Gambling News: Maine Looks to Amend Gambling Device Statutes

Following the controversies involving Kentucky and its attempts to seize some 141 online gambling domain names, the state of Maine has apparently embarked on changing its gambling device statutes. 

That state has proposed the following bill:

The bill authorizes a gaming operator to operate a gaming facility at a single site in Oxford County. The legislative body and voters of any municipality in which the site is located must approve the site for the operation of the gaming facility. The gaming facility is authorized to contain slot machines, bazaar games conducted solely for merchandise prizes, lottery games, video facsimiles, card games, table games and other games of chance, including without limitation blackjack, poker, dice, roulette, baccarat, money-wheels and bingo. The initiated bill removes the limit on the total number of slot machines that are allowed to be registered in this State. The bill provides that, other than the approved commercial race tracks in the State that operate slot machines, the gaming facility must be the only gaming facility in the State for at least 10 years. The bill provides for regulation of the gaming facility by the Department of Public Safety, Gambling Control Board.

The bill requires the gaming operator to pay to the State 40% of the total gross gaming device income. This money paid to the State must be used for the following purposes:

1. Nineteen and one half percent of the total gross gaming device income must be distributed to economic development funds to be used for statewide projects and projects in Oxford County;

2. Nineteen and one half percent of the total gross gaming device income must be distributed to transportation infrastructure funds to be used for statewide projects and projects in Oxford County; and

3. One percent of the total gross gaming device income must be distributed to the host municipality.

.....More Censorship News From Down Under:  From Stan Beer of ITWire.com, Senator Stephen Conroy's watch as Communications Minister seems to be going from bad to worse after publicly making comments that could land him legal hot water. The comments at a public telecoms conference about a high profile court case involving ISP iiNet have been deemed by a number of sources as inappropriate, defamatory and potentially prejudicial to the case.

So what did Conroy do now?

At that conference, Senator Conroy stunned the bemused audience by making sarcastic and denigrating remarks about the iiNet defence strategy for its court case.

He described iiNet's claim that it didn't know what material its customers were downloading as "stunning" and he likened iiNet's defence strategy to a "Yes Minister episode".

Both remarks made by a Federal Government Minister about an ongoing court case have raised the ire of not only iiNet but members of the legal community as well as the opposition.

It has been suggested that iiNet could have a case for pursuing Senator Conroy for defamation but even worse for the Minister there is a possibility his remarks could be deemed as contempt of court.

The saga continues.