Guide to Online Gambling in Maine

Maine is known for quite a few things like lobster, its expansive coastline, pine trees, and lighthouses. But gambling is typically nowhere to be found toward the top of anyone’s list.

Gambling in Maine isn’t nonexistent, but it’s also not prevalent. Although you can gamble online for real money in ME, the best Maine gambling sites are located outside of the state.

How We Rate

Safety & Security

You should be able to gamble online without fear. So we only recommend licensed sites that use the latest security and encryption techniques.

Bonuses

Maximize your bankroll with fantastic bonuses. Our recommended sites offer valuable bonuses with fair terms and conditions, including manageable wagering requirements.

Games & Betting

The best sites have the best wagering options. That’s why you will find extensive games and betting opportunities on our recommended sites.

Banking

Getting your money to and from your account shouldn’t be a hassle. We only recommend sites with a variety of convenient banking methods, including cryptocurrency and e-wallets.

You can count on one hand the number of land-based gambling opportunities open in Maine.

The Pine Tree State has experienced slow gambling expansion since 1935 and it’s in no rush to change things.

In addition to the lottery, Maine houses one racetrack, one racino, and one casino. In 2017, daily fantasy sports (DFS) were approved, but sportsbook proponents haven’t been as lucky.

Currently, DFS is the only form of Maine online gambling regulated in-state. While Mainers have access to casino sites, as well as online sportsbooks and poker rooms, the operations originate from other jurisdictions outside of the area.

It can be challenging to locate the best of the best real money online gambling providers in Maine without any in-state regulation. You won’t find a government-produced directory of betting sites. Picking the operators based on a simple internet search won’t do the trick either.

As you’re risking your money, it’s essential to know more about the Maine gambling sites you’re accessing online. Reputation, customer service, and fair and honest gaming should be fundamental. The top-rated gambling sites for ME are all excellent, but you need to know where to find them.

That’s where we come in, as we’ve handled the groundwork of creating directories, reviewing every website, removing operators who are subpar from the list, and presenting our recommendations. Our team is well-versed in evaluating the criteria and comparing one service to another.

As you continue reading, you’ll learn more about what types of Maine gambling sites are available. We’ll also cover the differences between walking into a casino like Hollywood or Oxford and selecting a real money gambling opportunity on your computer or smartphone.

1820 All forms of gambling are outlawed in Maine

1973 Maine Lottery created

1895 Gambling is outlawed in New Orleans

2004 Slots approved at racetracks

2012 Maine’s first legal casino opens

Like many of its sister states, legalized gambling in Maine kicked off with pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing.

It started back in 1935 and is still going strong today. While there are currently only two racetracks remaining, four off-track betting sites (OTBs) pick up the slack.

Over the past few decades, the tracks were given the go-ahead to expand their offerings. But even before the racino evolution, additional gambling opportunities emerged starting in 1974 with the lottery.

Maine’s lottery demonstrated to residents the positive side of gambling expansion. Over the years, more than 250 state agencies have benefited from lottery proceeds. The lottery is a brick-and-mortar-only operation and has yet to go online.

In the ‘80s, tribal bingo was launched. Charity gambling is permitted in Maine, but Native American venues were approved for higher-stakes bingo instead of Vegas-style casino gaming. That’s not the end of the line for casino games, though.

Then, in 2003, Maine accepted the concept of racinos. Bangor Raceway turned into the Hollywood Casino Hotel and Raceway in 2004. Pari-mutuel and slots were the only games for about seven years, and then tables were added to the gaming floor.

Presently, Maine has three gambling venues, including one racetrack, one racino, and one casino. Lottery ticket sales are throughout the state, and DFS (daily fantasy sports) emerged in 2017, but they’re online pursuits.

Just like most other places in the US, gambling expansion is currently on the legislative floor. Some states are weighing the pros and cons of online gambling sites, while others are in the midst of the sportsbook debate.

Sports betting, including mobile access, has bipartisan support in the Pine Tree State.

However, the bill was stalled once again in 2020 after the governor vetoed it. There weren’t enough votes to overturn the veto. However, you can be sure that the book isn’t closed on sportsbooks.

Without a mobile sportsbook, the only in-state legislated online gambling in Maine is daily fantasy sports. That doesn’t mean that other real money gambling websites for Mainers aren’t out there. We’ve listed some of the best for you and expect that new ones will pop up in the future.

Most of the ME online gambling sites typically host casino games. The virtual betting floors usually include more than 100 slots, as well as some table games versus the computer. You’ll also find some video poker machines and specialty titles, such as bingo, scratch cards, and keno.

There are a few real money gambling sites that accept Maine players and lean more toward poker or sports betting, though. We’ve ranked the best Maine online gambling in three different categories, to make it easy to find what you’re looking for.

Additionally, you’ll even come across some operators who include live dealer tables. The live casino gives you the option of having an actual living, breathing dealer in charge of the table, dealing out the cards, or spinning the wheel.

If you’ve never done any betting through a casino, or a similar website, then the concept may seem entirely foreign. It’s especially so if you’re used to walking into the Oxford or Hollywood casinos.

Playing some slots or table games on your computer or smartphone can be a fun hobby or distraction. There’s also the convenience factor that carries over to placing pari-mutuel or sports wagers on your favorite site.

Once you determine which of the best Maine online gambling sites you wish to use, and set up and fund your account, you’re good to go whenever you want. If you use cryptocurrency, then you also have an increased measure of privacy. You don’t need to share bank or credit card information.

While the advantages hold up regardless of where you live, gambling online in Maine has some added benefits. It accommodates players who don’t live near one of the two brick-and-mortar casinos. Plus, online sportsbooks allow punters from the Pine Tree State to participate when they have no other in-state options.

As you now know, we take pride in our list of recommended real-money gambling sites in Maine and beyond. We pay attention to the news, consider player feedback, and conduct detailed reviews of every betting and gaming site.

But you still may be curious about what makes one better than another. After all, you’re not comparing prices or faster shipping, so it’s not as straightforward.

Determining which online operations are worthy of a recommendation takes quite a bit of time and attention. We start with a complete list of real money gambling sites that allow Maine players to use their services. From there, though, we spend time on each of them, meticulously noting every pro and con.

The specific criteria that we reference include the following qualities:

After we have reviews in place, we compare them to see how each stacks up against the others.

Our internal process involves first removing the websites that fall short of expectations. From there, we take the ratings and rank our area directories, starting with the all-around best. But regardless of where a casino, sportsbook, or poker room ends up on the list, it’s been vetted and made the cut.

Hollywood Casino Hotel and Raceway

Address: 500 Main St, Bangor, ME 04401

Website: http://www.hollywoodcasinobangor.com/

Venue Type:Racino

Oxford Casino

Address: 777 Casino Way, Oxford, ME 04270

Website: http://www.oxfordcasino.com/

Venue Type:Commercial Casino

Maine’s Gambling Control Board

The Gambling Control Board is Maine’s regulatory and enforcement agency that deals with gambling. Start here for basics on the state’s gambling laws, from commercial casinos to private social contests and charitable games. As an added bonus, when the state legislature is in session, you can watch live Gaming Control Board meetings streaming in your browser. If you’re a gaming law nerd like we are, you’ll fall hard for this feature.

More from Maine’s Gambling Control Board

UNLV’s Gaming Research Study of Maine

We love this page because it gives a mix of hard statistical data and expert commentary on the state of gaming in Maine. This page covers all of the regulated gaming markets in Maine, and it also includes a timeline of recent changes to Maine gaming law. If you want an idea of the revenues provided by various legal forms of gaming in the state, we think you’ll find this page useful.

Read more from the study

Maine State Legislature: Gambling Definitions

A guide to the Maine criminal code as it relates to gaming. This is where you’ll find the state’s definition of terms like “gambling” and “gambling device.” It’s an ugly site maintained by some low-level bureaucrat working for the state of Maine, but we got over its design flaws because of the solid information provided. If you’re researching the legality of any form of gambling in Maine, you should start here.

Find more information here

Maine residents are familiar with their in-state gambling opportunities. While there aren’t very many, they certainly surpass states like Hawaii and Utah that maintain a strict anti-gambling stance.

While the Pine Tree State has some objections to overcome before sports betting enters the scene, there are still a few things already on the table. Land-based venues include a racetrack, a racino, and a casino. Additionally, the Maine Lottery is approaching its 50^th anniversary and is going strong.

Online gambling in Maine is a combination of the in-state-regulated daily fantasy sports (DFS), which is a relative newcomer, as well as real money casinos, sportsbooks, and poker rooms.

The best Maine gambling sites currently originate from outside the area and are regulated in a foreign jurisdiction. However, the operators are particularly accommodating to Mainers and other US players. They offer diversified banking methods, as well as licensed software used by the best American-facing sites.