An Act To Authorize the Gambling Control Board To Accept an Application from the Passamaquoddy Tribe To Operate 50 Slot Machines in the Tribe's High-stakes Beano Facility
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1244
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: COLLINGS, MOORE, COREY, HARRINGTON, HICKMAN, JOHANSEN, NEWELL, O'CONNOR, PERRY, TALBOT ROSS
Amends: 8 MRSA §1011, 8 MRSA §1018, 8 MRSA §1019, 8 MRSA §1020, 8 MRSA §1035, 8 MRSA §1036

Legislative Document
No. 1244
H.P. 905
House of Representatives, March 14, 2019
An Act To Authorize the Gambling Control Board To Accept an 
Application from the Passamaquoddy Tribe To Operate 50 Slot 
Machines in the Tribe's High-stakes Beano Facility
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative COLLINGS of Portland.
Cosponsored by Senator MOORE of Washington and
Representatives: COREY of Windham, HARRINGTON of Sanford, HICKMAN of Winthrop, 
JOHANSEN of Monticello, NEWELL of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, O'CONNOR of Berwick, 
PERRY of Calais, TALBOT ROSS of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  8 MRSA §1011, sub-§2-C is enacted to read:
2-C.  Passamaquoddy Tribe eligible for license to operate slot machines.  The 
board may accept an application from the Passamaquoddy Tribe for a license to operate 
slot machines at a gambling facility in Washington County at which high-stakes beano 
is conducted by the Passamaquoddy Tribe.
Sec. 2.  8 MRSA §1018, sub-§1, ¶C, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 687, Pt. A, §5 and 
affected by Pt. B, §11, is amended to read:
C.  The initial application fee for a slot machine operator license is $200,000 except 
that the initial application fee for the Passamaquoddy Tribe to operate 50 slot 
machines at a gambling facility in Washington County is $10,000.  The annual 
renewal fee is $75,000 plus an amount, set by rules of the board, equal to the cost to 
the board of licensing slot machine operators and determined by dividing the costs of 
administering the slot machine operator licenses by the total number of slot machine 
operators licensed by the board except that the annual renewal fee for the 
Passamaquoddy Tribe to operate 50 slot machines at a gambling facility in 
Washington County is $5,000.
Sec. 3.  8 MRSA §1018, sub-§1-A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 699, §2, is amended 
to read:
1-A.  Fees for slot machine and casino operator licenses on or after September 1, 
2012.  Notwithstanding subsection 1, paragraphs C and C-1, beginning September 1, 
2012, an applicant for a slot machine operator license or a casino operator license must 
pay a $250,000 nonrefundable privilege fee to be submitted with the application for the 
license and a minimum license fee, or cash bid if the license is part of a competitive 
bidding process established by law, of $5,000,000.  This subsection does not apply to a 
casino licensed for operation in the State as of September 1, 2012 or to the 
Passamaquoddy Tribe's operation of 50 slot machines at a gambling facility in 
Washington County.
Sec. 4.  8 MRSA §1019, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2011, c. 417, §6, is further 
amended to read:
7.  Statewide and county referendum; municipal vote.  After January 1, 2011, any 
proposed casino or slot machine facility may not be issued a license unless it has been 
approved by a statewide referendum vote and a vote of the municipal officers or 
municipality in which the casino or slot machine facility is to be located, except that a 
commercial track licensed to operate slot machines on January 1, 2011 is only required, 
as a condition to obtain a casino license, to receive approval to operate a casino by means 
of a referendum of the voters of the county in which the commercial track is located.  
Notwithstanding this subsection, the Passamaquoddy Tribe may obtain a license to 
operate slot machines at a gambling facility in Washington County at which high-stakes 
beano is conducted.
Sec. 5.  8 MRSA §1020, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 2011, c. 585, §8, is 
further amended to read:
A.  Except for slot machines used for training and educational purposes at 
postsecondary institutions as provided by section 1011, subsection 1-B, the total 
number of slot machines registered in the State may not exceed 3,000 3,050; and
Sec. 6.  8 MRSA §1035, as amended by PL 2011, c. 585, §10, is further amended 
to read:
§1035.  Location of slot machines
Slot machines may be located only on the premises of a commercial track, the 
premises of a casino, the premises of a gambling facility in Washington County at which 
high-stakes beano is conducted by the Passamaquoddy Tribe or the premises of an 
accredited postsecondary institution for the purposes of training and education under 
section 1011, subsection 1-B.  For the purposes of this section, "premises of a commercial 
track" means property owned by the person who owns the property on which a 
commercial track is located and that is either within 200 feet of the outside edge of the 
racing oval or, if the commercial track was owned by a municipality when a license to 
operate slot machines in association with that commercial track was issued, within 2,000 
feet of the center of the racing oval.
Sec. 7.  8 MRSA §1036, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 417, §7, is further 
amended to read:
1.  Distribution for administrative expenses of board.  A slot machine operator 
licensed under section 1011, subsection 2 or 2-C or a casino operator that is a commercial 
track that was licensed to operate slot machines under section 1011, subsection 2 on 
January 1, 2011 shall 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 
board. 
Sec. 8.  8 MRSA §1036, sub-§2-D, is enacted to read:
2-D.  Distribution of net slot machine income from slot machines operated at  
Passamaquoddy Tribe gambling facility in Washington County.  A slot machine 
operator licensed under section 1011, subsection 2-C shall collect and distribute 25% of 
the net slot machine income from slot machines operated by the slot machine operator to 
the board for deposit to the General Fund.
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 
gambling 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.  The bill requires deposit of 25% of net slot machine income in 
the General Fund and sets the initial application fee to operate the 50 slot machines at 
$10,000 and the renewal fee at $5,000.  The Passamaquoddy Tribe is exempted from 
paying a $250,000 nonrefundable privilege fee and a $5,000,000 license fee.  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.