Lauren McCauley and Emma Davis*Maine Morning Star*
The Wabanaki Nations will now have exclusive rights to operate internet gaming in Maine.
Gov. Janet Mills announced Thursday that she would allow legislation passed by both chambers last session to become law, despite her administration’s initial opposition to the proposal.
Mills met with the elected chiefs of Mi’kmaq Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribes at Indian Township and Sipayik this fall, “who each spoke passionately about the importance of this bill in offering life-changing revenue for Tribal communities, as well as providing a form of economic sovereignty for their Nations,” she said in a statement.
She said while she has concerns about the impact of gambling on public health, she believes online gambling should be regulated, “and I am confident that Maine’s Gambling Control Unit will develop responsible rules and standards to hold providers of this new form of gambling accountable while ensuring that Maine’s tribes benefit from its operations.”
The Wabanaki chiefs applauded the law in statements provided by the governor’s office, thanking Mills and underscoring the economic boon it would provide to their tribes as well as neighboring rural communities.
Penobscot Chief Kirk Francis applauded Mills for working with the Tribes on this issue. “This cooperative approach and open-mindedness have led to passage of a historic Tribal economic bill that will benefit not just the Wabanaki people but all of Maine,” Francis said. “It represents a recognition of and support for economic Tribal self-governance and self-determination.”
Mi’kmaq Chief Sheila McCormack said, “This bill will provide new and sustainable revenue that will deliver needed resources to invest in our community and provide for the health, welfare, and safety of our citizens.”
Clarissa Sabattis, chief of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, called the new law “an incredible step for all of us.”
“For too long black-market websites have hosted illegal iGaming, with no protection for our youth and vulnerable adults,” Sabattis said. “LD 1164 will create a closely regulated iGaming market with strict controls and will ensure much needed revenues remain in Maine.”
The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 codified that tribes have the exclusive right to regulate gaming on their lands, unless the state in which it operates prohibits such gaming under its criminal laws.
However, the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act has made it so the Wabanaki Nations are treated more akin to municipalities than independent nations, one way being that the Tribes are unable to benefit from any federal law passed after 1980, unless they are specifically mentioned in the law.
In 2022, the Maine Legislature amended the Settlement Act to permit Tribes to handle sports betting, so the new law would build off of that earlier expansion signed by Mills.
In a nod to this history, McCormack said, “For almost 20 years, our Nation struggled to gain the ear of Maine’s governors, but under the leadership of Governor Mills, and her commitment to respectful and open communication, our jurisdiction has been reestablished.”
Mills has not supported every effort to expand sovereignty, opposing sweeping reforms in favor of taking a piecemeal approach to changing the Settlement Act. In June, the governor vetoed legislation that sought to prevent the state from being able to seize tribal land for public use.
Nearly half of the candidates vying to replace Mills have pledged to back full sovereignty if they win the gubernatorial election in November.
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