Maine Legalizes Online Poker + Casino With LD 1164

Maine has become the eighth state with legalized online casino gaming and the ninth with regulated internet poker after Governor Janet Mills (D) declined to veto LD 1164. This bill, entitled “An Act to Create Economic Opportunity for the Wabanaki Nations Through Internet Gaming,” became law without the governor's signature on Jan. 10, 2026.

What Does LD1164 Do?

Under the provisions of the new law, the Gambling Control Unit (GCU) of the Department of Public Safety will have regulatory powers over the new industry. The GCU will have the ability to issue licenses for internet gaming, which is defined as:

a card game, dice game or other game of chance approved by the director, including but not limited to blackjack, poker, dice, craps, roulette or baccarat, offered through an approved mobile application or other digital platform that involves, at least in part, the use of the Internet.

The only entities capable of being thus licensed are the state's four federally recognized Indian tribes: the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Mi'kmaq Nation, the Penobscot Nation, and the Passamaquoddy Tribe. These are the same groups that are already licensed for sports betting under LD 585, which was signed into law in May 2022. All four of these tribes are part of the Wabanaki Nations.

Each tribe would only be allowed to operate one site or skin. They can, however, partner with a management services partner to run the site on their behalf. This provider would have to be licensed too. Other licenses required include supplier licenses for vendors and occupational licenses for tribal employees associated with internet gaming.

Money Matters

Of course, the leaders of Maine aren't establishing a regulated online gaming economy solely because of their love of freedom and willingness to embrace the latest technology. There's also some money in it for the state.

For starters, each internet gaming license will cost $50,000 and will last one year. Renewals will also be processed at the same $50,000/year rate. Management services and supplier licenses cost $10,000 per year. Occupational licenses cost only $250 plus $25 for a one-year renewal or $50 to renew for three years.

Adjusted gross gaming revenue will be subject to an 18% tax. The funds will be allocated as follows:

• 2% for the Gambling Control Unit's administrative expenses
• 2% for a Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund
• 2.5% toward a dairy stabilization program
• 1.5% for the Opioid Use Disorder Prevention and Treatment Fund
• 2% for the Emergency Housing Relief Fund
• 5% for the Maine Veterans' Homes Stabilization Fund
• 1% for the Fund for a Healthy Maine
• 2% for the School Revolving Renovation Fund

Comments and Reactions

Governor Janet Mills explained her reasons for letting the bill become law:

I considered this bill carefully, and while I have concerns about the impacts of gambling on public health, I believe that this new form of gambling should be regulated, and I am confident that Maine's Gambling Control Unit will develop responsible rules and standards to hold providers of this new form of gambling accountable while ensuring that Maine's tribes benefit from its operations. It has always been my strong desire to work with Tribal leaders to improve the lives and livelihoods of the Wabanaki Nations, and it is my hope that this new revenue will do just that.

Maine Governor Janet Mills

Tribal leaders support the new legislation and many of them echoed the governor's sentiments. However, there was quite a bit of opposition to the new regulatory framework. Steve Silver, Chair of the Maine Gambling Control Board, stated that excluding the state's two commercial casino operators from igaming would lead to job losses, and he also was concerned that LD 1164 gives oversight powers to the Gambling Control Unit rather than the existing Gambling Control Board. Steve testified:

Cutting out Oxford and Hollywood Casinos entirely from offering iGaming is ill-advised in my opinion and creates a monopoly that is harmful to consumers and Maine workers employed by Oxford and Hollywood Casinos. Furthermore, removing casino games from the regulatory authority of the Gambling Control Board violates Maine law and renders the Board effectively useless.

Looking Forward

We foresee a very limited online casino market for Maine both because of the small size of its population (1.4 million) and the limitation of no more than four sites active. Actually, we might see fewer than four companies running licensed internet casinos in Maine.

Of the four tribes that already have partnerships for sports betting, three of them work with Caesars while the fourth has established a relationship with DraftKings. Since both of these firms also offer casino gaming, we can project that the tribes will continue to do business with their existing partners rather than attempting to forge new relationships, and so the Maine market might become effectively dominated by these two corporations.

No Shared Liquidity Foreseen

Most of the enabling legislation for online gaming in the past decade has included sections encouraging officials to establish multi-jurisdictional agreements for cross-border play. However, Maine's bill doesn't contain any language on this subject.

This means that operators won't be able to combine their Maine traffic with users from other states to form more robust product offerings. This doesn't matter so much on the casino side, but it could prove an insurmountable obstacle to getting poker off the ground.

Through the provisions of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, six states have agreed to combine their online poker player pools. This had led to higher traffic, larger tournaments, and ultimately greater revenues for these states and their licensed internet poker providers. Maine standing by itself as a ring-fenced market may not be attractive enough to entice any organizations to try to develop poker rooms from the ground up however.

Six Members of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement

Timeline

Notwithstanding the recent legalization of Maine online gaming with LD 1146, we probably still have a while yet to go before anything concrete comes of it. The bill will take effect 90 days after the adjournment of the current legislative session, which is scheduled to occur April 15, 2026. Thus, it will be the middle of July before any of the bill's provisions are implemented.

The Gambling Control Unit will then have to draft the necessary regulations, vet prospective license applications, issue licenses, and supervise the launch of the new ME legalized online gaming market.

Realistically, we could see the first regulated casino websites appear in Maine in the latter portion of 2026 or early 2027. Since the viability of online poker in the state is lower than that of online casinos, it will probably be much later than this before the first ME-licensed internet poker room opens for business.

Convoluted Legislative History

Even by the often-labyrinthine standards of state lawmaking, the journey of bill LD 1164 has been lengthy and convoluted.

Sponsored by Representative Ambureen Rana (D), LD 1164 was introduced to the House on March 20, 2025. It was referred to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs in both the House and Senate, but then the legislative session ended before the bill made any further progress.

State Representative Ambureen Rana

However, as has become the usual practice in Maine over the last few years, the governor called the legislature back for a special session, which started March 25. On June 12, the bill passed the House with a vote of 85 – 59. There followed a series of complex and seemingly contradictory votes in the Senate whereby LD 1164 didn't have enough votes to be passed but had enough support to not be killed outright.

State Senator Peggy Rotundo (D) resorted to a maneuver known as “enactment under the hammer,” which allows a bill to be passed without a vote unless there's an objection. There were no objections, and LD 1164 was passed by the Senate on June 25.

June 25 was also the date on which the special session of the legislature ended. The governor had 10 days from that time to veto the bill or sign it into law. However, Governor Mills took no action, which meant that upon the reconvening of the legislature on Jan. 7, 2026, the governor had three days to veto it or allow it to become law. It was the latter course of action that Mills took.

Maine Online Poker Available Now

We've already demonstrated that the road to regulated Maine online poker will be a bumpy one and we might not see the final destination for quite some time now. However, you shouldn't let this discourage you if you're a prospective internet poker player. This is because there are already a number of offshore poker rooms that already happily accept Maine players.

These sites are not subject to the laws of Maine or the United States because they're located in foreign jurisdictions. Rest assured that there are no legal penalties for enjoying online poker as a player.

Among the best of the real money Maine online poker sites is Ignition Casino. When you sign up for an account, you'll get a 150% up to $1,500 poker bonus on your first deposit. You'll also get a similar bonus for casino games. Click the button below to start playing at Ignition today:

For more information about this upstanding poker room, check out this detailed Ignition Poker review. For additional poker options available to Mainers, read this guide to online poker in Maine. Residents of other states may instead wish to peruse this page describing the best online poker solutions for Americans.

Jan. 15, 2026 – by Max Golden, Editor-in-Chief