An Act to Require a Municipal Public Hearing and Vote Before a
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0811
Sponsors: BRENNAN
Amends: 8 MRSA §1206

Legislative Document
No. 811
H.P. 518
House of Representatives, March 4, 2025
An Act to Require a Municipal Public Hearing and Vote Before a 
Sports Wagering Facility May Be Established
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 27, 2025.  Referred to the Committee on 
Veterans and Legal Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative BRENNAN of Portland.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BRIDGEO of Augusta, MOONEN of Portland, 
SALISBURY of Westbrook, SUPICA of Bangor.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  8 MRSA §1206, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
2-A.  Municipal approval required; public hearing; appeal.  In addition to the 
eligibility requirements in subsection 2, an applicant shall request and must receive 
approval from the municipal officers of the municipality in which a sports wagering facility 
is to be physically located.
A.  The municipal officers of the municipality must hold a public hearing regarding the 
operation of a sports wagering facility at a physical location within that municipality 
before approving or denying the request.
B.  In approving or denying the request, the municipal officers shall indicate the reasons 
for the municipal officers' decision and provide a written copy of the decision to the 
applicant and to the director.
C.  An applicant aggrieved by the decision of the municipal officers under this 
subsection may appeal to the director within 15 days of the receipt of the written 
decision of the municipal officers under paragraph B. The director shall hold a public 
hearing in the municipality where the sports wagering facility is to be physically 
located. In acting on such an appeal, the director may consider all licensure 
requirements, including the requirements of the applicant’s underlying license, and 
findings referred to in the municipal officers’ written decision. The director may issue 
a license only if the director finds by clear and convincing evidence that the denial 
decision was without justifiable cause.
If a sports wagering facility is to be physically located in an unincorporated place, the 
applicant shall request and must receive approval under this subsection from the county 
commissioners of the county in which the sports wagering facility is to be physically 
located.
Sec. 2.  8 MRSA §1206, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2023, c. 577, §2, is further 
amended to read:
5.  Term of license.  Except as provided in subsection 6, a license granted or renewed 
under this section prior to September 1, 2024 is valid for 4 years and a license granted or 
renewed under this section on or after September 1, 2024 is valid for one year unless sooner 
revoked by the director or the commissioner under section 1205.  The failure of a facility 
sports wagering licensee to maintain its underlying off-track betting license voids the 
facility sports wagering license.  A facility sports wagering license is valid only at the 
facility sports wagering licensee's municipally approved physical location.
SUMMARY
This bill requires an applicant for a facility sports wagering license to request and 
receive approval from the municipal officers of the municipality in which the sports 
wagering facility is to be physically located before the director of the Gambling Control 
Unit within the Department of Public Safety may issue the license. The municipal officers 
are required to hold a public hearing for the consideration of the request to conduct sports 
wagering at a physical location within that municipality before issuing a decision, which 
must be provided to the applicant and the director in writing. An aggrieved applicant may 
appeal the decision of the municipal officers to the director. If the sports wagering facility 
is to be physically located in an unincorporated place, the applicant must request and 
receive approval from the county commissioners of the county in which the sports wagering 
facility is to be physically located. A facility sports wagering license is valid only at the 
facility sports wagering licensee's municipally approved physical location.