The fight in Massachusetts over expanded predatory gambling is ongoing as the power players on Beacon Hill meet behind clothes doors. Meanwhile in Maine, gambling interests had been pressuring the governor and legislature to approve a casino without putting it to the people for a vote first.

The lobbyists did not get their way, and the voters will now decide the fate of the bill at the ballot box in November. On Tuesday, the Maine Senate voted 19-15 against a bill that would have allowed racinos in Biddeford and Washington County. There is a proposal to build a $120 million racino, hotel and entertainment complex in Biddeford.

Even if the legislature had voted for the bill, Governor LePage had pledged to veto it. With the bill’s defeat, the fate of the Biddeford racino is unclear, because Scarborough Downs and Ocean Properties have not publicly said whether they plan to pursue the project.

Please stand with us and our friends at United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts (USS-Mass) and demand that the Legislature conduct an impartial, independent analysis of the impact of expanded gambling. No steps should be taken to expand gambling in the Bay State until such a study is done.

Source: Journal Tribune