Anti-casinos group slams regulators

Offering harsh criticism of the state’s gambling regulators, officials with the anti-slots group CasinosNo! today will announce its intention to become a “continuing presence” in the debate over a racetrack casino bound for Bangor.

“Someone has to look out for the public interest, and it’s clear by the actions of the Gambling Control Board it ain’t them,” said Dennis Bailey, executive director of the newly formed CasinosNo! Foundation, a nonprofit offshoot of its namesake political action committee that helped engineer the defeat of an Indian casino in 2003.

The announcement, set for this morning in Portland, comes as the Legislature readies to consider a host of bills targeting the state’s developing gambling industry.

Among the pending bills, Bailey took particular exception to one backed by the gambling board that would keep confidential certain personal and financial information of those applying to operate slots in the state.

Bailey said the “secrecy bill” offered a clear indication that the gambling board was less interested in regulating the new industry than appeasing the high-powered developer of a slots parlor at Bangor Raceway.

Bailey’s assessment drew fire from the gambling board’s chairman, George McHale of Orrington, who on Monday defended the board’s integrity and its actions.

“We have written the rules to protect the people of the state, and we will make the ‘racino’ operate within those guidelines,” McHale said, using the common moniker for a racetrack casino. “We’re regulators and we have no particular ax to grind.”

“We are doing our job and will continue to do our job,” McHale later added. “I sleep very well at night.”

Penn National Gaming Inc., a publicly traded company based in Wyomissing, Pa., has a conditional license to operate slots at the Bangor Raceway, where it plans to build a $75 million hotel and casino complex. Construction is expected to begin this spring.

Bailey said Monday his foundation, while supporting a host of bills designed to tighten the state’s gambling regulations – including one to ban automated teller machines within 500 feet of a casino – would not support a separate, citizen-led effort to repeal the 2004 law that allowed slots at the Bangor harness racing track.

“Not at this time,” added Bailey, who has hinted at a repeal try if Penn National should pursue a southern Maine casino.

The Gambling Control Board’s next meeting is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16, at the Department of Public Safety in Augusta.