- A land-based casino in Maine filed a lawsuit against the state regarding a recently passed online gambling bill.
- The four tribes that were given exclusive rights to offer online casino gambling in Maine have now been permitted to intervene in the federal lawsuit.
- Oxford Casino Hotel has been opposed to online gambling expansion in Maine for years, but now that the legislature has passed, they want a piece of the action.
AUGUSTA, Maine – After a local casino filed a lawsuit against Maine’s iGaming bill, a judge has permitted local tribes to enter the lawsuit. Governor Janet Mills passed legal online blackjack in Maine back in January.
A judge granted the request from the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Mi’kmaq Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and the Penobscot Nation to intervene in the lawsuit on Thursday. These are the four tribes that were granted iGaming exclusivity rights, which is the core of the legal online blackjack lawsuit from Oxford Casino Hotel.
Oxford, one of Maine’s two land-based casinos, challenges the state’s online gambling expansion because it grants tribes an unfair monopoly. The casino specifically names it a “race-based monopoly” in their lawsuit against the director of the Maine Gambling Control Board, claiming the monopoly violates Equal Protection Clauses of both the U.S. and Maine Constitutions.
Tribes Defending Their Right To Operate Maine Online Casinos
Wabanaki Tribes argue that Oxford’s equal protection argument has implications outside of beyond online gambling; invalidating the tribes’ classification as sovereign entities and harming tribal-state partnerships throughout the country.
Even after Gov. Mills received many requests to veto iGaming, she ultimately let it pass without a veto or signature. Now, the lawsuit could pushback a potential online casino launch that was anticipated for mid-April.
In her statement regarding Maine’s online casino passage, she referenced the importance of providing economic sovereignty for the Wabanaki Nations. Oxford Casino Hotel now challenges that exclusive authority to operate Maine online casinos.