VLA 128th Session Bills

Gaming LDs / Bills for the 128th Maine Legislative Session

The 128th Maine Legislature convened on December 7, 2016 and Adjourned on September 13, 2018

LD/Bill LD 4
Sponsor Representative Jonathan L. Kinney, (R - Limington)
Title An Act To Amend the Licensing Requirements for Beano Halls Leased by Veterans' Organizations
Summary This bill exempts a veterans' organization that is licensed to conduct beano or bingo games from the requirement to get a beano hall permit if that veterans' organization wishes to lease its facility as a beano hall to an organization licensed to conduct beano or bingo games.
Status DEAD MAY 9, 2017 (Ought Not to Pass Pursuant To Joint Rule 310)
LD/Bill LD 122
Sponsor Representative Catherine M. Nadeau, (D - Winslow)
Title An Act To Allow Schools To Operate Nonprofit Bingo Events for Children and Families
Summary This bill allows elementary and secondary schools to operate beano or bingo games for the entertainment of and recreation for the schools' students and the students' families if the games are not for profit.
Status DEAD MAY 4, 2017  (Ought Not to Pass Pursuant To Joint Rule 310)
LD/Bill LD 407
Sponsor Senator Ronald F. Collins, (R - York)
Title An Act To Simplify the Laws Regarding Games of Chance
Summary This bill specifies, for the purposes of the laws governing games of chance, that games of chance are those games in which the outcome is solely determined by chance, outside the control of the contestant or participant
Status DEAD MAY 9, 2017  (Ought Not to Pass Pursuant To Joint Rule 310)
LD/Bill LD 446
Sponsor Senator Ronald F. Collins, (R - York)
Title An Act To Allow Campgrounds To Operate Beano or Bingo
Summary This bill amends current law concerning the licensing of beano and bingo games in resort hotels. The bill adds campgrounds to the licensing provisions, removes the restriction on the number of seasonal licenses that may be issued and changes the license fee from $10 to up to $100.
Status PASSED MAY 7, 2017
LD/Bill LD 510
Sponsor Senator Michael E. Carpenter, (D - Aroostook)
Title An Act To Create Fairness in Gaming License Fees for Small Nonprofit Organizations
Summary This bill reduces by 75% the annual fee for a license to conduct games of chance and games of cards, including tournament games, for organizations with net revenues from those activities of less than $10,000 for the prior year.
Status DEAD MARCH 7, 2017  (Ought Not to Pass Pursuant To Joint Rule 310)
LD/Bill LD 713
Sponsor Representative Michael G. Devin, (D - Newcastle)
Title Resolve, Authorizing Legislation To Streamline the Laws Governing the Licensing and Conduct of Beano and Games of Chance
Summary This resolve directs the Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs to meet to develop proposals to streamline the laws governing beano and games of chance with the purpose of simplifying licensure, maximizing revenue to licensed charitable organizations and easing the administrative and enforcement burdens of the Chief of the State Police. The resolve requires the chief to provide certain information regarding licensing, revenues and costs of administration to the committee.
Status DEAD MARCH 30, 2017  (Ought Not to Pass Pursuant To Joint Rule 310) 
LD/Bill LD 719
Sponsor Transmitted to the Clerk of the 128th Maine Legislature by the Secretary of State on February 24, 2017 and ordered printed.
Title An Act To Allow Slot Machines or a Casino in York County
Summary This initiated bill allows slot machines or a casino in York County. The initiated bill authorizes the Department of Public Safety, Gambling Control Board to accept applications for a license to operate slot machines or a casino from an entity that owned in 2003 at least 51% of an entity licensed to operate a commercial track in Penobscot County that conducted harness horse racing with pari-mutuel wagering on more than 25 days in 2002 if certain criteria are met. The operation of the slot machines or casino must be approved by the voters or the municipal officers of the municipality in which the slot machines or casino will be located. The slot machines must be located and operated in a slot machine facility or the slot machines and table games must be located and operated in a casino. Current law provides that a casino operator license or slot machine operator license may not be issued to operate any casino or slot machine facility within 100 miles of a licensed casino or slot machine facility. This initiated bill exempts a slot machine operator or a casino operator licensed under the provisions of this initiated bill from the 100-mile restriction. This initiated bill raises the limit on the number of slot machines allowed to be registered in the State from 3,000 to 4,500. The operation of the slot machines or casino is subject to regulation by the Gambling Control Board. The applicant for a slot machine operator license or casino operator license must pay the $5,000,000 license fee set out in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 8, section 1018, subsection 1-A. The slot machine or casino operator must collect and distribute 1% of gross slot machine income to the Treasurer of State for deposit in the General Fund for the administrative expenses of the Gambling Control Board. The slot machine or casino operator must collect and distribute 39% of the net slot machine income to the Gambling Control Board for distribution by the board as follows: 1. One percent must be deposited to the General Fund for administrative expenses of the board except for a certain amount that must be transferred annually to the Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund; 2. Ten percent must be credited to a fund to supplement harness racing purses; 3. Three percent must be credited to the Sire Stakes Fund; 4. Three percent must be credited to the Agricultural Fair Support Fund; 5. Ten percent must be credited to the Department of Education to be used to supplement and not to supplant funding for essential programs and services for kindergarten to grade 12; 6. Two percent must be forwarded to the University of Maine System Scholarship Fund and to the Board of Trustees of the Maine Maritime Academy to be applied by the board of trustees to fund its scholarship program; 7. One percent must be forwarded to the Board of Trustees of the Maine Community 2 College System to be applied by the board of trustees to fund its scholarship program; 8. Two percent must be credited to the Fund to Encourage Racing at Maine's 4 Commercial Tracks; 9. Three percent must be forwarded to the Treasurer of State, who must distribute 6 that money at the municipal level throughout the State to be used to reduce property 7 taxes; 10. One percent must be distributed to the tribal governments of the Penobscot 9 Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe; 11. One percent must be forwarded to the Treasurer of State, who must use the 11 money to fund drug education initiatives throughout the State; 12. One percent must be distributed to supplement programs at the office of aging and disability services within the Department of Health and Human Services; and 13. One percent must be forwarded to the municipality in which the slot machines 15 are located. 16 The casino operator must collect and distribute 16% of the net table game income to 17 the Gambling Control Board for distribution by the board as follows: 1. Nine percent must be credited to the Department of Education to be used to supplement and not to supplant funding for essential programs and services for kindergarten to grade 12; 2. Three percent must be deposited to the Gambling Control Board administrative expenses Other Special Revenue Funds account; 3. Two percent must be forwarded to the municipality in which the table games are located; and 4. Two percent must be deposited into the Coordinated Veterans Assistance Fund.
Status DEAD JULY 20, 2017  (Indefinitely Postponed)
LD/Bill LD 833
Sponsor Senator Paul T. Davis Sr., (R - Piscataquis)
Title An Act To Streamline the Gaming Permit Process for Veterans' Organizations
Summary This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208. This bill proposes to reduce the processing and paperwork associated with games of chance sponsored by American Legion Posts. Under current law and rules, in order for an American Legion Post to hold a bingo game, it is necessary to obtain up to 3 separate permits. Under this bill, the application for permits would be consolidated into one application, and the processing would be streamlined.
Status DEAD MARCH 30, 2017  (Ought Not to Pass Pursuant To Joint Rule 310)
LD/Bill LD 853
Sponsor Representative Louis J. Luchini, (D - Ellsworth)
Title An Act To Allow Beano at Campgrounds
Summary This bill provides an exception to the law that requires a license to conduct games of beano. The bill states that certain campgrounds are not required to get a license to operate beano games if the games are offered to campground patrons and their guests only and the value of a prize awarded for winning a game does not exceed $25.
Status DEAD MARCH 30, 2017  (Ought Not to Pass Pursuant To Joint Rule 310)
LD/Bill LD 975
Sponsor Representative Louis J. Luchini, (D - Ellsworth)
Title An Act Regarding Licensing of Cribbage Tournaments
Summary This bill provides that a license to conduct games of chance is not required for a cribbage tournament operated on the premises of a restaurant or Class A restaurant licensed to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption or at a manufacturing facility where samples are provided or sold, commonly known as a tasting room. The operator must limit participation to patrons of the establishment who are 21 years of age or older. The operator of a game may not profit and all entry fees must be paid to players in the form of winnings or donated to a charitable organization. Entry fees may not exceed $25 per person.
Status DEAD MAY 5, 2017   (Ought Not to Pass Pursuant To Joint Rule 310)
LD/Bill LD 1077
Sponsor Representative Matthew Dana II, (X - the Passamaquoddy Tribe)
Title An Act To Reduce the License Fee for High-stakes Beano
Summary This bill authorizes the Department of Public Safety, Gambling Control Board to accept an application from the Passamaquoddy Tribe to operate 50 slot machines at a gaming facility in Washington County at which high-stakes beano is conducted by the Passamaquoddy Tribe. The bill raises the limit on the number of slot machines allowed in the State by 50 to accommodate the slot machines that may be operated by the Passamaquoddy Tribe. Slot machines operated by the Passamaquoddy Tribe would be subject to the oversight of the Gambling Control Board and subject to the same laws and rules as other slot machines operated in this State. It also reduces the annual license fee for high-stakes beano from $50,000 to $25,000 38 and allows the Passamaquoddy Tribe to operate 50 slot machines in the tribe's high-stakes beano facility
Status PASSED JUNE 19, 2017
LD/Bill LD 1201
Sponsor Representative Benjamin T. Collings, (D - Portland)
Title An Act To Authorize Tribal Gaming
Summary This bill authorizes the Department of Public Safety, Gambling Control Board to accept applications for a casino operator license from federally recognized Indian tribes in the State. A license issued to a federally recognized Indian tribe would authorize operation of table games and up to an aggregate total of 1,500 slot machines at multiple facilities on land owned by the tribe. The bill provides that casinos operated by federally recognized Indian tribes are exempt from the requirement that a newly licensed casino may not be within 100 miles of an existing casino or slot machine facility. It also provides that the Gambling Control Board may not license a new casino, slot machine facility or other gambling facility or authorize expansion of existing casinos until all federally recognized Indian tribes have been licensed to operate a casino. The bill establishes a distribution rate of 25% of net slot machine income and 16% of net table game income for casinos operated by federally recognized Indian tribes. The slot machine income and table game income is deposited to the General Fund.
Status DEAD APRIL 18, 2018  (Died Between Houses)
LD/Bill LD 1253
Sponsor Representative Nathan J. Wadsworth, (R - Hiram)
Title An Act To Make Maine's Casinos More Competitive by Authorizing Extensions of Credit
Summary This bill allows a casino operator to extend credit to qualified customers within certain limitation
Status DEAD APRIL 11, 2017  (Leave to Withdraw)
LD/Bill LD 1254
Sponsor Representative Karleton S. Ward, (R - Dedham)
Title An Act To Amend the Law Regarding Super Cribbage Tournaments
Summary This bill amends the law regarding super cribbage tournaments to remove the provision repealing the law on September 30, 2017.
Status PASSED JUNE 13, 2017  (Emergency Enacted)
LD/Bill LD 1320
Sponsor Senator Roger J. Katz, (R - Kennebec)
Title An Act To Regulate Fantasy Sports Contests
Summary This bill requires persons who operate fantasy contests to register annually with the Department of Public Safety and pay a registration fee based on the gross revenues generated by that fantasy contest operator during the 12 months prior to registration or renewal. "Fantasy contest" is defined as a simulated game or contest in which one or more players pay an entry fee and compete for and win prizes of value based on outcomes that reflect the relative knowledge and skill of the players and that are determined predominantly by accumulated statistical results of the performance of individuals, including athletes in the case of sporting events. This bill regulates the operators of fantasy contests, including by prohibiting the fantasy contest operator, an employee of the operator or a relative of the employee in the same household from participating in the contests; requiring the outcome to be based on more than just a score or point spread of a single game or contest; allowing an individual, on that individual's request to the operator, to be barred from playing in the contest; requiring the operator to provide notice of the prizes prior to the contest; and requiring the operator to establish a separate reserve account for the payment of prizes. Finally, the bill exempts fantasy contests from the laws prohibiting games of chance and gambling.
Status PASSED AUGUST 2, 2017
LD/Bill LD 1447
Sponsor Representative Henry John Bear, (I - the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians)
Title An Act To Recognize and Provide for the Right of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians To Operate a Casino on Houlton Band Trust Land Exempt from Certain Gaming Laws
Summary This bill authorizes the Department of Public Safety, Gambling Control Board to accept an application for a casino operator license from the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians to operate 350 slot machines and 10 table games at a casino on Houlton Band Trust Land located on the North Road property of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians in the Town of Houlton. A casino operated by the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians is not subject to a referendum. The bill raises the limit on the number of slot machines allowed in the State from 3,000 to 3,350 to accommodate the casino operated by the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians. A casino operated by the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians would be subject to the oversight of the Gambling Control Board.
Status DEAD JUNE 19, 2017   (Died Between Houses)
LD/Bill LD 1568
Sponsor Senator Ronald F. Collins, (R - York)
Title An Act To Require That Principals of Corporations Remain the Same for a Specified Number of Years for the Corporation To Be Eligible for a Casino License
Summary Current law prohibits the transfer or assignment of a casino operator license. This bill requires that a corporation applying for a license must have had the same principal officers for at least 5 years prior to the issue of that license and must retain those officers for at least 10 years after the issue or renewal of the license.
Status DEAD SEPTEMBER 13, 2018   (Died On Adjournment)
LD/Bill LD 1590
Sponsor Senator Michael E. Carpenter, (D - Aroostook)
Title An Act Authorizing the Aroostook Band of Micmacs and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians To Benefit from the Operation of an Existing Casino
Summary Current law requires that 4% of the net slot machine income from the casino in Oxford be distributed to the tribal governments of the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe. This bill requires that this 4% of the net slot machine income be distributed to the tribal governments of the Penobscot Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and the Aroostook Band of Micmacs.
Status DEAD MARCH 1, 2018   (Accepted Majority (ONTP) Report
LD/Bill LD 1803
Sponsor Representative Louis J. Luchini, (D - Ellsworth)
Title Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of Chapter 28: Advanced Deposit Wagering, a Major Substantive Rule of the Gambling Control Board
Summary This resolve provides for legislative review of Chapter 28: Advanced Deposit Wagering, a major substantive rule of the Gambling Control Board
Status PASSED APRIL 10, 2018   (Emergency Finally Passed)
LD/Bill LD 1837
Sponsor Senator Roger J. Katz, (R - Kennebec)
Title An Act To Allow Cash Prizes for Certain Raffles Conducted by Charitable Organizations
Summary Current law allows an eligible organization that has registered with the Gambling Control Unit within the Department of Public Safety to conduct one raffle in a 12-month period awarding noncash prizes, up to $75,000 in value. This bill allows that raffle to include total cash prizes not exceeding $20,000 with no more than one $10,000 prize for the holder of a winning chance.
Status PASSED APRIL 8, 2018   (Emergency Enacted)