gambling

Gov. Mill's decision drew praise from tribal chiefs who said funds from online gambling will help support essential needs, including health, education, housing, law enforcement, and social services.

Gov. Janet Mills has been holding the bills since the summer after the Legislature adjourned the 2025 session. She now has two options: either let the bills become law without her signature or veto them now that lawmakers are returning to Augusta.

Those are two of roughly 60 bills that Mills is holding onto until state lawmakers return to Augusta either later this year or in January. She then has the option of either vetoing the measures or allowing them to become law without her signature.

The tribes already offer online sports betting. But lawmakers are now debating whether to allow the tribal nations to expand their mobile offerings to poker, blackjack and other casino-style games.

More people are calling the Maine Problem Gambling Hotline since the state legalized online sports betting over a year ago, and many of those seeking help are men between the ages of 18 and 30.

The nine workers accuse Milton Champion of engaging in retaliation and creating a toxic work environment.

The proposal would have expanded the Wabanaki Nations' exclusive rights to include casino-style online gambling. But the bill failed to win majorities in the House and Senate.

Maine's top gambling regulator says the first two weeks of online betting went smoothly.

The executive director of the state's gambling control unit will return to work on July 10. Milton Champion was suspended for a week without pay after posting tweets that were deemed inappropriate.

The state is gearing up to launch a new sports betting law that gives indigenous tribes in Maine exclusive rights to mobile and online betting. But state officials say it will be months before it goes live.