Best Online Sportsbook Maine: Why Only Two Apps Exist

Best online sportsbook Maine comes down to two names, not ten: DraftKings or Caesars Sportsbook. That isn't a ranking quirk — it's the whole structure of Maine's law. Mobile sports betting launched November 3, 2023, and from day one the state handed out licenses through its four federally recognized tribes instead of through an open commercial bidding process.

A Tribe Picks the App, Not the State

LD 585, signed by Governor Janet Mills on May 2, 2022, gave the Penobscot Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and the Mi'kmaq Nation the exclusive right to hold Maine's mobile sports betting licenses. No commercial casino can apply directly. Each tribe may instead pursue a partnership with one sportsbook operator of its choosing, and pay the state $200,000 every four years to keep that license current. Two tribes picked DraftKings and Caesars. The other two have not activated a mobile license at all, which is the real reason Maine's market has stayed at two apps for three years instead of growing toward the eight-operator fields common in states like Louisiana or Kentucky.

Is Online Sports Betting Legal in Maine? Yes — Just Narrowly Licensed

There's no ambiguity on legality: mobile and retail sports betting are both fully legal and regulated statewide for anyone 21 or older physically in Maine. The Maine Gambling Control Unit oversees both the tribal mobile licenses and up to ten possible retail licenses at casinos, race tracks, and off-track betting facilities. What's narrow is supply, not legality — the law caps mobile licenses at one per tribe, and only two of the four have exercised that right so far.

Why FanDuel and BetMGM Sat This One Out

FanDuel's absence isn't an accident of timing. Its industry group, the Sports Betting Alliance, lobbied against LD 585 before it passed, objecting specifically to the revenue-sharing terms a tribe would collect from any operator it licensed. No tribe has signed FanDuel since, and BetMGM has never publicly pursued a Maine partnership either. For a Maine bettor that means skipping the two biggest national brands isn't a matter of preference — those apps are not an option here at all, regardless of what's advertised nationally.

Worth Betting Legally in Maine Now?

Yes, for anyone 21 or older in the state — both licensed apps have run without interruption since their respective launches, and the tribal structure that limits supply doesn't make either book less regulated. Maine's 10% tax and $200,000 renewal fee are the tribe's and operator's costs, not the bettor's. None of that changes what sports betting actually is: 21-and-over entertainment with the house holding the edge, not a way to make money. Maine's 211 helpline offers free, confidential problem gambling support any time it stops feeling that way.

The short list

1. 1. DraftKings — Licensed through the Passamaquoddy Tribe, ~80% of handle

   DraftKings has run statewide since the November 3, 2023 mobile launch under its agreement with the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and carries the large majority of Maine's online sports betting handle.

2. 2. Caesars Sportsbook — Backed by three tribes, plus Maine's only retail book

   Caesars Sportsbook holds a joint license from the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Mi'kmaq Nation, and the Penobscot Nation, and powers Oddfellahs Sportsbook & Bar, the retail counter that opened in Portland in September 2024.

Questions this list actually answers