February 5th, 2011 – by Glen Farmer
According to officials in Maine, proponents of a racetrack casino in Biddeford have successfully collected enough signatures on a petition to place the racino proposal before the state’s legislature.
The proposal calls for changes to state laws in order to allow additional racinos in Maine. Charles Summers, Maine’s Secretary of State, stated on Friday that a review determined that there were 59,095 valid signatories, which broke the minimum requirement by 1,818 signatures.
The legislation will have two chances to succeed in Maine. If the racinos are not authorized by the state Legislature, voters will have a chance to pass the racetrack casinos into law through a statewide referendum for voting this November.
Maine’s gambling expansion has been on the rise over the last few years. A new casino had been authorized last year, and Maine gambling proponents had authorized this casino through a referendum.
Gambling expansion has been on the rise all over the North Eastern United States for the past few years, with new casinos in Pennsylvania those that are predominant.