalization. While Maine already permitted some types of gambling and is home to two casinos, several attempts to allow sports betting had failed in previous years.
Champion has said the new rules should be ready in early November. The 2022 legislation authorizes the four federally recognized tribes in Maine — the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation — to offer online sports betting.
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