VLA 126th Session Bills

This bill makes the following changes to the gambling laws.

1. It changes definitions and other provisions of law in order to reflect the addition of casinos.

2. It amends the laws governing the establishment of a list of persons who are to be excluded from a slot machine facility or casino to require the forfeiture of money from the winnings of voluntarily excluded persons and the deposit of this money in the General Fund for gambling addiction services, and to require the protection of the information as confidential of those who voluntarily place themselves on the exclusion list. 

3. It changes the way certain keys are handled within casinos.

4. It allows for temporary authorization to allow employees to work in positions for which a license is required during the licensing process.

5. It changes the laws governing when the Gambling Control Board within the Department of Public Safety may refuse to grant a license to a person based on a previous adverse action taken against that person. 

6. It removes the requirement that all key executives be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

7. It removes the requirement that slot machines have nonresettable meters.

This bill requires the Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services to solicit bids for the operation of a new casino located in southern Maine and directs the Department of Public Safety, Gambling Control Board to issue a casino operator license to the entity that is awarded the bid. The casino operator must enter into an agreement with the municipality where the slot machines are located that provides for revenue sharing or other compensation of at least 3% of the net slot machine income. The fee for this license is $5,000,000. The limit on the number of slot machines that may be registered in the State is raised from 3,000 to 5,000. The casino operator must distribute 1% of gross slot machine income to the General Fund for the administrative expenses of the Gambling Control Board. The casino operator must distribute 39% of net slot machine income and 16% of net table game income as follows: 

1. Two and one-half percent for the administrative expenses of the Gambling Control Board and for the Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund;

2. Twenty percent to supplement harness racing purses; 

3. Five percent to the Sire Stakes Fund;

4. Eight and one-half percent to the Agricultural Fair Support Fund; 

5. Five percent to the municipality in which the slot machines and table games are located;

6. Seven and one-half percent to the county in which the slot machines and table games are located;

7. Two and one-half percent to the municipalities that abut the municipality in which the slot machines and table games are located;

8. Two and one-half percent to the Fund to Stabilize Off-track Betting Facilities; 

9. One and one-half percent to a nonprofit fraternal organization fund established by rule; 

10. One and one-half percent to the Coordinated Veterans Assistance Fund;

11. Two and one-half percent to the federally recognized Indian tribes in the State;

12. Twenty and one-half percent to the Department of Education for the purpose of funding kindergarten to grade 12 education; and

13. Twenty and one-half percent to the Local Government Fund under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 30-A, chapter 223 for the purpose of revenue sharing with the municipalities of the State.