Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed numerous pieces of approved legislation in recent days as the state’s two-year legislative session nears its April 15 end date. In doing so, she has made several notable changes to the state’s gambling industry.
Mills’ signatures have officially banned sweepstakes casinos, the use of credit cards for gambling, and bulk lottery ticket sales in the Pine Tree State.
Her latest approvals come after she allowed the state’s approved legalization of online gaming to become law in January, albeit in that particular instance, she did so by abstaining from either a signature or a veto. Maine’s proposed iGaming model is being challenged in court by Oxford Casino operator Churchill Downs Inc.
LD 2007 bans sweepstakes casinos
Mills signed Legislative Document 2007 on Monday. That bill, put forth by the state Department of Public Safety, explicitly bans dual-currency online sweepstakes that offer products resembling casino gaming, sports wagering, or other gambling products by adding them to the state’s definition of unlawful gambling.
The change in law allows Maine authorities to take stronger enforcement action against sweepstakes operators, such as fining them up to $100,000 and rendering violating companies ineligible for future licensing through the Maine Gambling Control Unit (MGCU) or the Maine Gambling Control Board (MGCB). MGCU Executive Director Milton Champion said during committee discussion that the unit believes approximately 60 sweepstakes operators were active in the state.
The state Senate passed the legislation on March 12 and the House approved it on March 26.
After several states outlawed the dual-currency sweepstakes gaming vertical last year, Mills is the second state governor to approve a ban in 2026, after Indiana’s Mike Braun signed an omnibus bill last month that included the measure. Maine already banned the use of credit cards for slot machines or table games at land-based casinos.
Maine adds to growing anti-credit movement
Three days before she signed the sweeps ban, Mills put pen to paper on LD 2080, which makes Maine the latest state to ban the use of credit cards for online gambling.
When Rep. Marc Malon introduced the bill in January, it initially focused only on credit card usage in online sports betting, a reflection of the fact that it was first drafted last year. In its early committee discussion in mid-January, after Maine had formally legalized online casino gaming, Malon urged his fellow representatives to amend his bill to extend the proposed prohibition to cover iGaming, too.
“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,” he said at the time. “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.”
While Malon noted that leading operators such as DraftKings (and, since he made those comments, FanDuel and BetMGM) have announced bans on credit cards, “we should not have to rely on corporate practices to protect consumers.” Maine currently has only two online gambling companies operating within the state; while DraftKings now bans credit cards nationwide, Caesars allows them.
Malon’s bill was amended as desired in the House in March before both chambers passed it, and Mills’ signature will prohibit the use of credit cards for either digital sports wagering or online casino.
It continues the recent trend of states looking to eliminate credit cards as an approved funding source for online gambling. States such as Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont, and Illinois already prohibit them via legislation or regulation, and others including New York, New Jersey, Colorado, and Maryland have bills in play this year to ban them. In Virginia, legislators passed a credit card ban for online sports betting and it has been sent to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk with an April 13 deadline for action.
Maine addresses bulk lottery ’emergency’
Finally, Mills also signed LD 2095 on April 3, which was designated an emergency measure via a committee amendment last month.
That bill has banned any person, entity, or group in the state from buying more than $25,000 in lottery tickets, whether those purchases are made in a single transaction or multiple transactions, by one person or multiple people “acting in concert” or at a single retail location or multiple retail locations.
The legislative text noted that there has been a rise in lottery ticket bulk purchasing activities across the country and internationally, and stated that “bulk purchasing activities threaten the integrity of the lottery, undermine fairness for the public player and run contrary to the legislative intent of the lottery authorized by voters in 1973.”
“Bulk purchasing activities should therefore be prohibited as soon as possible,” it added. “In the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety.”
