Mainers wagered $37.6M during 1st month of sports betting

Mainers wagered $37.6 million in online bets in the first month since the legalization of sportsbook betting on Nov. 3.

With a 10 percent tax on sportsbook revenue gathered after player payouts and federal taxes, the state government netted $468,000 in state taxes.

“We were fearful of [getting] a lot of complaints [this first month] and, knock on wood, it’s been quiet,” Maine Gambling Control Unit Commissioner Milt Champion said. “I’m really surprised and very, very thankful.”

Eighty percent of wagers have been made on Draft Kings’ online betting platform — the rest made on Caesars Sportsbook. The four online sportsbook licenses available in Maine are split amongst the state’s four federally recognized Native American tribes. Caesars Sportsbook inked deals with three of the tribes to be their management service provider, while the Passamaquoddy partnered with Draft Kings. Half of the gross receipts are collected by the tribes.

Champion expects Maine should collect about $6 million in state taxes for this first year of operation. He said NFL games have attracted the most action, with about a quarter of all wagers occurring on Sundays.

“People bet on other things [like] maybe golf or something like that,” Champion said. “But the Super Bowl and March Madness are the two key times for sports wagering, so we’ll have to wait and see how they work out.

This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.