Less than half a year after shelving a bill that would have legalized and regulated online casino offerings, including online poker, Maine's legislature will renew consideration of the measure amid tribal lobbying for a multi-pronged gambling expansion in the state.
The bill, Legislative Document 1777 (LD 1777) / House Paper 1140 (HP 1140), is one of three gambling-related measures that were brought up in a hearing on Wednesday before the Maine House's Committee On Veterans and Legal Affairs. The hearing in essence reactivated HP 1140, which was introduced in April of 2023 but was shelved three months later, having been viewed as arriving too soon after the state's 2022 legalization of sports betting.
HP 1140 would grant online-gambling exclusivity to the state's four federally recognized tribal nations, including sports betting, which at the present time is available only live in the state. The bill was introduced last year by State Rep. Laura Supica, who remains one of the bill's primary supporters. "The revenues will allow the tribes in Maine to invest in businesses education, health care, infrastructure and a host of other areas that will benefit tribal citizens and their rural Maine neighbors," said Supica.
Under the bill's terms, 18% of all regulated gross gaming receipts would go into various state coffers. 10% of GGR would go into the state's general coffers, 1% would go for increased expenses incurred by the state's Gambling Control Unit, and the other 7% would be earmarked for special programs, including gambling- and drug-addiction funds.
