Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §952, sub-§5-A is enacted to read:

5-A.__"Illegal gambling machine" means any machine, including electronic devices, however operated:

A.__The internal mechanism or components of which when set in motion or activated may deliver or entitle the person playing or operating the machine to receive cash, premiums, merchandise, tickets or something of value;

B.__That is used to advance gambling activity; and

C.__That is not a machine that a person may lawfully operate pursuant to a license that has been issued under Title 17, chapter 14.

Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §§959 to 961 are enacted to read:

§959.__Illegal gambling machines; forfeiture

1.__An illegal gambling machine, including any monetary contents, is subject to forfeiture to the State.

2.__An illegal gambling machine and any monetary contents may be declared forfeited by any court that has jurisdiction over the illegal gambling machine or final jurisdiction over any related criminal proceeding brought under this chapter or by the Superior Court for Kennebec County.__Property subject to forfeiture may be kept or stored at any location within the State and is subject to the authority of any court in which a petition seeking the forfeiture of that property is filed.

3.__Forfeitures under this section must be accomplished by the following procedure.

A.__A district attorney or the Attorney General may petition the Superior Court in the name of the State in the nature of a proceeding in rem to order forfeiture of an illegal gambling machine and any monetary contents.__The petition must be filed in the court having jurisdiction over the property.

B.__The proceeding is an in rem civil action, in which the State has the burden of proving all material facts by a preponderance of the evidence.