For a long time, Maine had very strict laws for gambling in the state.
Hotels close to a casino in Portland offer the convenience of easy access to your favorite games of chance, so you’ll feel like you’ve hit the jackpot. Check out a great variety of Portland hotels by a casino and discover the one that will make your dreams come true. Lady Luck is on your side when you trust your hotel reservation to. The Hollywood Casino Hotel & Raceway is located in Bangor, along the Penobscot River. The casino features over 1,000 slot machines including video poker and other video games. The establishment provides also 148 luxurious rooms, 4 suites and 3 restaurants open daily. The Casino of Oxford is the Second gaming establishment.
This changed in the early 2000s when slot games were permitted to be on racino floors, and a new casino opened its doors.
Residents in ME have access to pari-mutuel betting, the state lottery, charitable bingo, poker, and land-based casino gambling.
Online gambling is not legal with the exception of Daily Fantasy Sports.
We take a look at the current gambling laws, where to play, and the future of casinos in the Pine Tree State in our guide.
Maine does not currently offer any forms of legal online gambling. The state is close to legalizing sportsbooks, but there is no plan to regulate online casinos or poker any time soon.
The current laws in Maine do say that casinos would be penalized for trying to operate online however, there is no law stopping people from virtual gaming.
This means you don't necessarily have to worry about doing jail time for playing an online poker game at home.
Maine has two land-based casinos which are regulated by the State of Maine Gambling Control Board. Should online casinos ever become legal, the Board would monitor both online and land-basedactivity.
There are only two casinos in Maine that also operate as racetracks.
Unless otherwise noted, all Maine casinos offer slots, video poker, video keno, craps, blackjack, roulette, and three-card poker.
Optional games include let it ride, mini-baccarat, Big-6 wheel, Spanish 21, ultimate Texas Hold‘em, Mississippi stud, and Poker.
There are two casinos in Maine: Hollywood Casino Bangor and Oxford Casino.
Both of these ME casinos offer electronic gaming machines, as well as live table games and horse racing.
State gaming regulations require a minimum return of 89% on all machines at Maine casinos. The payback percentages on electronic gaming machines at all casinos in Maine are released as amatter of public record. Just click here to see a list of slot machine payback statistics for all Mainecasinos.
Maine has two racetracks that offer pari-mutuel betting on horse races.
Hollywood Casino was the first to offer slot machines in ME as soon as horse race tracks were given the green light.
There are also venues where off-track betting is permitted in the state.
There is only one Tribal bingo hall in Maine, belonging to the Penobscot/Panawahpskeks.
Click on any of the following casinos listed below to learn more about the venue.
Maine slot machine casino gambling consists of two pari-mutuel racetracks with slot machines. Bingo is available throughout the state.
A minimum theoretical payout limit exists and return statistics are available by casino.
This post continues my weekly State-By-State Slot Machine Casino Gambling Series, an online resource dedicated to guiding slot machine casino gambler to success. Now in its third year, each weekly post reviews slots gambling in a single U.S. state, territory, or federal district.
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The minimum legal gambling age in Maine depends upon the gambling activity:
In 2003, Maine offered a referendum to its voters to approve slot machines at racetracks. The residents of Bangor approved it, but residents of the city of Scarborough did not. To this day, the racetrack in Scarborough still does not offer slot machines.
In 2010, voters in the town of Oxford approved slot machines for their casino. The next year, the casino in the city of Bangor approved table games.
Maine’s legal rights with regards to tribal gaming are unusual relative to other states. The application of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 does not apply due to the prior Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980. Therefore, gaming on tribal land in Maine is subject to state law rather than the federal IGRA.
*The purpose of this section is to inform the public of state gambling laws and how the laws might apply to various forms of gaming. It is not legal advice.
In Maine, it is legal to own a slot machine privately without regard to its date of manufacturer.
Maine’s gaming control commission is its Gambling Control Unit.
There are two non-tribal casinos in Maine, both racetracks with slot machines.
The largest casino in Maine is Oxford Casino Hotel with nearly 1,000 gaming machines.
The second-largest casino, and only other casino in Maine, is Hollywood Casino Bangor with 724 gaming machines.
Maine’s two racetracks with slot machines are:
Maine has four federally-recognized American Indian tribes. State law permits them to offer high-stakes bingo games without restriction on the size of prizes. However, there are no open tribal casinos in Maine.
As an alternative to enjoying Maine slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering Maine is:
Each of the links above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to Maine.
Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in Maine? If so, join our new Maine slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to join this closed Facebook Group freely.
There, you’ll be able to privately share your slots experiences as well as chat with players about slots gambling in Maine. Join us!
Maine law requires payout returns have a minimum of 89% on all electronic gaming machines. There is no maximum legal limit for payout returns. Unusually, this state law requirement applies to any Class II bingo-style gaming machines offered by Maine’s tribes.
Maine’s Gambling Control Unit offers Casino Revenue Information. These reports are monthly except for the most recent month, which is weekly.
These reports offer player win percentage as Average Pay Back % to Players. For January 2020, the casino-specific monthly player win percentages were:
Maine slot machine casino gambling consists of two pari-mutuel wagering racetracks with slot machines. A third racetrack only offers pari-mutuel wagering without slots.
The minimum legal limit for payout returns is 89%. Actual return statistics by casino are available by month except for the most recent month, when they are available weekly.
In the last year, there has been little to no change to slot machine gambling in the state of Maine.
Have fun, be safe, and make good choices!
By Jon H. Friedl, Jr. Ph.D., President
Jon Friedl, LLC