Ruddock Report: Maine Looks Ahead To Online Casinos In 2027
Regulatory steps are still required for iCasino approval that took place in January
Our monthly look at the online gambling landscape includes the current legal and regulatory scene, prospective online casino and online poker states, and significant trends to watch.
What’s going on in Maine?
Maine legalized online casino gambling this January, when Gov. Janet Mills allowed LD 1164 to become law without her signature. The bill, which Mills had been expected to veto, was passed by the legislature in 2025. The law officially took effect in July, which started the regulatory process under the Maine Gambling Control Unit (MGCU).
Like the state’s sports betting law, the law grants exclusive rights for online casinos to the state’s four federally recognized Wabanaki Nations (Passamaquoddy Tribe, Penobscot Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and Mi’kmaq Nation). Each tribe can partner with a single commercial operator, for a maximum of four platforms.
Three of those platforms will be operated by Caesars Entertainment (Caesars Palace Online Casino, Caesars Sportsbook & Casino, and Horseshoe Online Casino), which expanded its existing sports betting partnerships with three of the state’s tribes (Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Mi’kmaq Nation, and Penobscot Nation) in late June to include online casinos.
The fourth platform is also likely to be spoken for, as the Passamaquoddy Tribe is partnered with DraftKings on the sports betting side, although it hasn’t officially announced its online casino partner.
The next steps
Here’s a look at the remaining steps:
- The MGCU has held a public hearing on proposed rules, but final rules have yet to be published.
- After rules are finalized, tribes and their operators must apply for licenses.
- Platforms must be tested and approved.
This process is likely to take many more months, as the MGCU is a relatively small agency and has taken its time on previous gambling expansions including mobile sports betting, which was an 18-month process from legalization to launch. The best estimate would be a launch in the first half of 2027.
An ongoing lawsuit filed by Oxford Casino (owned by Churchill Downs) may also slow things down. Churchill Downs filed the lawsuit in January challenging the tribal-exclusive model as an unconstitutional “race-based monopoly.”
Ohio gubernatorial candidates open to online casinos
With anti-gambling Gov. Mike DeWine term-limited and leaving office at the start of 2027, I’ve placed Ohio in the dark horse category, giving it about a 10% chance to legalize online casinos in 2027-2028. That percentage could change depending on who replaces DeWine.
Cleveland.com recently asked the three candidates to succeed him four gambling-related questions, including their thoughts on legalizing online casinos.
Democratic candidate Amy Acton told Cleveland.com, through campaign spokeswoman Addie Bullock, she is “open to online gambling expansion provided it is done responsibly and is used to increase revenue for ‘public schools, childcare, and measures that would reduce costs and property taxes for everyday Ohioans.’” However, Acton is likely to want several restrictions and protections, considering her previous role as director of the Ohio Department of Health.
The long-shot Libertarian candidate, Don Kissick, said, “I am of the mindset prohibition does not work.” He went on to say that a regulated industry, with “legitimate vendors,” offers more safeguards.
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy did not respond to the questions but tends to have a libertarian stance when it comes to these types of issues.
2025-2026 online casino bills
The Ruddock Report will revise this list as new bills are introduced and reset the list at the start of the 2027 legislative cycle.
Active bills
Illinois
- HB 4797, sponsored by Rep. Edgar González Jr.
- HB 4802 (poker-only), sponsored by Rep. Edgar González Jr.
I’ve likened Illinois to the little engine that can’t, as there have been efforts to legalize online casinos in the state going back more than a decade.
There is certainly high-level support, as Gov. JB Pritzker called iCasinos an idea worth exploring last year. Pritzker’s 2026 budget said nothing about online gambling but proposed increasing taxes on existing casino table games.
More importantly, until the politically powerful VGT industry is on board, which is unlikely to happen anytime soon, legalization will remain out of reach. In January 2026, the team at Citizens met with Accel Entertainment and was told by Accel management that “there is no shot” of iGaming legalization in the state.
And recall that a March 13, 2025, legislative hearing turned into an anti-legalization struggle session, when the anti-online crowd marched in small business owners to hammer home its point.
Rep. Edgar González Jr. has filed two bills in 2026. The first resembles last year’s effort, HB 3080, and the second is an online poker-only bill that has no text and simply reads, “Amends the Illinois Gambling Act. Adds a Section concerning online poker. Contains a Section heading only.”
Also working against Illinois is the ongoing effort to repeal the recently enacted city of Chicago tax on sports betting, and the authorization of VGTs in Chicago.
Washington, D.C.
- CB 260656, sponsored by Councilmember Wendell Felder
A bill in Washington, D.C. would legalize online casino games while simultaneously prohibiting sweepstakes sites. The bill would impose a licensing fee of $2 million and set the tax rate at 25%, with an additional 2% local fee.
A hearing was held on May 4, but after four hours of robust debate, no vote was taken.
Inactive bills
Hawaii
The bills did not meet the legislative deadline and are effectively dead for the year.
Maryland
Sen. Ron Watson introduced two separate bills, one to legalize online poker and one that would legalize online casino games and bingo. SB 885 was paired with SB 761, which called for a statewide voter referendum in November 2026 for full implementation. The online poker bill sought to overcome the union and stakeholder opposition that has thwarted the state’s past online casino efforts.
A hearing on March 11 in the Budget and Taxation Committee resulted in no vote, as problem gambling and cannibalization concerns persist. The bill failed to pass the Senate before the March 23 crossover deadline and is effectively dead for the year. SB 884 was withdrawn by Watson on March 13.
Massachusetts
- HB 4431, sponsored by Rep. David Muradian
Massachusetts held two committee hearings on online casinos in 2025, but a vote was never taken. A June 23, 2025, legislative hearing (on HB 332 and SB 235) was short and sweet, with testimony and no questions from the committee. No vote was taken at the November hearing in front of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies either, but lawmakers did ask questions, with most of the questions pointing to concerns about the existing harms of sports betting.
The bill was sent to study on March 23, effectively killing it for the remainder of the year.
The recent launch of online lottery products will also make further expansion difficult, as Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg said in December: “I, right now, am firmly against iGaming. They may not like me for that, but I gotta think about the people of Massachusetts, and that’s my top priority.”
New York
New York has frustrated online gambling supporters for more than a decade. Last year’s efforts barely got off the ground as the state was busy handing out downstate casino licenses. Now that the downstate casino licenses have been awarded, there is growing optimism that the legislature can turn its attention to online expansion, but there are still several hurdles to clear.
Those include the state’s labor unions and cannibalization concerns, and with three new casinos coming, that means thousands of new union jobs and three new land-based properties to voice concerns about online cannibalization. The three casino operators (Bally’s, Hard Rock, and Genting) are not online-focused companies, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul hasn’t shown any signs of supporting iCasinos.
Virginia
Virginia burst into the online casino conversation last year with two bills, SB 827, sponsored by Sen. Mamie Locke, and HB 2171, sponsored by Del. Marcus Simon. The existence of the bills wasn’t a surprise, but the attention they received certainly was. Still, stakeholder opposition and union concerns caused Locke and Simon to pull their respective bills.
Simon and Locke introduced new bills in January, HB 161 and SB 118. The new bills include policies to address lottery and job concerns, as well as higher problem gambling funding.
The bills progressed to a conference committee, where they failed to win approval.
Steve is a highly respected and oft-cited voice in the legal online gambling space. Steve is an analyst and consultant and the publisher of the Straight to the Point newsletter.
