An Act To Amend the Advance Deposit Wagering Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1797
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: DILLINGHAM, LUCHINI, DOW, JACKSON, LIBBY, TIMBERLAKE
Amends: 8 MRSA §1001, 8 MRSA §1071, 8 MRSA §1072, 8 MRSA §1073

Legislative Document
No. 1797
H.P. 1276
House of Representatives, May 29, 2019
An Act To Amend the Advance Deposit Wagering Laws
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative DILLINGHAM of Oxford.
Cosponsored by Senator LUCHINI of Hancock and
Senators: DOW of Lincoln, President JACKSON of Aroostook, LIBBY of Androscoggin, 
TIMBERLAKE of Androscoggin.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  8 MRSA §1001, sub-§1-A, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 499, §1, is repealed 
and the following enacted in its place:
1-A.  Advance deposit wagering.  "Advance deposit wagering" means a form of 
pari-mutuel wagering on harness or thoroughbred races in which wagers are made in 
person or by telephone, Internet, mobile device, electronic communication or, if approved 
by the board, other electronic media and the account holder deposits funds in a wagering 
account administered by an advance deposit wagering licensee.  An advance deposit 
wagering licensee makes wagers from the wagering account at the direction of and on 
behalf of the account holder, and the advance deposit wagering licensee deposits money 
into the wagering account from winning wagers awarded to the account holder.
Sec. 2.  8 MRSA §1001, sub-§1-B, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 499, §1, is amended 
to read:
1-B.  Advance deposit wagering licensee.  "Advance deposit wagering licensee" 
means a person that is chosen by competitive bid and licensed by the board pursuant to 
subchapter 7 to conduct advance deposit wagering.
Sec. 3.  8 MRSA §1001, sub-§29-C, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 499, §2, is 
repealed.
Sec. 4.  8 MRSA §1001, sub-§29-D is enacted to read:
29-D.  Multijurisdictional account wagering provider.  "Multijurisdictional 
account wagering provider" means a business entity domiciled in a jurisdiction other than 
this State that is licensed by another jurisdiction to offer advance deposit wagering on 
harness or thoroughbred races for which it offers wagering to account holders in or out of 
the jurisdiction that issued the license, including in this State.
Sec. 5.  8 MRSA §1071, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 499, §8, is repealed.
Sec. 6.  8 MRSA §1072, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 499, §8, is amended to 
read:
The net commission established in the contract executed pursuant to section 1071, 
subsection 3 by the board by rule must be distributed according to this section, except that 
an entity that operates advance deposit wagering may not receive a distribution of the net 
commission.
Sec. 7.  8 MRSA §1073 is enacted to read:
§1073.  Advance deposit wagering
A commercial track licensed by the State Harness Racing Commission; an off-track 
betting facility, as defined in section 275-A, subsection 8, licensed by the State Harness 
Racing Commission and in operation as of January 1, 2014; and a multijurisdictional 
account wagering provider may receive a license from the board to conduct advance 
deposit wagering in this State, including accepting deposits and wagers from account 
holders.  The board shall require a nonrefundable application fee of $1,000 and an 
applicant must pay the costs of the board for processing an application and performing 
background investigations.  A license issued pursuant to this section authorizes the 
licensee to conduct advance deposit wagering for a period of 5 years.  The fee for a 
license to conduct advance deposit wagering is $500.  The renewal fee for a license to 
conduct advance deposit wagering is $250.  A licensee shall purchase a bond to secure 
the accounts of advance deposit wagering bettors.  A licensee shall use a system to 
conduct advance deposit wagering to ensure that bettors who establish accounts to place 
bets on horse racing via advance deposit wagering are 18 years of age or older and 
residents of the State.  Advance deposit wagering may be conducted directly by an 
advance deposit wagering licensee or through such a licensee entering into a contract 
with a provider of advance deposit wagering services located within the United States.
An advance deposit wagering licensee may accept a wager from an advance deposit 
wagering account holder in person or by telephone, Internet, mobile device, electronic 
communication or, if approved by the board, other electronic media.  If permitted by an 
off-track betting facility or a commercial track, an advance deposit wagering account 
holder may access the account holder's account at such locations so that a wager using an 
advance deposit wagering account is treated as if the wager had been made at the 
commercial track or off-track betting facility.
SUMMARY
This bill allows commercial tracks, off-track betting facilities and multijurisdictional 
account wagering providers to be licensed to participate in advance deposit wagering.  It 
repeals the provision that directs the Department of Public Safety, Gambling Control 
Board, through a competitive bidding process, to award one bidder the privilege to be 
licensed to conduct advance deposit wagering.  It requires the board to establish by rule 
the net commission that must be collected by a licensee for distribution by the board.