The Maine Governor has signed LD 2007 into law. Sweepstakes operators are expected to exit the state by July 14, 2026.
Maine’s Legislative Document 2007 (LD 2007), an anti-sweepstakes casino bill, has passed both chambers of the state legislature and now heads to the desk of Governor Janet Mills for a signature or veto.
It’s thought Mills will choose to sign the bill, or let it pass into law with no signature – this is what she did with LD 1164 last year, a separate bill that’s paving the way for the Pine Tree State’s first foray into regulated online gambling.
LD 2007 can be seen as complimentary to the new iGaming regulation, outlawing sweepstakes casinos completely so that only regulated online casinos, operated by the Wabanaki Nations tribal group, remain.
LD 2007’s Path to Passage
LD 2007 was filed in the Senate on December 3, 2025 and sponsored by Senator Craig Hickman (pictured). It amends Title 5, §20006‑B, sub‑§1 of the Maine Revised Statutes, which governs the Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund. This is because the bill ensures that any fines from prohibiting online sweepstakes games are deposited into the fund.
In terms of its definition of sweepstakes, it’s one of the most watertight we’ve ever seen. It describes a system that:
“Encourages a person to purchase services, products, coins, tokens, or other representations of value that are not exchangeable for a prize, award, cash, or cash equivalents, or a chance to win a prize, award, cash, or cash equivalents, in order for that person to obtain the coins, tokens, or other representations of value that are exchangeable for prizes, awards, cash, or cash equivalents, or a chance to win a prize, award, cash, or cash equivalents.”
It’s essentially a legally-minded way to describe a system where players are encouraged to purchase a product with no inherent value – like Gold Coins (GC) – which comes bundled with a valuable product – such as Sweepstakes Coins (SC). This is exactly how coin packs work at sweepstakes casinos, with SC eventually redeemable for real cash prizes.
The workaround exploits a gray area or loophole in law in many jurisdictions with direct consideration being avoided, but some states are now catching on and explicitly outlawing this format. Indiana already passed its own anti-sweeps bill earlier this month, and Maine could be the next state to do so.
Support for LD 2007 Wasn’t Unanimous
Having passed the Senate on March 12, LD 2007 has now completed its journey through the House, though the floor vote was far from unanimous. Still, the vote of 87-55 yesterday was enough to grant passage through the lower chamber, the bill seeing only one amendment on its journey (mostly a technical re-write to avoid conflicts with an existing law).
So Maine’s legalization of regulated iGaming under LD 1164 paves the way for the state’s first lawful online casinos, and LD 2007 will likely make sure the sweepstakes format is not a part of this new framework.
While no official launch date has been set, experience would suggest regulated platforms can go live within about 12 months of legalization, meaning a potential launch window in late 2026 or early 2027 in ME.
Author: Bogdan Lunkan
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