Maine Sees Opposition to Slots Gambling Legalization
Here they go again—slots are taking the forefront in debate in yet another state. Now it is Maine where gambling is being debated. A few short years ago the state believed that it could ban slot machine gambling altogether. It seemed like a cure all in that without legalized gambling, there would be no further problems to overcome. Unfortunately, the state experienced what many other states did: if people want to gamble, they will find placed to do it—either legally or illegally. The 2007 objective of Maine’s legislators to ban gambling fell short drastically. That is proven with the prevalence of slot machine gambling in 2010 throughout the state. There are still opponents though. The organization “No Slots for Me!” is still pining for its chance to be heard by legislators. The group has been instrumental in decrying gambling. So far it is still making a push to put the slot machine issue on the ballot in the November 2010 vote. Thus far the group has over 55,000 signatures from residents of the state who don’t want gambling. A study has shown that 55,000 makes up about10% of the gubernatorial vote. Though that may seem like a sliver of the population, in reality it is a good chunk of the voting public. In addition, consider the amount of people who don’t vote at all and it could considerably turn a candidate for the position of governor to an anti-gambling stance.
So far the state of Maine is debating out the issue through advertising and promotions. The sides are determined to have their positions heard and are hoping the right legislators hear their calls. If the “No Slots for Me!” initiative can gain momentum it just may be a true entity to reckon with coming November. There are still legislators who believe that gambling would be a bad move for the state and believe that without some hard-hitting opposition, it could be adopted. They believe it would inevitably bring an increase in crime, corruption, money laundering and overall addictions. Only time will tell how far this issue goes in the state of Maine, but it is surely not an issue that is going to die anytime soon without a definitive solution being introduced in coming months.
