A bill that would hold legalized online gaming in Maine and handed a monopoly to the state’s IV Wabanaki tribes has run for aground inwards the House. The legislation was narrowly foiled Tues past a voting of 74-71, The Portland Press Herald reports.
State Rep. Laura Supica’s (D-Bangor) measure would hold allowed the tribes to line up with a third-party manipulator similar DraftKings to execute online casino games, as they currently fare with online sports betting.
Supica argued this would facilitate redress the imbalance inward crowned head rights for Maine tribes compared with many other tribes inwards the US.
Redressing the Balance
Under the ME Amerindic Claims Settlement Act (MICSA) of 1980, the tribes were afforded a narrower edition of sovereignty that didn’t include the flop to coordinate gaming on their lands. Currently, their reservations are treated same municipalities, which substance they remain case to say laws.
Maine’s sports betting bill, which passed inward 2022, was the first of all endeavour to redress the tribes’ lack of gaming rights. But some lawmakers said Tues they trust adding mobile cassino gaming into the premix is a bridge deck too far, especially when the state’s 2 commercial land-based casinos would be frozen come out of the market.
There were concerns that a tribal online gaming monopoly would cannibalize the land-based gambling casino market, potentially leading to job losses.
Casino Inclusion
State Rep. Saint David Boyer (R-Poland) said he would be willing to turn over a eyeshade that included the casinos and suggested trying over again next session.
“As a great deal as i need to drama online poker, this isn’t the way to fare it,” he said, as reported past the Press Herald. “I’m concerned with the jobs that are at post in Oxford and Bangor. The task rates are non comparable. The brick-and-mortar casinos have a very high revenue enhancement rate.”
A tribal monopoly would have got generated $100 jillion inwards the world-class few years, according to estimates. Supica’s eyeshade countersink the revenue enhancement rate at 16%. That’s much let down than the commercial-grade casinos, which pay off betwixt 40% and 47% on slots.
“Much of the fear comes from the fact that it is exclusively for the tribes,” said Supica. “But for me, that is wherefore i wholeheartedly financial backing it, because this is a wonderful opportunity for the province of Maine to begin to work some corrections to how they feature enacted past tense gaming laws.”