Maine Has No Rule on AI in Gambling, and Its Draft Online Casino Code Does Not Add One

Maine's regulator says it is monitoring the use of AI "locally and nationally" after the New York Times report on DraftKings, which takes about four in every five dollars bet with the state's mobile sportsbooks. Its draft rules for online casino, the product at the centre of the Times investigation, are open for comment until 30 October.

• Maine's Gambling Control Unit (GCU) said it "is monitoring the use of AI locally and nationally, but at this point there are no Maine laws or rules specifically addressing its use", WGME reported on 1 October; it has not said it has opened an inquiry into DraftKings or asked it for data
• The statement follows the New York Times report of 19 September that DraftKings scored customers by expected losses to direct promotions; DraftKings says it "does not use AI to target anyone based on losses"
• DraftKings operates in Maine through a partnership with the Passamaquoddy Tribe and took $306.7 million in bets there from January to August 2026, about 80% of the handle of the state's two mobile sportsbooks, according to GCU revenue reports
• Maine's existing sports wagering rules already require operators to keep records "sufficient to describe all targeting parameters used" and bar advertising that specifically targets patrons with a gambling addiction
• The GCU published a third draft of its internet gaming rules on 30 September, with comments due by 30 October; the draft repeats those advertising provisions but contains nothing on AI-driven promotions

Maine's Regulator Is Watching, Not Investigating

Maine's Gambling Control Unit responded to the New York Times investigation in a statement to WGME's CBS13 I-Team. "The Gambling Control Unit is monitoring the use of AI locally and nationally, but at this point there are no Maine laws or rules specifically addressing its use," a spokesperson said in the statement, published on Thursday 1 October. The unit has not said what monitoring involves, and neither the statement nor the station's report describes an inquiry letter, a data request or any other step directed at DraftKings.

The Times reported on 19 September, citing internal documents and more than 40 former employees, that DraftKings built a model in 2023 that gave online casino customers an "elasticity" score, a higher score meaning more expected loss per promotion, that a separate model to flag customers heading towards harm was shut down in early 2025, and that the company later developed similar techniques for sportsbook customers. DraftKings denies the characterisation. "DraftKings does not use AI to target anyone based on losses and does not market to customers based on indicators of potential problem gaming," the company said in a statement to the Times, quoted by WGME.

DraftKings Holds Most of a Tribal Market

Mobile sports wagering in Maine, live since 3 November 2023, is reserved for the four Wabanaki Nations, which hold the mobile licences and contract with sportsbook brands to run them. DraftKings entered through an agreement with the Passamaquoddy Tribe announced in 2023, while Caesars works with the Penobscot Nation, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and the Mi'kmaq Nation.

GCU revenue reports show how much of the market DraftKings holds. From January to August 2026 the Passamaquoddy account took $306.7 million in wagers and produced $36.5 million in adjusted gross receipts, against $77.9 million in wagers and $5.6 million in adjusted gross receipts for the Penobscot, Maliseet and Micmac account. Maine taxes mobile sports wagering at 10% of adjusted gross receipts.

Rules That Already Reach Targeting

Nothing in Maine's rules mentions AI, but its sports wagering rules, adopted in October 2023, already address targeted marketing. Chapter 64 requires that "for all directed or targeted advertising and marketing, a sports wagering operator shall maintain records sufficient to describe all targeting parameters used", and that all promotional material and the log of where it was sent be made available to the director on request. The same chapter says advertising "must not specifically target sports wagering patrons who have a gambling addiction", including those who have restricted or excluded themselves.

An Online Casino Code in Its Third Draft

Maine is also writing rules for online casino, which state law, Title 8, Chapter 39 of the Maine Revised Statutes, reserves for the tribes, with 18% of adjusted gross receipts going to the state. The GCU published a third version of the proposed rules, Chapters 70 to 84, on 30 September, with written comments due by 11:59 pm on 30 October and limited to the text highlighted in the new draft. It is not yet accepting licence applications.

The draft carries the sports wagering provisions on targeting into internet gaming almost word for word, including the records requirement and the bar on targeting patrons with a gambling addiction. Its responsible wagering chapter goes slightly further, requiring procedures for identifying and responding to account activity consistent with gambling addiction, "including the use of reasonable monitoring tools". The draft's only reference to machine learning models concerns geolocation and the detection of location spoofing. Nothing in it governs how operators may use models to decide who receives promotions.

Other States Have Moved Further

Massachusetts, DraftKings' home state, has gone furthest: its Gaming Commission asked staff on 24 September to examine how DraftKings and all other licensees use AI, and its rule 205 CMR 257.02 already bars promoting offers through AI "known or reasonably expected" to make a platform more addictive. A bettor has also filed a proposed class action in Boston. In Maryland, Governor Wes Moore's AI framework, published on 22 September, commits to working with the legislature "to bar gambling operators from using algorithmic and other means to identify and target users showing problem-gambling patterns"; it does not name DraftKings.

Maine Does Not Need an AI Rule to Ask the Question

The GCU's statement frames the issue as a gap in the rulebook, but the rulebook already gives it the means to find out what DraftKings does in Maine. An operator that must keep records describing "all targeting parameters used", and produce its promotional logs on request, can be asked whether any of those parameters come from a model of expected losses. Nothing in the Times reporting shows such a model was used on Maine's sports customers, and DraftKings denies targeting on losses, which is exactly why a request would be useful in a market where it holds about 80% of mobile handle. Monitoring "locally and nationally" without using that power leaves Maine relying on Massachusetts to do the work.

The Online Casino Draft Is Where the Question Becomes Urgent

The model the Times described was built for online casino, the product Maine is now preparing to license. The draft rules require harm monitoring tools, which addresses one half of the Times story, the shelved model meant to spot customers in trouble. They say nothing about the other half, models built to decide which customers receive more incentives. Massachusetts has a rule on that point and Maryland's governor has proposed one. Comments are open until 30 October, but only on the highlighted changes, which makes a new provision harder to add at this stage. If the market launches on these rules, Maine will be licensing the product the Times investigation centred on without a rule on how such models may be used.

Maine has the records requirement and the timing to act. It has so far chosen to watch.