Maine Panel Gives OK To Casino StudyLawmakers Want To See If More Slots Makes Economic Sense |
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After a gambling expansion proposal was shot down last week, this week some Maine lawmakers said OK to a slightly different idea for more betting.
According to the Associated Press, the Veteran and Legal Affairs Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to study whether building more casinos in the state would work. Currently two casinos exist in the state, and opponents to an expansion have argued that such a move would cannibalize the market, which is isn’t too large to begin with.
The bill that was voted on this week directs the state to contract with a consultant to determine if more slot machines would make sense. The study would, presumably, make future gambling expansion plans easier to discuss and mull over.
The aforementioned plan reportedly comes after lawmakers last week nixed different gambling expansion ideas, which called for allowing a horsetrack, a veterans group and a tribe to pursue casinos. The Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine has wanted gambling for more than two decades, but hasn’t been successful in its efforts at getting one.
The two casinos in Maine are the Hollywood Casino Hotel & Raceway and Oxford Casino.
According to data from the American Gaming Association, the casino industry’s top lobbying group on Capitol Hill, Maine has a casino market of around $100 million.
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