Gov. Janet Mills will soon have to decide what to do with dozens of bills that have been sitting on her desk since the summer, including one measure that would dramatically expand gambling in Maine.
Once lawmakers return to Augusta on Wednesday, Mills will have only three days to act on roughly 60 bills that were passed by the Legislature during the final days of the 2025 session. She can either veto them — and therefore give lawmakers a chance to override her veto — or she can allow them to become law without her signature.
One closely watched measure would give the Wabanaki tribes the exclusive right to offer casino-style games, like blackjack and poker, through mobile apps or online. The tribes have already partnered with national companies to offer online sports betting in Maine.
Last month, Maine's Gambling Control Board voted unanimously to urge Mills to veto the measure.
Board chairman Steven Silver says there are differing opinions about whether to legalize so-called "igaming" at all. But Silver says if Maine does go that route, the board strongly believes that Maine's two existing brick-and-mortar casinos in Bangor and Oxford should be included.
"Granting the tribes a monopoly and cutting out the casinos, when we've seen from other states that legalizing igaming cuts into casino revenue, that is going to have adverse tax consequences," Silver said. "It could cause several hundred Mainers to lose their jobs."
Oxford Casino and Hollywood Casino generated roughly $67 million in tax revenues in 2024 that was distributed to more than a dozen programs.
