Maine Sports Betting Pushed as Senate Overrides Veto

Maine sports betting looking all but dead when the Governor recently vetoed the bill that would have regulated it. However, the state senate has now voted to override that veto, and now legislation is set to move forward and become law. The Senate voted 20-10 in favor of the measure and will now be put to a vote in Maine’s House, where it is expected to pass.

Governor Mills vetoed the bill last month, arguing that the people of Maine are not ready for sports betting. Though she praised the bill’s intention in bringing sports betting away from the black market, she did not believe such a bill at this time was the will of the people of her state.

Speaking last month, Mills added that she would rather see Maine examine the successes and failings of legal sports betting elsewhere in the US before a bill is passed in Maine.

Mills also said she was concerned the bill would not do enough to prevent young people being exposed to gambling through advertising. She acknowledged that mobile sports book operators were able to employ sophisticated mechanisms to detect problem gamblers and underage play. You can learn more about this story at iGB North America.