Current:Home > InvestOpening month of mobile sports betting goes smoothly in Maine as bettors wager nearly $40 million -AssetScope
Opening month of mobile sports betting goes smoothly in Maine as bettors wager nearly $40 million
View
Date:2025-04-18 01:08:29
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Bettors wagered nearly $40 million in Maine during the first month online sports betting became legal, with the state’s tribes, two vendors and state government receiving benefits, officials said.
All told, $37.5 million was spent in Maine on online sports bets from Nov. 3 to the end of the month, according to the Gambling Control Unit, part of the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Milt Champion, director of the Gambling Control Unit, said the rollout went smoothly with only a handful of complaints and no spike in calls to a hotline for people with gambling problems.
“Everybody’s behaving, and it’s really nice,” he said Wednesday.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills gave exclusives rights to online sports betting to federally recognized Native American tribes in the state, providing an olive branch after she scuttled a proposal for greater sovereignty for the tribes in 2022. Existing casinos, meanwhile, are allowed to conduct in-person betting.
Most of the mobile and online wagering was made through Boston-based DraftKings, the vendor selected by the Passamaquoddy tribe. Caesars Sportsbook, based in Reno, Nevada, is the vendor being used by the Penobscot Nation, Maliseets and Mi’kmaq.
For the month, the tribes received half of the gross receipts — about $2.3 million — while state government netted about $468,000 in taxes. The remainder of the gross receipts went to the vendors.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- A Maryland high school fight involving a weapon was ‘isolated incident,’ police say
- Judge considers bumping abortion-rights measure off Missouri ballot
- 'The Bachelorette' boasted an empowered Asian American lead — then tore her down
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- Swirling federal investigations test New York City mayor’s ability to govern
- Watchdogs ask judge to remove from Utah ballots a measure that would boost lawmakers’ power
- Detroit Lions host Los Angeles Rams in first Sunday Night Football game of 2024 NFL season
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- House case: It's not men vs. women, it's the NCAA vs. the free market
Ranking
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Georgia's Romanian community mourns teacher killed in Apalachee shooting
- See Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song’s Sweet PDA During Rare Red Carpet Date Night at TIFF
- 'Words do not exist': Babysitter charged in torture death of 6-year-old California boy
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- New Hampshire Democratic candidates for governor target Republican Kelly Ayotte in final debate
- Saying goodbye to 'Power Book II': How it went from spinoff to 'legendary' status
- Man charged with plotting shooting at a New York Jewish center on anniversary of Oct. 7 Hamas attack
Recommendation
SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
A Georgia fire battalion chief is killed battling a tractor-trailer blaze
Watchdogs ask judge to remove from Utah ballots a measure that would boost lawmakers’ power
Are we moving toward a cashless, checkless society?
At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
All the best movies at Toronto Film Festival, ranked (including 'The Substance')
Utah woman killed her 3 children, herself in vehicle, officials say
Stakeholder in Trump’s Truth Social parent company wins court ruling over share transfer