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131st MAINE LEGISLATURE |
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LD 504 |
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LR 2013(03) |
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An Act Regarding
Licensing Fees for Small Slot Machine Distributors |
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Fiscal Note for
Bill as Engrossed with:
C "A" (S-96) |
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Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs |
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| Fiscal Note |
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Contingent current biennium cost increase - General Fund
Potential current biennium revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds
Potential current biennium revenue increase - General Fund |
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| Fiscal Detail
and Notes |
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This bill creates
a new license for small slot machine distributors that distribute fewer than
50 machines annually per casino location. The new license has an initial
application fee of $50,000 and an annual renewal fee of $10,000. The license
will potentially result in additional Other Special Revenue Funds revenue to
the Gambling Control Unit (GCU) within the Department of Public Safety and
will depend on the number of new small slot machine distributor licenses
sold, the number of additional slot machines registered at the existing fee
of $100 each and the number of new employees registered at $299 each. Any
increase to General Fund revenue will come from an increase in the amount of
money flowing through all slot machines, both old and new, after some new
machines are added. Adding new machines may reduce revenue from existing machines by spreading gambling activity
over more machines. Or existing machines may be reduced in number to allow
for any new machines provided by new distributors. Under current statute, the
two casinos in the State are each authorized to operate up to 1,500 slot
machines. Of the 3,000 slot machines allowed, only 1,612 machines are
currently in play, leaving a potential for 1,388 additional slot machines to
be added. Notwithstanding the recent COVID pandemic, the number of slot
machines has remained considerably below the maximum allowed by statute. |
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If the number of
licenses increases substantially, the additional licensing, administrative
and compliance activities associated with the new distributor licenses and
slot machine registrations may increase the workload on the staff of the GCU.
Any such increase is expected to be gradual and any additional staffing for
the GCU may need to be addressed in future budgets. |
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