The sponsor of a bill that would ban credit cards for sports betting in Maine urged fellow representatives to extend the proposed prohibition to cover the legal online casino gaming market that is coming to the state.
Presenting his LD 2080 to the Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs on Wednesday, Rep. Marc Malon warned of the dangers of state residents falling into debt if credit cards are allowed to fund deposits and wagers on sports or other gaming.
“Studies confirm that allowing credit cards for online gambling and sports betting leads to increased wagering, higher rates of gambling addiction and significant financial risk as credit cards provide easy access to debt,” he told the committee. “While sports wagering continues to grow and as iGaming comes online, it is appropriate for the legislature to consider guardrails, which can protect consumers from falling into dangerous habits and into debt.”
Maine online casinos coming soon
Maine launched online sports betting in late 2023, with Caesars and DraftKings offering statewide digital wagering through tethered partnerships with the Wabanaki Nations. After Gov. Janet Mills allowed an approved bill to legalize online casino gaming to become law this month, the state is set to significantly expand its online gambling options sometime after July 2026.
Malon told the committee that, while he supported that bill in order to ensure online casino activity is regulated by the state and benefits the state tribes, rising gambling addiction cases and concerns over wagering on smartphones made it “the most difficult vote I have cast so far in my tenure as a legislator.”
Banning credit card use, he believes, would go some way to protecting gamblers from getting into serious trouble.
“I believe this is a reasonable regulation which will add a modest guardrail to protect consumers while not harming the financial and economic benefits which have come from sports wagering and will come from iGaming,” he added.
“The draft before you only applies to sports wagering because the disposition of iGaming was unclear at the time. I do strongly, however, recommend that the committee amend this bill to apply its provisions to the new iGaming statute.”
Other states have acted
Malon cited the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) recommendation in late 2024 that credit cards be banned for online gambling as further support for a proposed ban, and also pointed to DraftKings‘ decision last year to stop allowing their use nationwide.
“But we should not have to rely on corporate practices to protect consumers,” he implored. Stressing that there is a role for state regulation, Malon vowed to work with legislative analysts and stakeholders to develop a sponsor’s amendment to add to the bill, in advance of the committee workshopping the bill in more depth.
As the legislator referenced in his presentation, Maine would join several states that have already implemented legislative or regulatory restrictions on using credit cards for online sports betting, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Illinois, Connecticut and Tennessee. Meanwhile, legislation to prohibit their use for online betting has also been filed in Virginia for the 2026 session.
How enforceable is a credit card ban?
Testifying in favor of the proposed ban on behalf of the Department of Public Safety, Maine Gambling Control Unit (MGCU) Executive Director Milton Champion noted that Maine regulations already stipulate that casinos or slot machine operators may not accept credit cards for slots or table games. He nevertheless suggested the bill could be amended to encompass a blanket legislative ban on credit cards for all types of gambling.
However, Champion was asked by a committee member how a ban on credit cards could feasibly be enforced, given that approved payment methods such as PayPal offer connections to credit cards.
“It’s very hard to,” he admitted. “Realistically, it’s almost impossible. This would give us the leverage to investigate those types of transactions.”
The bill will be discussed further at a work session in the committee.
