AUGUSTA — A twice-defeated bill that would give the Wabanaki tribes of Maine the exclusive right to online gambling has been revived at the last minute.
Sen. Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
The proposal to expand the tribes’ online gambling authority from sports betting to all games of chance, such as online poker, was voted down in both the House and Senate last week. But on Tuesday, Assistant Majority Leader Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, asked for the bill to be reconsidered.
As a member who initially voted with the prevailing side – in this case, against the bill – she was able to ask for reconsideration to change her vote. It eventually prevailed 19-13.
Penobscot Nation Tribal Ambassador Maulian Dana said Tuesday that she was happy about the Senate’s reversal and hopes supporters can pick up the extra votes needed to win in the House, too.
Dana said the Wabanaki Alliance, a coalition of 180 community groups that advocate for tribal self-determination, had not spent much time on the gambling bill because of its focus on sovereignty. That might have led some lawmakers to assume that expanding tribal gambling authority wasn’t important to the tribes, but that isn’t true, Dana said.
It is very important to individual tribes that have jumped into the online gambling industry, including the Houlton band of Maliseet Indians, Mi’kmaq Nation and her own, the Penobscot Nation, she said.
“Sovereignty remains the ultimate goal of all Wabanaki tribes, but economic development is critical to the tribes’ desire for self-determination,” Dana said. “This bill would definitely help us do that.”
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Laura Supica, D-Bangor, whose district includes the Hollywood Casino and Hotel. It fell in the House by a vote of 74-71, with nine Democrats crossing the aisle to join nearly unified opposition from Republicans.
Opponents criticized the proposal, which is expected to generate $100 million for tribes in the coming years, because it excludes existing casino operators and they say it could lead to job losses at casinos. Some expressed concern about an increase in gambling addiction.
Supporters argued that allowing tribes to have exclusive rights would help address long-standing inequities against the tribes, which are treated more like municipalities because of a pair of agreements with the state that settled the tribes’ land claims. They said the bill would be an economic boon to the tribes, surrounding municipalities and the state as a whole, since the tribes would reinvest 100% of the new revenue into the local economy, instead of sending profits to out-of-state corporations.
Supica said the tax revenues would be earmarked to fund 911 systems, emergency housing and gambling addiction programs.
The measure is opposed by Steve Silver, chairman of the Maine Gambling Control Board, who argued that licenses should not be limited to tribes and raised concerns about the proposal’s impact on the 19 groups that received more than $69 million in revenue in 2022 from the state’s two casinos, which could lose business as a result of the bill.
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