Maine's Sweepstakes Ban Is Live: Chapter 645, Explained

Maine's online sweepstakes ban took effect Wednesday, July 29, and the statute is written wider than most of the 2026 ban wave: it reaches anyone who operates, promotes, or supports a dual-currency game.

We pulled the enacted chapter law off the Maine Legislature's own system rather than working from press summaries, because the wording here is the story. LD 2007 was approved by the governor on April 6, 2026 and became Public Law Chapter 645, titled "An Act Regarding the Prohibition of Online Sweepstakes Games."

What the statute actually prohibits

Chapter 645 enacts a new chapter 38 of Title 8, headed "ONLINE SWEEPSTAKES GAMES PROHIBITED." A game falls inside it if it meets three tests at once: it is available on the Internet and accessible on "a mobile telephone, computer terminal or similar access device," it uses "a dual-currency system of payment," and it simulates casino-style gaming, "including, but not limited to, slot machines, poker and other table games, lottery games, bingo or sports wagering."

That is the standard sweeps model described in plain statutory English. If you have read our explainer on how sweepstakes casinos work, you already know the mechanism Maine just wrote into law: a purchasable currency alongside a free currency that redeems for cash.

The operative sentence is one line long. "A person that operates or promotes an online sweepstakes game or supports the operation or promotion of an online sweepstakes game commits a civil violation." Fines run "not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000," collected by the Gambling Control Unit and paid into the state's Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund. A licensed Maine gambling operator caught in violation loses its license, and anyone found in violation becomes ineligible to hold one.

There is a criminal hook too. Section 3 of the chapter adds a new subsection to Maine's unlawful gambling statute at Title 17-A, section 954, using the same operates-promotes-supports language. So the same conduct sits in two places at once, civil and criminal.

Why "promotes or supports" matters

Most of the bans we have tracked this year aim at the operator. Maine's wording sweeps in promotion and support, which is why affiliates, marketing partners and payment intermediaries have been reading this one closely. We do not run sign-up links or offers into banned states, and Maine is now firmly on that list regardless of how the promotion language gets enforced.

The date, and why operator cutoffs came early

Chapter 645 carries no emergency clause, so it landed on the session's general effective date. Governor Janet Mills' office confirmed on July 28 that laws from this session take effect the following day, Wednesday, July 29.

Several brands moved sooner than that. Deadspin's legal-betting desk reported in June that McLuck, Hello Millions, PlayFame and SpinBlitz all set Maine cutoffs for July 15, with Mega Bonanza and Jackpota stopping earlier and Pulsz Casino and Pulsz Bingo leaving during May. That reporting is single-sourced and we have not independently confirmed each date, so check your own account rather than a list. The Pulsz half of it we can now say does not hold up: both Pulsz brands still publish Maine as open, Pulsz Casino on a Gold-Coin-only tier and Pulsz Bingo outright, on articles we re-read on August 11. If you still hold a balance, our redemption walkthrough covers what a stalled cash-out usually needs.

Maine legalized online casinos the same day

The quieter half of this story: a second gambling law hit the same effective date. LD 1164 became Public Law Chapter 538 without the governor's signature on January 11, 2026. It enacts a new Title 8, chapter 39, "REGULATION OF INTERNET GAMING," and defines an operator as "a federally recognized Indian nation, tribe or band in this State that conducts Internet gaming." The statute sets an 18% tax on adjusted gross Internet gaming receipts, with 2% earmarked for the same gambling addiction fund the sweepstakes fines feed.

Legal on paper is not the same as playable. Rulemaking and licensing still have to happen, and Bettors Insider reported in June that operator launches could come as early as the start of 2027. So Maine currently has no live regulated online casino and no lawful sweepstakes option either. That gap is real, and it is the honest answer for anyone asking what to play in Maine right now: nothing online, for the moment.

Where this leaves the map

Maine joins the states where the statute is in force rather than pending. Our state-by-state legality matrix tracks each one, and the Maine page carries the detail for this law. Oklahoma is the next dated deadline on our board, and we covered what that November 1 timeline means separately.

If you are outside the banned states and reassessing your options, our ranked list of tested casinos and how we score them are the places to start.

Sources & documents

• Maine Legislature, LD 2007 bill record (Chapter 645)
• Maine Public Law Chapter 645, enacted text
• Maine Legislature, LD 1164 bill record (Chapter 538)
• Maine Public Law Chapter 538, enacted text
• Office of Governor Janet Mills, new laws take effect July 29, 2026
• Bettors Insider, Maine iGaming law takes effect July 29
• Deadspin, sweepstakes casinos exit Indiana and Maine
• Pulsz help centre, "Where can I find Pulsz in the US?" - body last edited June 2, 2026, re-read August 11, 2026; Maine listed Gold-Coin-only
• Pulsz Bingo help centre, "Where can I find PulszBingo in the US?" - body last edited June 10, 2025, re-read August 11, 2026; Maine listed as available

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