Maine Moves in on Slots and their Revenue
The state of Maine is joining in the slot debate. Slots are a tool being used all over the country to generate revenue. It’s interesting to see the hopes that legislators are putting on slot machine gaming. They are hoping that the machines are influential enough to bring in thousands of new players and, in turn, millions of dollars in tax-revenue dollars. Since the recession, many cities have struggled. Their deficits are huge and the ways to bring in money are not enough to handle overwhelming debt and budget funding. Almost every state wants to use slots to bring in money and almost every state has some plan to implement them.
Now Maine is one of the latest states to move into the world of slots gaming. Operators have been trying to get a new style of slot machine approved. Hollywood Slots Parlor in Bangor, Maine recently requested the approval to use a new type of “hosted” slot machine. The game looks like a slots or table game, but is a little different. Maine’s operators had asked Maine’s Gambling Control Board for approval of the new slot machine, but the board said that they thought it needed to go to the state as a request for expanding gambling. The casino maintains that they should need an additional request for expanded gambling since the game is an already approved type of slots game.
The crux of the issue however is the fact that the Gambling Control Board disagrees that the games are like other games already approved for running in the state. Opponents say that the casino is trying to sneak in table games and that only slot machines were approved at their location. The new games look like slot machines in that they were electronic, but other than that, they are very similar to table games. The Gambling Board decided that more information is needed before they can make a formal decision on the issue. It will take time though and the state of Maine’s legislators are hoping that the decision is a good one. They are hoping that enough money is brought in to aid the huge deficit and fund programs for 2010 and 2011 financial years.
