Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 9 A U G U S T 5 , 2 0 2 4 Find a retailer near you: harvestinggood.com Maine's gamble on sports betting may be paying off B y W i l l i a m H a l l I n the eight months since it launched, Maine's legalized sports gambling mar- ket has seen some big action. But the odds of long-term success? Too early to call it a sure thing. So far, though, Maine's rookie year of sports gambling has turned out impres- sive-sounding numbers. From last November through June 30, bettors wagered a total of $319.3 million via Maine's two legal sportsbooks — and pocketed $284.7 million in payouts, according to records from the Department of Public Safety's Gambling Control Unit. The biggest month of betting to date: March, when a total "handle" of $47.5 million was wagered. Not coincidentally, March was when dozens of college bas- ketball games tipped off in season-crowning national tournaments. From November through June, state tax revenue on sports betting totaled over $3.2 million. For the first half of 2024 alone, the total was $2.3 million. Ironically, March was the month when tax coffers took in the least — $270,000. The handle was up, but bettors were more successful, winning more than in previous months and leaving the state with less. Milton Champion, the Gambling Control Unit's executive director, is pleased with the in-progress performance of Maine's sports betting market. Before its launch, he had cited a study predicting annual state revenue of $3.8 million. Another analysis predicted $6 million. Now Maine is looking at around $4.6 million in taxes for the first full year of sports betting, he said. "We're in the middle range," he told Mainebiz recently. "Hopefully we can get a little closer to the $6 million projection." But as the March results show, it all depends on the vagaries of chance. "That's the way it is," he said. "You have winners and you have losers. And in some of those months, Mainers have been picking winners." B I Z M O N E Y MAINE'S SPORTS BETTING 'HANDLE' S O U R C E : Maine Department of Public Safety NOV '23 DEC '23 JAN '24 FEB '24 MAR '24 APR '24 MAY '24 JUN '24 $37.6M $44.5M $38.1M $33.7M $47.6M $38.4M $39.9M $39.5M A long-shot start For decades, you had few options if you wanted to place a legal bet on your favorite team. A 1992 federal law effectively outlawed sports betting nationwide, except in Nevada and a few states with narrow allowances. That changed in 2018 when the Supreme Court overturned the law, letting states decide for themselves whether to permit sports betting. Maine legalized sports betting in 2022, with Gov. Janet Mills signing a bill that gave control over the online form of it to the tribes. The sweetener for the legislation was a 10% state tax on the hold — the receipts after the sportsbook pays winning wagers, takes out federal taxes and makes adjustments such as deductions for voided bets. Most of the tax revenue goes to the state's General Fund. On Nov. 3, 2023, Mainers began placing bets via two mobile platforms con- tracted by the tribes. DraftKings (Nasdaq: DKNG), headquartered in Boston, operates the online action for the Passamaquoddy Tribe, while Nevada-based Caesars Entertainment (Nasdaq: CZR) works for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Mi'kmaq Nation and Penobscot Nation. Maine is now one of 38 states, including all those in the Northeast, that allow gambling on athletic events.

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