Sports betting vetoed in Maine

Last week the new sports betting bill was vetoed by the governor of Maine. This means that the ability to place wagers on various sports at both online and brick and mortar venues will not be available in Maine in the near future. There were just three bills vetoed by the governor in the latest session since the last one in the middle of 2019.

Disappointment around the state

The senator who brought the bill before the governor was very disappointed by the final move. He had been made aware that the bill was to be rejected by the governor just before she announced it to the public. He continued that although he was disappointed he wouldn’t give up and intended to keep trying to make the bill as acceptable to the state as possible in order to get it passed in the future.

Many feel that it is a short sighted move because sports betting would offer the state an increase in revenue. Current estimates sit at between $5 and $10 million each year could be brought in through taxes for sports betting, which could be used for a range of additional infrastructure projects to improve the state of Maine.

What a lot of people have pointed out is that sports betting is taking place within the state through black market bookmakers and offshore sites. They feel that this is revenue that the state is losing on something that people will carry out anyway. The veto letter ignored this aspect and instead spoke more about the possible damage legalisation could cause.

What the governor thought

The governor said in the letter that she felt Maine needed to look into the prospects more thoroughly before jumping into the market. She also said it was important to look at how other states were doing in order to inform their decision.

She also said that Maine would have to spend more time trying to stop illegal gambling rather than just accepting it as something out of their control.