Residents of York County, Maine are currently driving an initiative for the construction of a casino or the addition of slot machines in the county. However, the petition’s wording would provide a controversial figure from the US gambling and harness racing industries with the exclusive right to win a casino license for the southern part of the state.
If “An act to allow slot machines or a casino in York County” collects the necessary number of signatures from residents, it would authorize the state Gambling Control Board to start accepting applications for a gaming license. It seems, however, that Shawn Scott, the former owner of the Bangor Historic Track in Penobscot County, would be the only qualifying bidder for the said license.
Mr. Scott owned the above-mentioned commercial racetrack in 2003. Later on, he sold the venue to Penn National Gaming for the amount of $51 million. Here it is also important to not that the businessman funded the effort that resulted in Maine voters approving the addition of slot machines at local racetracks.
Mr. Scott and his group of peers are the only to fit in the citizen initiative’s description for a successful casino license applicant. Under the proposed bill for the addition of a casino or slots in York County, Mr. Scott’s group would be able to apply for the said license. And if the application is approved, the businessman and his peers would be able to run slot machines and tables games at a facility of their choice somewhere in the county.
The winning bidder would also be exempt from an existing law that bans the establishment of a casino within 100 miles from other gambling venues. The proposed bill also calls for the limit on the number of slot machines operated within the state’s borders to be raised from 3,000 to 4,500.
Currently, there are two Las Vegas-style casinos in Maine – Oxford Casino in Oxford, and Hollywood Casino in Bangor.
Under the York County residents’ initiative, the new casino would annually contribute 39% of its net slot machine revenue to the Maine Gambling Control Board. The money will then be distributed to the state harness racing industry as well as educational and veterans funds and other causes. The city that would host the gambling venue would receive 1% of its net revenue.
In 2014, Hollywood Casino and Oxford Casino generated a total of $45.6 million in tax revenue. The state Gambling Control Board allocated $8 million of those to the struggling horse racing industry.
Sponsors of the casino effort have up to February 1 to collect 61,000 signatures in order for the proposal to qualify for the November 2016 ballot. If eventually approved, the effort would require the winning bidder to pay a license fee of $5 million and to establish a gambling venue worth no less than $200 million.
Opponents of the proposed bill voiced concerns that Mr. Scott will likely be the only qualifying candidate for the Southern Maine casino license. Over the years, the businessman has owned a number of gambling facilities across the nation and has been involved in serious legal battles over the way he and his peers have managed those.
