New Delhi, June 26 -- Three Native American nations in Maine are about to become online casino operators, not revenue recipients. That distinction goes to the core of what tribal sovereignty means in the digital age.

Caesars Palace Online Casino, Caesars Sportsbook & Casino, and Horseshoe Online Casino.

Maine's law, LD 1164, was signed by Governor Janet Mills on January 9 and is structured so the tribes, not the commercial operators, hold the licenses. Caesars functions as a technology and marketing partner. That structure makes the Wabanaki Nations the legal operators of any platform that emerges, a reversal of how most US online gaming markets work.

Chief Kirk Francis of the Penobscot Nation said the arrangement builds on a foundatio...