A report released by the University of Maine last week found that the Bangor racino was netting a fraction of the potential gambling revenues in the state.
The report found that casinos could take in up to $280 million in Maine, far exceeding the $33 million pot Hollywood Slots won in the first nine months of this year.
The results of the report should come as no surprise. Maine is a big state, and Bangor is far enough from many potential customers to deter them from coming more frequently.
The report will certainly be used by proponents of a racino proposed by Passamaquoddy Indians in Washington County or of a racino at Scarborough Downs to support their arguments. But it should beg a larger question: Why should voters be faced with a never-ending litany of casino proposals?
Residents have faced numerous statewide and local votes on casinos and racinos in recent years, each of them driven by special interest groups, whether it’s the harness racing industry or the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes. This year the Passamaquoddy Tribe wants to build a racino in economically depressed Washington County, and Scarborough Downs would like a racino of its own to support the track.
Mainers have sent mixed messages on expanding gambling in the past – rejecting a casino for the tribes and approving a racino for harness racing in Bangor. Making things difficult for Scarborough Downs, residents in Scarborough have rejected expanding gambling there.
If voters in this state really want to expand gambling, why should they do it with such a scattershot approach? Rather than allowing special interests to determine where new casinos are located and how their revenues are split, the state should simply pick new sites for casinos that would maximize the market in the state, split up the revenues as equitably as possible and give voters a final say.
The casinos would have to be located in communities that were willing to host them – one hurdle Scarborough Downs has to get over. Private operators could run the casinos, under the supervision and regulation of the state. The state could accept bids from casino operators to run them. And, the state could direct the revenues to a broader array of industries that could benefit from the revenues.
The expansion of gambling is being driven by a few special interest groups that justifiably see casinos as their ticket to a prosperous future. With a $280 million pot out there, who can blame them?
If anyone doubts the influence these groups have, just look at what happened when legislators momentarily considered the idea of taking more revenue from the Bangor racino for the state budget. The harness racing industry and Hollywood Slots rallied the troops to oppose it, and the state quickly backed off.
If voters choose to expand gambling in this state, there’s no reason the harness racing industry shouldn’t be a beneficiary of it. It’s a natural pairing – tracks have always been a place for gambling. But that doesn’t mean a disproportionate amount of the money raised should go to harness racing tracks or one of the state’s Indian tribes.
The state should take control of this issue so that if voters choose to expand gambling in Maine, it’s done in an equitable and reasonable way.
Brendan Moran, editor
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