Question 1: York County Casino

Results

This measure did not pass.

The gist

This referendum would change the rules to allow Capital Seven LLC, the owner of Bangor Raceway, to apply for a casino license in York County. Voters in the municipality where it is located would have to approve the casino’s operation if it is approved, which would increase the number of slot machines permitted in the state from 3,000 to 4,500.

Ballot question

“Do you want to allow a certain company to operate table games and/or slot machines in York County, subject to state and local approval, with part of the profits going to the specific programs described in the initiative?”¹

Tell me more

This referendum will change the rules to allow one company to apply for a casino license in York County. The rule changes would increase the number of slot machines allowed in the state and exempt the facility from a rule that requires casinos be at least 100 miles apart.

Follow the money

The money will be used to

Slot Machine Revenue²

• Horse Racing (18%)
  • Harness racing purses (10%)
  • Sire Stakes Fund (related to breeding race horses) (3%)
  • Agricultural Fair Support Fund (3%)
  • Fund to Encourage Racing at Maine’s Commercial Tracks (2%)
• Education (13%)
  • K-12 education (10%)
  • University of Maine System Scholarship Fund and Maine Maritime Academy scholarship program (2%)
  • Maine Community College System scholarship program (1%)
• Social Services & Community (8%)
  • Reducing property taxes (3%)
  • Drug education initiatives (1%)
  • Office of aging and disability services (1%)
  • General fund for administrative expenses and the Gambling Addiction Treatment Fund (1%)
  • Tribal governments of the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe (1%)
  • Municipality in which the slot machines are located (1%)

Table Game Revenue²

• K-12 education (9%)
• Gambling Control Board (3%)
• Municipality in which the table games are located (2%)
• Coordinated Veterans Assistance Fund (2%)

The money will be coming from

• 39% of revenue from slot machines
• 16% of revenue from table games

Pros

The primary arguments for this referendum are:

• Revenue
• Jobs
• Tourism
• Local economic boost

Cons

The primary arguments against this referendum are:

• The rules are being changed for one person.
• A lot of the revenue goes to support horse racing, which is a special interest of the one company that who would qualify to apply for a license.
• There is controversy about the signatures and funding sources to get this question on the ballot.³

Further reading

• Full Text
• Ballotpedia Article

References

1. Sec. 1. 8 MRSA §1011, sub -§2-C. Accessed October 5, 2017 ↩

2. Dunlop, M. Maine Citizen’s Guide to the Referendum Election. Accessed October 5, 2017. ↩ ↩²

3. Hoey, Dennis. Proponents of York County casino submit petitions calling for 2017 vote. Portland Press Herald. Accessed October 5, 2017. ↩