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| | | An Act To Protect Maine Harness Racing from Illegal Wagering |
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| | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
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| | | Sec. 1. 8 MRSA §300-A is enacted to read: |
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| | | §300-A.__Illegal wagering |
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| | | 1.__Illegal wagering on harness races.__A person is liable for | | the damages specified in this section if that person accepts a | | wager concerning harness racing from a person located within this | | State unless the person accepting the wager is licensed to do so | | under this chapter. |
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| | | 2.__Right of action.__A commercial licensee under section 271 | | may bring an action in Superior Court against a person who has | | accepted an illegal wager described in subsection 1.__The court | | shall award damages to the prevailing plaintiff and the | | commission, as provided in subsection 4, in an amount equal to | | 25% of the monetary amount of illegal wagers accepted, including | | illegal wagers accepted as described in subsection 1, plus | | reasonable attorney's fees and costs. |
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| | | 3.__Punitive damages.__If a person accepting an illegal wager | | described in subsection 1 has been advised in writing of |
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| | | the provisions of this section either by the Attorney General or | | by a commercial track licensed under this chapter before | | accepting any such wager, then the person accepting the illegal | | wager, in addition to all other damages authorized under this | | section, is liable in an amount of up to 4 times the damages | | awarded under subsection 2 that the court determines are | | appropriate given the willfulness of the violation, any |
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