Underdog Fantasy has pulled its pick’em games in the state of Maine following a fine that was issued to the company last week by state regulator, the Maine Gambling Control Unit (MGCU).
According to a social media post by MGCU Executive director Milton Champion, the company was fined $391,850 for offering what the regulator deemed to be illegal daily fantasy games. The company was also instructed to pull all pick’em games in the state with immediate effect.
The illegal games were first investigated in May of 2023 with an official complaint filed by the MGCU on July 11th. In its response to the investigation, Underdog stated that pick’em games were flexibly fantasy products. However, Champion stated that fantasy games cannot be wagers that are made against the operator and must involve more than one contestant.
Maine the Latest State to Prohibit Pick’em Games
Earlier in October the states of Michigan and New York moved to ban pick’em games. This came just two weeks after Florida had introduced its own ban and issued cease and desist letters to fantasy sports operators PrizePicks, Underdog Fantasy and Betr. Meanwhile, in July the state of Wyoming also sent cease and desist letters to both PrizePicks and Underdog.
In each state the ban covers all forms of over/under proposition wagers on individual athletes where the customer bets against the house. This means that any fantasy sports operators that run on this wagering model alone could be forced to exit a state that has implemented a ban on Pick’em games.
While there has been no official update with regards to Maine’s fantasy sports rules, the action taken against Underdog suggests a ban is now effectively in place. However, Champion did note that any violations would be investigated on a case-by-case basis.
Maine Sports Betting set for Launch
Speaking to local news on October 4th, Champion confirmed that sports betting in Maine was on track to launch at some point in November of 2023.
At the time he revealed that the Penobscot, Maliseet and Mi’kmaq tribes have agreed deals with Caesars Sportsbook for mobile sports betting while the Passamaquoddy Tribe has yet to submit its preferred partner but is likely to choose another operator.
An experienced iGaming commentator and analyst based in New York City - Jenny reports on regulation and gambling industry news and events.