Maine Voters Strongly Oppose iGaming
Posted on: January 5, 2026, 11:56h.
Last updated on: January 5, 2026, 12:02h.
- Poll emerges ahead of opening of veto window
- Gov. Mills has from Wednesday through Friday to veto LD 1164 — a bill that could legalize internet casinos in the state
- Just 16% support legalization, according to the poll
A new poll indicates nearly two-thirds of Maine voters don’t want the state to approve iGaming legislation, with nearly half of the respondents saying they’re strongly opposed.
Commissioned by the National Association Against iGaming (NAAiG) and conducted by Lake Research, the survey indicates 64% of Maine voters don’t want iGaming in the state, with 49% saying they’re strongly opposed to it. Just 16% favor adding that form of betting.
The findings come as Gov. Janet Mills faces a narrow window from Wednesday through Friday this week to veto the controversial effort to legalize iGambling in LD 1164. Only seven states permit iGaming and none since 2023,” said NAAiG in a press release discussing the poll.
The survey also indicates that Mainers remain opposed to internet casinos even when learning about potential benefits, including expanded revenue streams for the state’s tribal gaming operators, which would exclusively control that form of wagering in the New England state.
Mills Expected to Veto Maine iGaming Bill
Mills, a Democrat, is expected to veto the iGaming bill. Not only is it opposed by Maine voters across party lines, Churchill Downs and Penn Entertainment — operators of the state’s two commercial casinos — don’t want it coming to life, either.
There are also bad optics associated with Maine potentially approving iGaming. As NAAiG points out, politically similar states such as Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York have rejected that form of gaming expansion.
“If Maine allows iGaming to become law, the state will stand out as an outlier in New England and across the country at a time when other governors and legislatures are hearing from their constituents and choosing not to move forward with this highly addictive form of gambling,” said Jason Gumer, a NAAiG board member, in the press release.
Maine politicians would do well to heed the findings in the NAAiG poll because the survey confirms that 51% of respondents would be less likely to support a candidate who’s a proponent of iGaming.
Don’t Expect New iGaming States in 2026
Today, just seven states — Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia — allow internet casinos, and with Mills likely to reject the aforementioned legislation, it’s unlikely Maine will bring that number to eight.
Some analysts are already speculating that 2026 will bring no additions to the rosters of states permitting iGaming and sports betting. That jibes with chatter emerging early last year in which some industry experts hypothesized that between that time and the end of 2027, only Florida would join the iGaming party.
“With a veto decision imminent, Gov. Mills has a clear signal from voters,” Gumer added. “Legalizing iGaming is deeply unpopular, politically risky, and viewed as a direct threat to children, families, and communities. The responsible course of action is to veto this legislation.”
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