130th MAINE LEGISLATURE
LD 1352 LR 546(02)
An Act To Regulate Sports Betting
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
             
Fiscal Note
FY 2021-22 FY 2022-23 Projections  FY 2023-24 Projections  FY 2024-25
Net Cost (Savings)
General Fund ($2,784,088) ($4,459,707) ($6,365,953) ($7,125,982)
Appropriations/Allocations
General Fund $119,350 $124,668 $128,578 $132,612
Other Special Revenue Funds $358,625 $566,250 $802,188 $896,563
Revenue
General Fund $2,903,438 $4,584,375 $6,494,531 $7,258,594
Other Special Revenue Funds $1,193,063 $1,418,125 $2,131,969 $2,243,907
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements
This bill may increase the number of civil suits filed in the court system.
The additional workload associated with the minimal number of new cases filed in the court system does not require additional funding at this time. 
The collection of additional filing fees may increase General Fund and other dedicated revenue by minor amounts.
Fiscal Detail and Notes
This bill authorizes the Gambling Control Unit (GCU) within the Department of Public Safety to regulate sports wagering in the State and directs that 10% of gross sports wagering facility revenue and 16% of gross sports wagering mobile revenue be credited to the State as follows: 1% to the GCU for administrative expenses; 1% to the Gambling Addiction and Prevention Treatment Fund; 0.55% to the State Harness Racing Commission to be distributed to entities that conduct live harness racing in the State; 0.55% to the Sire Stakes Fund; 0.4% to the Agricultural Fair Promotion Fund established in the bill and the remainder (6.5% of facility wagering and 12.5% of mobile wagering) to the General Fund.  Facility and mobile operators will retain the remainder of the gross.  Based on assumptions contained in the May 2017, Oxford Economics' "Economic Impact of Legalized Sports Betting" report, using the criteria of moderate availability for in-person sports wagering and convenient availability for mobile wagering, General Fund revenues are estimated to be $2,903,438 in fiscal year 2021-22 and $4,584,375 in fiscal year 2022-23 and Other Special Revenue Funds revenues are estimated to be $896,563 in fiscal year 2021-22 and $1,415,625 in fiscal year 2022-23. 
This bill includes General Fund appropriations to the Department of Public Safety of $119,350 in fiscal year 2021-22 and $124,668 in fiscal year 2022-23 for one Public Safety Manager II position and associated All Other costs. The bill creates facility sports wagering licenses, mobile sports wagering licenses, supplier licenses, management services licenses and employee occupational licenses.  License fees are estimated to generate Other Special Revenue Funds revenue of $296,500 in fiscal year 2021-22 and $2,500 in fiscal year 2022-23.  License fee revenue assumes that two casinos will have both facility and mobile sports betting, four off-track betting facilities and one commerical track will have facility betting only, two mobile operators will have mobile licenses, and four Indian tribes will have facility only.     
This bill also includes Other Special Revenue Funds allocations to the Department of Health and Human Services of $358,625 in fiscal year 2021-22 and $566,250 in fiscal year 2022-23 to allow expenditure of sports betting revenue.  Additional costs to the Department of Public Safety associated with performing criminal history background checks can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources.