A mobile sports betting bill now before Maine legislators hopefully would keep residents from going to New Hampshire to place their bets.
It’s no secret that a lot of Mainers cross the state line to bet from time to time. Once there, they find a spot in a parking lot or along the road that allows the geolocation of their phones to determine they are in the Granite State. Then they freely make sports bets on the DraftKings app.
One customer told the Portland Press Herald about his experience betting on the Super Bowl: “I went to the Brook (a retail sports-betting site in Seabrook) for the experience. However, I used the DraftKings Sportsbook app to place my bets. It is so much easier and I’d rather have full control of my money. Whereas if I were to go to the window and place a bet, I’d have to drive back down to New Hampshire to collect my money.”
New Hampshire legalized sports betting in 2019 and it has grown steadily ever since. This is largely due to the ease of placing bets with the mobile software on computer or by app. It has raised a tidy sum in taxes through the lottery commission, which contracts exclusively with DraftKings. There are also three retail locations, in Dover, Manchester and Seabrook. However, mobile bets account for 84 percent of all sports wagers in the state.
New Hampshire is uniquely positioned in that its three neighboring states have not yet legalized sports betting. So it gets all of their bettors, which accounts for about 15 percent of the total.
The lottery collects 50 percent of retail sales revenue and 51 percent of the mobile revenue. Last year that was about $15 million in taxes from $579 million in wagers.
Maine lawmakers would like to put a stop to their residents making bets there and keep their business at home.
Rep. Tim Roche sponsored the initial bill to legalize sports betting. It was later superseded by what emerged from the Judiciary Committee, which in March voted 8-6 vote on a bill that would allow the state’s tribes to operate mobile sports betting. Oxford Casino and the state’s harness racing tracks and off-track betting venues would be able to offer retail sportsbooks.
New Hampshire’s success motivated Roche. “I just saw a ton of money heading south. I have people I know who go over to New Hampshire and place bets,” he said. “They bet, and then they turn around and come back, and New Hampshire’s getting that. We have scratch tickets. We have bingo. What’s the difference if somebody wants to put a little on the Patriots?”
The bill has some concessions for those who think problem gambling is largely ignored in the national rush to legalize sports betting. Unlike New Hampshire, where bettors can be as young as 18, Maine’s bill raises the age limit to 21. One percent of sports betting profits would be earmarked to threat gambling addiction. Additionally bets would not be allowed on teams based in Maine.
