Oxford Casino takes Maine to court over allowing tribes to operate iGaming

The Oxford Casino, based in Maine, has filed a federal lawsuit which challenges “efforts to grant a monopoly on online casino-style gambling (“iGaming”) to four specially selected Indian Tribes.”

This comes after Governor Mills, of the State of Maine, announced her intention to allow the LD 1164 bill, named ‘An Act to Create Economic Opportunity for the Wabanaki Nations’ to become law.

This was announced on January 8, with the bill authorizing Maine’s tribal governments to operate online gambling in the state to support tribal communities and economic development.

“Governor Mills’ support for historic advances in tribal economic development, particularly her decision to allow LD 1164 to become law, marks an economic turning point for the Passamaquoddy people and for all Wabanaki Nations,” said Chief William Nicholas Sr. of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township in the initial news release, alongside other tribal chiefs.

Oxford Casino lawsuit against Maine comes after tribal bill allowed to become law

In the filing, which names the defendant as being the Executive Director of the Maine Gambling Control Unit, the casino – which is one of two brick-and-mortar casinos in Maine – has alleged “the Legislature has blessed a race-based monopoly that will allow Maine Tribes alone to offer iGaming in every square inch of Maine.”

They continue to say promoting iGaming through ‘race-based preferences’ “deals a gut-wrenching blow to Maine businesses like Oxford Casino that have heavily invested in the State and its people.”

Within the lawsuit, they state a study commissioned by The Innovation Group, called the Economic Impacts of iGaming Expansion, which they say shows that “land-based casino revenue drops by 16% on average after iGaming is introduced causing substantial job losses, hundreds of millions of dollars in lost economic output, and reduced tax contributions that fund public services.”

They also alleged “creating a race-based monopoly for in-state businesses violates equal protection, flouts constitutional restrictions on economic protectionism, and fails scrutiny under both the United States and Maine Constitutions.”

Oxford Casino has been offering gaming in the state since 2012 and it is one of Maine’s two licensed casinos. BB Development, LLC, does business as Oxford Casino Hotel, which is a Maine corporation and a subsidiary of Churchill Downs Incorporated.

Featured Image: Toohool via WikiCommons / CC0 1.0

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