Legislature useless to protect Mainers from expansion of gambling

Sunday, May 29, 2005

MAINE VOICES: Fred Kilfoil

Also on this page:
About the Author

About the Author

Fred Kilfoil is a Scarborough businessman and a founding member of No Slots for Me!

To top of story

Proposals to expand gambling in Maine have been spreading throughout the halls of the State House like wildfire on the prairie.

This all started modestly enough on Nov. 4, 2003, when Maine voters approved the idea of a "limited number" of slots at the two harness racing tracks "where gambling already exists."

This concept seemed harmless enough to most who voted in favor of it that day. It clearly meant slot machines could only be placed at the Bangor Raceway and Scarborough Downs. What harm could a few machines tucked away in the corner of the clubhouse do?

Moreover, this approval was contingent upon the acceptance of each local community. That local approval seemed to provide more than enough safeguard for those who were apprehensive. In fact, Bangor voters had already given a narrow approval to the measure.

Throughout the pre-election campaign, however, some of us were uneasy. We called the racino bill a "deceptive" scheme. Proponents often questioned the fairness of our appellation. But many voters would soon find out just how misleading that original legislation was.

For, although Scarborough residents voted slots down on Nov. 4, they woke up on Nov. 5 to find out that the Downs now could legally pick up and move their operation. "Scarborough" did not have to mean Scarborough: it could also possibly mean any of several other surrounding communities.

The ballots were not even completely tallied by the time representatives of Shawn Scott and the Downs were knocking on doors in Saco, Westbrook, Gorham and even Old Orchard Beach.

Since that day, opponents of slots in Maine have worked diligently with Gov. Baldacci and the Legislature to close such loopholes. They worked as hard as anybody could to force the Legislature to respect the original intent of the bill.

But the number of flaws has been so great that even Baldacci himself admitted this was "the least regulated piece of gambling legislation in America." It clearly was a bill of the gambling interests, drafted by the gambling interests, solely for the gambling interests.

A complete list of the "compromises" and unforeseen developments that have subsequently taken place is far too long to catalog here. Below are some that have taken place just in the last few months:

In February, the Passamaquoddy Tribe announced a desire to open a racino somewhere - anywhere - in Washington County. Since voters already have approved slots for other locations, they pitched this as being only "fair."

What they didn't say is that, as part of an earlier $81 million land claims settlement with the state, they had already agreed to renounce gambling back in 1981.

The Penobscot Nation, not to be outdone, immediately proposed installing 1,500 slots at their high-stakes bingo parlor. They didn't bring up the earlier agreement either.

Penn National, not even a player before the election, has been granted bizarre exceptions, which no other business has, to Maine's "right to know" law. It also recently purchased Miller's Restaurant in Bangor for the express purpose of setting up hundreds of slots in there - a gross violation of the spirit of the the 2003 vote.

The Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee has several more proposals to install slots - at off-track betting parlors and for nonprofit organizations, fraternal groups and at various fund-raising activities.

They also just recommended that a measure to put "loss limits" in place for problem gamblers be given an "ought not to pass" label when it goes before the entire Legislature.

The large number of proposals and the intensity of their backers should serve as a wake-up call to Maine voters. Current legislators have shown that they are woefully unprepared to protect the public interest against the interests of organized gambling.

Given the changes that have already occurred, and the near certainty of more to come if nothing is done to force the Legislature to respect the original intent of the 2003 legislation, it seems long past time to put the entire question back out to the voters.

Fortunately, the grassroots group No Slots for Me! is offering a way out of this trap. Let's rally behind them and work hard to get the necessary referendum signatures to Augusta. It's the only way to put an end to this vexing issue.

- Special to the Telegram

To top of page