Last updated: April 12, 2024
LD1777, Maine’s online casino bill, faces uncertainty after a narrow defeat in the House. Proponents seek Senate support amidst concerns over tribal exclusivity and potential gubernatorial veto. Estimates suggest significant tax revenue potential, but the bill’s fate remains undecided as legislative deadlines.
Facing uncertainty in its future now, after the LD17771 online casino bill in Maine failed to go through the House of Representatives, with each vote it falls short of gaining the required majority. The bill, which is supported by Laura D. Supica of Maine, seeks to entirely hand the online casino operation to the tribal authorities, however, a small group of the House members debate on the aspect of inclusivity.
Supica on the other hand, keeps himself positive saying that the probability is high that the Senate could assist the LD number bill to be passed by the assembly. Showing the specific role played by the legislative process, the legislators’ potential changes in the vote could be decisive for the fate of a bill.
The LD17771 heated debate is all about different points of view within the legislature, some of which support the expanding licensing rights to include the brick-and-mortar commercial operators too. Yet, Supica underlines that her goal is not to negate the authority of a tribe. Her purpose is to bring economic power to them.
This way, with the assistance of the upper house of the Maine legislature, and the Maine Senate, stakeholders are constantly monitoring passing steps of the bill on the boundary of LD17771’s life. The Senate’s vote will be the final say if LD17771 progresses to its planned destination. Thus, it will be the last chance for the proponents to deliberate on the future of online casino gaming in Maine whose fate remains uncertain.
In the legislative process of Maine, committees can analyze bills leading to opposing findings as was seen with the LD1777 bill, by the Joint Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs. The Maine House, however, received recommendations both in favour of and against the bill, which they proceeded to turn down by very close votes. They then looked towards the Senate and recommended that they not pass it.
In the Maine Senate, Rep. Laura D. Supica drew attention to the Senate’s legal authority to amend the Senate report and propose passing the bill. But its success would see the LD1777 re-submitted to the House agenda, thus enabling the proponents to work on at least four wavering members. However, time is limited, and even if successful, potential opposition from Governor Janet Mills poses another hurdle.
Maine Governor Janet Mills’ historical stance on tribal interests could impact the fate of LD1777, a bill proposing exclusive tribal control over online casino gaming. With past opposition to tribal-centric legislation, LD1777’s passage faces uncertainty, especially with the looming threat of a potential veto from Mills.
Although Mills hasn’t publicly expressed her position on LD1777, the bill’s passage could prove challenging given the limited time frame before the legislative session’s end on April 17. This timeline constraints proponents, who may need to wait until 2025 to build momentum for the bill’s advancement.
LD1777 proponents argue for the economic benefits of online casino gaming, estimating significant tax revenue potential for the state. Maine legislative staff project over $4.6 million in tax revenue in the first fiscal year under LD1777, although concerns linger over the bill’s 16% tax rate. Proponents, led by Rep. Laura D. Supica, advocate for the bill’s potential to generate $100 million over five years, earmarking tax revenue for state services like the Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund and the Emergency Housing Relief Fund.
The sports betting industry of Maine, which is phenomenal in itself indeed, offers a look-ahead key point of the revenue landscape for online casino gaming. Here we are, at the end of the four months. March was the mount of the main for Maine, almost $47.6 million went through sportsbooks and bookies returned around $3 million. We translating this into $270,606.66 in tax revenue for the state, made up of a 10% tax rate of the total sports betting revenue.
By projecting the gross win for the last four months of Maine sportsbooks from Dec. to March, and by seeing that they won more than $17.7 million, we can get a lower estimate of more than $100 million in annual gross wins for the virtual casino gaming. According to proposal LD1777, it can see a tax rate of as much as 16% producing around $17m of yearly tax income surpassing earlier estimates.
Yet, this data remains more like an estimate that is subject to the possibility of LD1777 being deferred at the Senate level. Whether it is passed or not is heavily interdependent on the senators to agree on many issues with only a few senators likely in favor.
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