On April 6, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed an act that prohibits all types of online sweepstake gaming in Maine. This law is called “An Act to Prohibiting the Use of Online Sweepstakes Gaming.”
Under this legislation, all forms of sweepstakes game platforms will now be included in the definition of unlawful gambling under Maine law. The new bill also provides for enforcement against any operator of an illegal sweepstakes game to utilize existing criminal and regulatory law for enforcement purposes as opposed to using an unknown set of standards for enforcement.
Under the new law, any operator of an illegal online sweepstakes game will be subject to a fine that varies depending on the number of times they violate the law from $10,000 to $100,000 for each violation.
As a result, all fines that are collected as a result of enforcement of this law will go into the Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund that is used to pay for treatment and recovery programs associated with gambling addiction. In addition, any authorized gaming operator may also lose their gaming license if they violate this law.
