A tribal online gambling bill in Maine has remained unsuccessful, despite lawmakers in the state continuing to push for approval from the House.
Tribal Online Gambling Bill In Maine Remains Unsuccessful
The bill proposes an extended view on tribal gaming within the state of Maine and after passing the Senate, it has failed to pick up any speed in recent weeks.
At this time, Maine has four recognized tribes that offer sports betting markets and this new proposition, the Wabanaki tribes would also gain rights to digital wagering.
After attempting to see the bill be approved twice, lawmakers were unable to gain any attention and the proposal was disregarded by the Senate and the House in early April.
The reasoning behind this is said to come down to a lack of support for the proposal and lawmakers made another attempt to see the bill be successful weeks later.
Assistant Senate Majority Leader, Mattie Daughtry has not given up on the bill and has asked for the proposition to be looked at once more.
During the second vote, the bill managed to pass the senate with a 19-13 majority vote and lawmakers are said to vote for the option that goes against their beliefs – reverting the vote if the bill isn’t finalized.
This positive vote did not last long, as despite receiving approval from the senate on Tuesday, it was declined on the same day.
Those who agree with the bill believe the recognized tribes would gain an advantage from the new rights with iGaming.
This comes as the bill is said to bring an increased amount of revenue to the state of Maine and would be put in the local economy, instead of supporting businesses away from Maine.
Less than 10 states in North America allow online gambling, including New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Delaware.