Lawmakers In Maine Considering An Online Poker BillThe Proposal Would Give Control Of The Industry To The Tribes |
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Lawmakers in Maine are considering a bill that would legalize online poker and other casino gaming in the state.
The proposal would give control of the industry to the state’s tribes. As a result, the tribal leaders back the plan. Revenue from a legal market would bring more revenue to both the state coffers and tribal needs.
“Tribally owned and operated internet gaming represents an ideal opportunity to raise both tribal and state governmental revenue for the benefit of all Mainers,” Passamaquoddy Chief William Nicholas said during the bill’s first hearing at a Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee meeting Monday.
According to local media, the committee will vote on the bill next week.
Commercial Casinos Oppose The Plan
However, the proposal has received some pushback. Representatives of Maine’s two commercial casinos, Oxford Casino and Hollywood Casino in Bangor, voiced concerns that the bill gives the tribes a monopoly on the industry.
The bill would mirror the state’s online sports betting industry. When the state legalized sports betting, lawmakers gave the state’s four federally recognized tribes exclusive rights to operate online sports betting. Tribes partnered with third-party operators like DraftKings and Caesars Sportsbook to run the online operations.
The two commercial operators were allowed to operate retail sportsbooks, but most betting is done online. The bill would shut commercial operators out of a possible online casino industry completely.
“Passage of this bill, to be clear, would constitute the greatest single expansion of gaming in our state’s history without the vote of the people of Maine,” Hollywood Casino spokesman Chris Jackson said during the meeting. “It would threaten facilities in Bangor and Oxford.”
LD 1164 would tax online gaming revenue at 16% and charge the state’s Gambling Control Unit with regulating the industry. The bill also includes provisions restricting marketing, including “prohibiting misleading, deceptive or false advertisements.”
“For the Passamaquoddy Tribe and all the other Wabanaki communities, this is about fairness and the ability to participate in the industry that already benefits others across the country,” said Rep. Aaron Dana of the Passamaquoddy Tribe.
As a state with just 1.4 million people, running a ringed-in market in Maine seems unlikely but could boost the size of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Association. Pennsylvania is also expected to join soon, and Connecticut legislators are considering joining the agreement.
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