Maine’s Online Casino Bill Heads To Governor’s Desk
Gov. Janet Mills has three choices: sign the bill, veto it, or wait until January to act — or not act
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Another day, another step in the right direction for online casinos in Maine.
On Wednesday, LD 1164 was voted off the appropriations table in committee and thus will be sent to Gov. Janet Mills, who will make one of three choices.
One option: She could sign the bill into law, giving the state’s four Wabanaki Nations exclusive rights to operate regulated online casinos.
The bill would allow the Penobscot Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Aroostook Band of Micmacs, and Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians to run online casino platforms exclusively. Maine’s two casinos — Hollywood Casino, Hotel and Raceway in Bangor and Oxford Casino Hotel — would not be part of the deal. Each tribe could partner with a single licensed platform provider, and licenses would cost $50,000 annually.
A 16% tax on adjusted gross revenue would fund gambling addiction services, emergency housing, veterans’ programs, and other state needs. The bill also includes strict consumer protections and would make Maine the first state to take large iGaming winnings from players who owe child support.
Door number two
The second option for Mills is a veto of the bill, which seems to be a very real possibility. Her office testified against the bill during hearings, and Mills is no stranger to vetoing gambling bills as she exercised that power when the state’s sports betting bill reached her desk. The Senate did override that veto, and sports betting eventually passed.
Mills has 10 days to either sign or veto the bill, which brings us to choice number three: She can take no action and wait for the legislature to reconvene in January. At that point, she would have three days to sign or veto the legislation. If she does neither, it would become law, according to the Maine Morning Star.
Speaking to Casino Reports last week, Steve Silver, the chair of the Maine Gambling Control Board, said he isn’t so sure Mills will sign the bill.
“I think it’d be a safe bet to say I don’t see her readily signing it,” Silver told Casino Reports. “And if she vetoes it, I find it extremely unlikely that there are enough votes to override the veto.”
As to the why behind his view of an override not happening?
Numerous attempts to kill the bill in the Senate were undertaken, and each failed by a single vote (17-18). In order for the Senate to override the veto, two-thirds of the chamber would have to agree to do so. The House would also need two-thirds, but there it likely would be closer since it passed 87-60.
