Is Gambling Legal in Maine? Laws, Penalties, and Taxes

Gambling is legal in Maine, but only in the specific forms the legislature has authorized: two licensed casinos, mobile and retail sports betting, the state lottery, harness racing and pari-mutuel wagering, and licensed charitable beano and bingo. Everything else is illegal. Title 17 of the Maine Revised Statutes treats any game of chance as unlawful unless a license has been issued, with a narrow carve-out for purely social gambling among friends where no one takes a cut of the pot.¹ The Gambling Control Unit inside the Department of Public Safety, together with a five-member Gambling Control Board, handles licensing and enforcement.²

How Old You Have to Be

You must be at least 21 to play slot machines or table games at either licensed casino. State law also keeps anyone under 21 off the casino floor entirely, with a narrow exception for licensed employees between 18 and 20.³ Playing a slot while underage is itself a criminal offense, not just a house rule.

Sports betting, whether through a mobile app or at a retail location, is also 21 and up. Lottery tickets are the exception: the minimum age is 18.

Casinos

Maine has exactly two licensed casinos: Oxford Casino in Oxford and Hollywood Slots in Bangor.⁴ Both offer slot machines and table games. The state taxes slot revenue at 46% of net slot machine income and table game revenue at 16% of net table game income.⁵ The slot rate is among the highest in the country. A quarter of net slot income goes directly to the Department of Education for K-12 essential programs and services, 10% goes to the Fund for a Healthy Maine, and 3% goes to the Agricultural Fair Support Fund.⁶

Sports Betting

Sports betting became legal when Governor Janet Mills signed LD 585 in May 2022, and wagering went live on November 3, 2023. Two license types exist. Facility-based licenses cover in-person betting at existing casinos, commercial tracks, and off-track betting locations. Mobile sports wagering licenses are reserved exclusively for Maine’s four federally recognized tribes: the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Micmac, and Maliseet Nations. Each tribe holds one mobile license, transferable only to a wholly owned tribal business entity, which caps the state’s mobile market at four apps. Caesars Sportsbook and DraftKings were among the first to launch.⁷

The rules on what you can wager on are stricter than in many other states. High school events are entirely off-limits. College sports are also off-limits, with one narrow exception: you may bet on championship games of a recognized national collegiate tournament. Many states only restrict betting on in-state college teams, so Maine’s rule cuts wider.⁸ Sports betting revenue is taxed at 10% of gross gaming revenue, with a portion directed to problem gambling services.

Online Casino Games

Online casino gambling (iGaming) is not yet available in Maine. In January 2026, Governor Mills allowed LD 1164 to become law, authorizing the Wabanaki Nations to run online gambling platforms on the same tribal-exclusive model used for mobile sports betting.⁹ Implementing rules and launch timelines are still in development, so no legal online slots or table games are running in the state as of early 2026. Any site currently offering casino games to Maine residents is operating outside state law.

State Lottery

The Maine State Lottery has been running since 1974 and is administered by the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations. It sells scratch tickets from $1 to $30 and offers multi-state draw games including Powerball, Mega Millions, and Lotto America.¹⁰

Lottery profits flow to the state’s General Fund rather than to dedicated accounts. Since 1974, the lottery has transferred more than $1.24 billion to the General Fund, which the legislature uses for aid to schools, higher education, health services, and other programs. Since 1996, certain $1 instant games have generated $18.85 million for the Outdoor Heritage Fund for conservation and wildlife projects.¹¹

Harness Racing and Pari-Mutuel Wagering

Harness racing has been legal in Maine longer than any other form of gambling. The Maine State Harness Racing Commission was established in 1935 and is housed in the Department of Agriculture. Wagering revenue is redistributed to funds supporting commercial tracks, racing purses, off-track betting, and Maine’s agricultural fairs.¹²

Charitable Beano, Bingo, and Games of Chance

Nonprofit organizations can run beano and bingo games or other games of chance after obtaining a license from the Gambling Control Unit. Beano and bingo are governed by Title 17, Chapter 13-A, and other games of chance by Title 17, Chapter 62. Prize limits, reporting rules, and the types of games permitted are set out in the Gambling Control Unit’s rules.¹³ These events are how community groups, veterans’ organizations, and religious institutions raise money.

Tribal Gaming Works Differently in Maine

Most people assume tribes can run full-scale casinos under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. In Maine, they cannot. The Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 contains a provision saying that later federal laws do not apply in Maine unless Congress specifically overrides the settlement. IGRA was passed in 1988 without such an override, and the First Circuit has held that IGRA’s compact framework does not reach Maine.¹⁴

Tribal gaming in Maine is therefore limited to what state law authorizes. The Gambling Control Unit may license federally recognized tribes to run high-stakes beano or bingo on up to 27 weekends per year (Saturdays and Sundays only) and to sell sealed pull-tab tickets in a two-hour window before and after each beano game.¹⁴ The recent tribal-exclusive mobile sports betting and iGaming laws are expansions that came through state legislation, not the federal compact route used elsewhere.

Penalties for Illegal Gambling

Gambling outside the authorized channels is a crime under Title 17-A, Chapter 39. Knowingly participating in or profiting from illegal gambling is unlawful gambling, a Class D crime carrying up to 364 days in jail and a fine, plus mandatory forfeiture of all income tied to the violation. Playing a slot machine while under 21 falls in the same class.

Organizing, promoting, or financing a larger illegal operation is aggravated unlawful gambling, a Class B crime with substantially heavier penalties.

Federal charges can stack on top. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1955, an illegal gambling business becomes a federal crime if it violates state law, involves five or more people running or financing it, and either operates for more than 30 days or takes in more than $2,000 in gross revenue in a single day.¹⁵

Taxes on What You Win

Gambling winnings are taxable income at both the federal and state level, whether or not you receive a tax form.

Federal

Operators file IRS Form W-2G once your winnings hit a reporting threshold that varies by game. For 2026, the minimum threshold for most gambling winnings is $2,000, adjusted annually for inflation.¹⁶ A mandatory 24% federal withholding applies to winnings from sweepstakes, lotteries, wagering pools, and sports betting when the payout exceeds $5,000 and is at least 300 times the wager. Slot, bingo, and keno winnings get reported on W-2G but are not subject to that automatic withholding. Winnings below reporting thresholds are still taxable. You can deduct gambling losses, but only up to the amount of your winnings and only if you itemize.

Maine

Maine imposes state income tax on gambling winnings as well. The state lottery withholds 7.15% on prizes over $5,000, on top of the federal 24%.¹⁷ Casino and sports betting winnings are subject to Maine income tax when you file. Detailed records of wins and losses matter here, because the deduction math depends on documentation most casual gamblers never keep.

Help for Problem Gambling

Licensed operators must display responsible gambling information at their venues and on their sites and make helpline and counseling resources available. Maine runs a voluntary self-exclusion program: sign up and you are barred from gambling venues and online platforms for a period you choose, and operators face regulatory consequences if they let a self-excluded person gamble. A share of casino slot revenue (through the Fund for a Healthy Maine) and of sports betting tax revenue is earmarked for problem gambling services.⁶

1
Maine State Legislature. Maine Revised Statutes Title 17 Section 1832 – Licenses
2
Department of Public Safety. About the Maine Gambling Control Unit
3
Maine State Legislature. Maine Revised Statutes Title 8, Section 1031 – Age Limit on Slot Machine and Table Game Use
4
Department of Public Safety. Maine Gambling Control Unit
5
Maine State Legislature. Maine Legislature Fiscal Note
6
Maine State Legislature. Maine Revised Statutes 8 Section 1036 – Allocation of Funds
7
Maine State Legislature. LD 585 – An Act to Enhance Tribal-State Collaboration and Authorize Sports Wagering
8
Department of Public Safety. Maine Sports Wagering Rules Chapter 50-66
9
Office of Governor Janet Mills. Governor Mills Announces Bill to Create Economic Opportunities for Wabanaki Nations Become Law
10
Maine State Lottery. History of the Maine State Lottery
11
Maine State Lottery. Where the Money Goes
12
Maine State Legislature. Maine State Harness Racing Commission Program Evaluation Report
13
Department of Public Safety. Charitable Statutes and Rules
14
Maine State Legislature. Federal Law Maine MICSA/MIA Task Force Recommendation
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1955 – Prohibition of Illegal Gambling Businesses
16
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754
17
Maine State Lottery. FAQ – Maine State Lottery