Oxford Casino Files Lawsuit Challenging Maine’s Tribal iGaming Law

Oxford Casino has filed a lawsuit against Maine’s Gambling Control Unit, escalating the fight over the state’s newly approved tribal iGaming framework. The suit argues Maine is unlawfully building an online casino monopoly by granting exclusive iGaming rights to the Wabanaki Nations—while leaving the state’s commercial casinos on the outside looking in, according to reporting from the Portland Press Herald.

Gov. Janet Mills recently authorized Maine’s four federally recognized tribes—the Penobscot Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and Mi’kmaq Nation—to begin offering online casino-style gambling under the new law. Oxford Casino’s lawsuit aims to stop or overturn that approach before it reshapes Maine’s gambling market.

A legal showdown over exclusivity—and who gets the online casino pie

At the center of the dispute is exclusivity. Maine’s law gives the Wabanaki Nations sole access to statewide online casino games, echoing the structure Maine used for mobile sports betting. Oxford Casino argues the state crossed a legal line by choosing winners and losers in the online market—especially where the commercial operators have already invested heavily in regulated, in-person gaming.

The lawsuit claims the state’s iGaming structure violates Equal Protection Clauses in both the U.S. Constitution and the Maine Constitution, alleging the framework is race-based. Oxford Casino also warns the impact isn’t theoretical: it says brick-and-mortar casinos could lose millions in revenue if online slots and table games go live under a tribal-only model, with significant downstream effects on staffing and local jobs.

The filing includes a blunt statement of harm: “Promoting iGaming through race-based preferences deals a gut-wrenching blow to Maine businesses like Oxford Casino that have heavily invested in the State and its people.”

Why Oxford Casino says the bill hits jobs and local investment hardest

Oxford Casino is one of Maine’s two commercial casinos, alongside Hollywood Casino. Both have opposed the iGaming expansion on similar grounds—arguing that an online market they can’t participate in will pull play away from on-property gaming, reducing casino foot traffic and weakening the economics that support hospitality and gaming employment.

Oxford Casino’s position is that the state is effectively expanding gambling—but channeling the benefit to one group of operators only, despite commercial casinos operating under strict licensing requirements and contributing to local employment and tax flows for years.

Hollywood Casino, public health voices, and regulators also pushed back

Oxford Casino isn’t alone in opposing LD 1164. Hollywood Casino has also voiced concerns, with job-loss warnings tied to a potential shift of play from physical casino floors to mobile screens.

Other objections surfaced during the bill’s movement through Augusta, including concerns raised by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and members of Maine’s Gambling Control Board. Those critiques focused less on market access and more on risk: how expanded availability could affect problem gambling, whether treatment funding will be adequate, and how enforcement will keep pace.

How the bill barely survived the State House—and why that matters now

The path to passage was tight, and the voting margins tell the story. The House backed the tribal online casino proposal by an 85–59 vote, framing it as economic development for the Wabanaki Nations while directing portions of proceeds toward public programs. The Senate then advanced LD 1164 by a single vote on a second attempt—an outcome that practically invited continued political and legal pressure.

Supporters pitched the measure as a way to capture play already happening on offshore sites and shift it into a regulated system with consumer protections and tax revenue. Opponents argued it could trade stable brick-and-mortar jobs for uncertain online gains, while expanding access to higher-risk forms of gambling.

When will iGaming actually launch in Maine?

Even with the governor’s authorization, there’s still no fixed launch date for legal iGaming in Maine. The law is expected to take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns this year, but timelines for platforms, vendor agreements, and regulatory implementation can still shape when players will see real-money online casino options go live.

That uncertainty creates pressure on every side—tribes planning rollout strategies, regulators preparing oversight, and commercial casinos pushing their legal challenge before the market becomes operational.

The credit-card betting crackdown adds another twist

While the iGaming debate intensifies, lawmakers are also looking at harm-reduction measures elsewhere in the gambling ecosystem. A separate proposal has been introduced to ban credit card use for sports betting in Maine, aimed at limiting the financial risks tied to problem gambling.

Taken together, Maine is sending mixed signals: expanding gambling on one front while tightening payment rules on another. Oxford Casino’s lawsuit now adds a third force—litigation—that could reshape how (and whether) the state’s online casino market ultimately takes form.

For readers following Oxford Casino’s broader role in Maine gaming, you can view our brand page here: Oxford Casino.