The Maine Senate last week pushed the ‘pause button’ on gaming expansion last week, defeating several bills, including one that the House had passed the previous week.
The defeat sets back years of effort by the state’s Indian tribes and harness racing industry, of which there are four racetracks, including Scarborough Downs, which hoped to support that industry with gaming and be able to compete with the state’s two existing casinos, both slots parlors. The casino operators in Oxford and Bangor oppose any gaming expansion in the state, saying their business would be harmed.
The House bill would have opened the door for the Passamaquoddy Tribe to operate a casino in Washington County and for Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians to build in Aroostook County if that county’s voters agreed. Governor Paul LePage has promised to sign the bills if they are forwarded to him.
A bipartisan group Senators opposing the bill argued that the state needs to develop a regulatory system in advance of any gaming expansion.
Senator Garrett Mason declared, “I stand here asking everyone in the room tonight to press the pause button. All of our gaming that we have in the state has been passed by citizen referendum, and that means the policy is very helter-skelter, to say the least.”
Passamaquoddy Chief Clayton Cleaves, had a different take on the vote. “All gaming bills went down today for an obvious reason: The state of Maine continues to protect their own gaming habits, their own gaming addiction,” he said.
The defeat of the bills is the latest in a series of attempts by some lawmakers to create a competitive bidding process for casinos, giving the state more of an influence on when and where casinos are built. The state’s two existing casinos exist as a result of referendums.
Supporters of helping Scarborough Downs argue that something needs to be done very soon. Senator Linda Valentino said, “We don’t need another task force, we need to take action and fix this bill. If not, this issue will be back here again next year and the year after and the year after.”
Last week racetrack announcer Mike Sweeney said, ‘‘We can’t continue to be a successful entity unless we’re given the opportunity to be competitive with these facilities.”
Wagers were down at the track last year, with $12.1 million wagered in 2013, compared to $14.2 million in 2012. The track is running at an operating loss.
Residents of Scarborough who oppose slots at the racetrack there say they are getting tired of having to vote down the proposal every few years. The last time was in 2008. Although residents of neighboring Biddeford have voted that they would support a racino in their town, Scarborough Downs has said it would prefer to stay at its current location and add slots. Several months ago the town council adopted new zoning for the 500-acres that would allow slots if voters agree.
The House bill would have required the track to build a resort, including a hotel and dining facilities as a condition of deploying slots. The track would also have been required to pay $50 million for a license.
Susan Wilder, who organized previous efforts to defeat slot machines at the track, said last week, “Like a bad penny, it’s going to keep coming back.” Her group is called No Again. She concedes that public opinion may be moving against her group and that fighting against slots is “a hard struggle.”
Other groups that oppose gaming in Scarborough and in the state include Mainers Against a Rotten Deal and Maine Friends of Animals, a group that opposes any expansion of activities at the racetrack.
Supporters of allowing tribal gaming in the state said that Maine has frustrated their efforts long enough.
