Maine could be on the path of legalized sports gambling, ready to join a growing number of states that are looking to grab a piece of an industry reportedly worth over $150 billion each year. The question isn’t so much whether or not the state should embrace the activity but, rather, how it should embrace it.

Last Friday, state lawmakers met with representatives from Maine’s two casinos and its off-track gambling parlors to discuss how to proceed with sports gambling. There are currently five bills on the subject being circulated around the state’s Congress and clarification is needed on how to govern the industry.

The publicity director for Scarborough Downs, Michael Sweeney, asserts that legalized sports gambling will bring additional revenue to the state, as well as businesses like Scarborough Downs. He told lawmakers, “This is an opportunity for industries that are home-grown, locally based, small mom-and-pop businesses to grow and thrive.”

The good news for Maine is that creating a legal sports gambling framework shouldn’t be too difficult. The state already has its two casinos – Hollywood Casino in Bangor and Oxford Casino in Oxford – and a number of other gambling options that are currently regulated by state officials. Adding sports gambling would not require a completely new legal framework.