Maine’s sole retail sports betting outlet, Oddfellahs Sportsbook and Bar in Portland, has ceased taking bets after the state’s Gambling Control Unit (GCU) denied the renewal of its license.
The business informed customers last Friday that all bets were off after the regulator’s decision on January 29, just 11 days before the Super Bowl. Oddfellahs’ owner, Mike Cianchette, expressed his confusion over the decision in an interview with the Portland Press Herald.
Oddfellahs, which partnered with Caesars to open the sportsbook last September, was the first to launch in-person betting following newly enacted laws allowing the state’s federally recognized tribes to offer online betting in partnership with third-party operators.
First Track Fast-Tracked
The new regulations also permitted Maine’s two casinos and racetracks to operate retail sportsbooks, but delays due to challenging regulations and administrative hiccups postponed in-person betting at other venues.
Oddfellahs was able to launch its retail sportsbook because Cianchette also oversaw harness racing at the Cumberland Fairgrounds. His company, First Tracks, which owns Oddfellahs, holds a commercial track license to conduct commercial harness racing events.
The bar opened under a temporary sports betting permit, which was intended as a trial run while the GCU reviewed the application for a permanent license. The temporary license expired on January 17, and the regulator denied the application for a permanent license, according to court documents.
GCU chief Milton Champion stated in the January 17 order that Maine’s sports betting licensing only permits bets taken “at the premises of the licensed commercial track facility.”
This decision has created a dilemma for Oddfellahs regarding how to pay out outstanding winning bets. The venue has asked customers to hold onto their tickets and has promised to resolve the issue.
“We want to do right by our customers, by the public, so we’re hopeful that a judge will let us keep operating, and then we can go through the process and find an orderly way forward, rather than pulling the rug out from under us,” Cianchette said.
Appeal to Supreme Court
On Thursday, with just three days left until the Super Bowl – likely the most lucrative day of the year for the bar – Oddfellahs applied to the state court to lift the wagering suspension, which was denied.
The venue then made an urgent appeal to the Maine Superior Court, which held an expedited hearing Thursday before it was forced to close due to a snowstorm, according to The Portland Press Herald.
Superior Court Justice John O’Neil promised to make a decision soon.
