An Act to Amend the Laws Regarding Fantasy Contest Licensing
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 2048
Sponsors: TIMBERLAKE
Amends: 8 MRSA §1103

Legislative Document
No. 2048
S.P. 841
In Senate, December 11, 2025
An Act to Amend the Laws Regarding Fantasy Contest Licensing
Submitted by the Department of Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 203.
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on December 9, 2025.  Referred to the Committee 
on Veterans and Legal Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator TIMBERLAKE of Androscoggin.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  8 MRSA §1103, sub-§3, ¶C, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 303, §2, is amended 
to read:
C.  Consent to permit the director to conduct a criminal background check history 
record check;
Sec. 2.  8 MRSA §1103, sub-§3, ¶H, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 303, §2, is amended 
to read:
H.  The methods by which the fantasy contest operator will protect a fantasy 
contestant's personal and private information; and
Sec. 3.  8 MRSA §1103, sub-§3, ¶H-1 is enacted to read:
H-1.  Disclosure of each person that has control over the applicant as described in 
subsection 3-A; and
Sec. 4.  8 MRSA §1103, sub-§3-A is enacted to read:
3-A.  Control over applicant or licensee.  The following are considered to have 
control over an applicant or a licensee:
A.  In the case of an applicant or a licensee that is a corporation, each corporate holding 
company, parent company or subsidiary company of the applicant or licensee and each 
person that owns 10% or more of the applicant or licensee and that has the ability to 
control the activities of the applicant or licensee or elect a majority of the board of 
directors of the applicant or licensee, except for a bank or other licensed lending 
institution that holds a mortgage or other lien acquired in the ordinary course of 
business;
B.  In the case of an applicant or licensee that is not a corporation, each person 
associated with the applicant or licensee that directly or indirectly holds a beneficial or 
proprietary interest in the applicant's or licensee's business operation or that the director 
otherwise determines has the ability to control the noncorporate applicant or licensee; 
and
C.  Key personnel of the applicant or licensee, including any executive, employee or 
agent, having the power to exercise significant influence over decisions concerning any 
part of the applicant's or licensee's relevant business operation.
Sec. 5.  8 MRSA §1103, sub-§4-A is enacted to read:
4-A.  Criminal history record check.  The director shall request a criminal history 
record check in accordance with this subsection for each applicant for an initial license and 
for each person required to be disclosed by an applicant for an initial license under 
subsection 3, paragraph H-1. The director may require a criminal history record check in 
accordance with this subsection for a licensee seeking to renew a license and from any 
person having control over the licensee as part of the license renewal application and from 
any person identified by the licensee under subsection 3-A. A criminal history record check 
conducted pursuant to this subsection must include criminal history record information 
obtained from the Maine Criminal Justice Information System established in Title 16, 
section 631 and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A.  Criminal history record information obtained from the Maine Criminal Justice 
Information System pursuant to this subsection must include a record of public criminal 
history record information as defined in Title 16, section 703, subsection 8.
B.  Criminal history record information obtained from the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation pursuant to this subsection must include other state and national criminal 
history record information.
C.  An individual required to submit to a criminal history record check under this 
subsection shall submit to having the individual's fingerprints taken. The State Police, 
upon payment by the individual of the fee required under paragraph E, shall take or 
cause to be taken the individual's fingerprints and shall immediately forward the 
fingerprints to the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police, State Bureau 
of Identification. Any person who fails to transmit criminal fingerprint records to the 
State Bureau of Identification pursuant to this paragraph is subject to the provisions of 
Title 25, section 1550.
D.  The Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police, State Bureau of 
Identification shall conduct the state and national criminal history record checks 
required under this subsection. Except for the portion of a payment, if any, that 
constitutes the processing fee for a criminal history record check charged by the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, all money received by the State Police under this subsection 
must be paid to the Treasurer of State, who shall apply the money to the expenses 
incurred by the Department of Public Safety in the administration of this subsection.
E.  The director shall by rule set the amount of the fee to be paid for each criminal 
history record check required to be performed under this subsection.
F.  The subject of a Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history record check may 
obtain a copy of the criminal history record check by following the procedures outlined 
in 28 Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 16.32 and 16.33. The subject of a state 
criminal history record check may inspect and review the criminal history record 
information pursuant to Title 16, section 709.
G.  State and national criminal history record information obtained by the director 
under this subsection may be used only for the purpose of screening an applicant for a 
license or a license renewal under this chapter.
H.  All criminal history record information obtained by the director pursuant to this 
subsection is confidential, is for the official use of the director only and may not be 
disseminated by the director or disclosed to any other person or entity except as 
provided in paragraph F.
I.  The director, after consultation with the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of 
State Police, State Bureau of Identification, shall adopt rules to implement this 
subsection.
Sec. 6.  8 MRSA §1103, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 303, §2, is amended to 
read:
5.  Application Processing fee.  The director may establish by rule and charge a one-
time application processing fee limited to the projected cost of processing the application 
and performing any background investigations.  If the application fee exceeds the actual 
for the cost of processing the an application and performing background investigations, the 
excess amount must be applied to the license fee, if the applicant is issued a license, or 
reimbursed to an applicant not subject to a license fee in accordance with subsection 6 or 
to an applicant that was not issued a license. If the actual cost exceeds the projected cost, 
an additional fee may be charged to meet the actual cost.
Sec. 7.  8 MRSA §1103, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 303, §2, is amended to 
read:
6.  License Application fee; term.  The nonrefundable application fee for an initial 
license and a license renewal fee for a license for a fantasy contest operator that had gross 
fantasy contest revenues during the 12 months preceding application equal to or greater 
than $100,000 is $2,500.  A fantasy contest operator that had gross fantasy contest revenues 
during the 12 months preceding application of less than $100,000 is not required to pay a 
license fee.  Licenses must be renewed annually.
Sec. 8.  8 MRSA §1103, sub-§6-A is enacted to read:
6-A.  Occupational license fee; term; renewal.  The fee for an occupational license 
for a fantasy contest operator is $250 for an initial license and $250 to renew a license for 
a one-year term. Licenses must be renewed annually. The fee may be paid on behalf of the 
occupational licensee by the operator. In addition to a renewal fee, an occupational licensee 
must annually submit a renewal application on a form or in a format approved by the 
director. Fees paid under this subsection must be retained by the director for the cost of 
administering this chapter.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Director of the Gambling Control Unit within the Department of 
Public Safety to request a criminal history record check for each applicant for a license to 
conduct fantasy contests and requires the application to include a disclosure of persons that 
have control over an applicant. The bill also clarifies the application and license fees for an 
occupational license for a fantasy contest operator.