The chief proponent of Maine sports betting and gambling regulation was placed on leave after a string of offensive tweets were brought to light.
Milt Champion, executive director of the Gambling Control Unit, was told to take a hiatus last Wednesday after it was revealed he posted sexist and racially-charged tweets. The suspension was announced shortly after a reporter for the Portland Press Herald inquired about the tweets.
A deeper investigation and possible repercussions are still pending.
Lt. Thomas Pickering of the Maine State Police confirmed Champions’ suspension to the Press Herald, the same news company that brought the tweets to light.
“I can confirm that Director Champion has been placed on paid administrative leave, pending a review that is being conducted by the Bureau of Human Resources,” Pickering said. “Given that this is an ongoing, personnel-related matter, the department is unable to comment further.”
The first of two now-deleted tweets in question was posted on May 6. Using his account with the handle @EDRegulator, Champion said that if the word “ladies” is now considered unprofessional, it would be better replaced with “b-----s.”
“While waiting for my truck to be serviced I’m looking for the answer to a recent comment to me stating that the description “Ladies” meaning more than one female is not professional or appropriate,” tweeted Champion. “In this day and age I guess ‘B-----s’ is better.”
Eight days later, Champion, who has only 62 followers on Twitter—one of which is the Maine Gambling Control Unit—made a snide remark about a white nationalist group’s march. The thinly-veiled comment appeared to mock the Black Lives Matter movement and protests that occurred largely after the death of George Floyd.
“At least [the white nationalist group is] not burning down cities and looting stores,” Champion tweeted in reply to a video of the Patriot Front marching through Washington D.C.
There is no expected timetable for Champion to return to his office.
The suspension comes at a particularly troubling time for Maine sports betting proponents. Champion has been the main man pushing for a legal sports betting market in the Northeast, and although it is legal as of August 2022, the market is not yet operational.
Champion led a three-man team that was charged with creating the rules and regulations needed to get the market up and running. Their latest draft was released last Wednesday, the same day that he was suspended.
Champion has been a member of the gambling industry for 36 years. He worked in a casino for 20 of those and as a regulator for the remaining 16. Part of his job now requires him to approve deals with betting companies and award licenses to applicants.
There are four native tribes in Maine that are entitled to provide online sports betting services with the help of an external partner. Three of the tribes, the Penobscot, Maliseet and Micmacs, have already agreed to a basic deal with Caesars, pending regulatory approval.
Every state neighboring or nearby Maine except for Vermont has legal and active sports betting markets. It is not until Minnesota, Missouri, and South Carolina that states that have not legalized sports wagering can be found.
Many states have set target dates for the start of the football season when preparing to launch their market. Although Maine has not made this an official goal, it would not be a surprise to see them at least kick the tires on the feasibility of becoming operational by the time the Kansas City Chiefs kick-off against the Detroit Lions on September 7.
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