Lawmakers have been wrangling for two years with the prospect of a tribal gambling facility in Washington County, twice running into gubernatorial vetoes. A current proposal from the Passamaquoddy Tribe to build a racino avoids this problem by putting the proposal to a statewide vote if lawmakers fail to approve it. As they did with the Bangor racino in 2003, voters statewide should have a chance to weigh in on whether gambling should be limited to Bangor.

Last week, the Secretary of State’s Office certified that supporters of a tribal racino in Washington County had submitted enough signatures to get their proposal before lawmakers. Because supporters have only 577 more valid signatures than the 50,519 needed, some gambling opponents say they are considering challenging the certification.

If the certification stands, lawmakers will have first crack at the proposal for a racetrack with slot machines, known as a racino. They are unlikely to approve the measure and face the prospect of a veto from Gov. Baldacci. Instead, they are likely to let the measure go to the voters.

Lawmakers have previously approved a tribal racino, but the governor vetoed it and a prior referendum effort failed to gather enough signatures.

Gov. Baldacci has long maintained that he does not support gambling, but says it is up to the people to decide if another racino should be built. He also says that a racino is not the answer to Washington County’s economic woes. While he is right, with Hollywood Slots in operation for more than a year, casino-style gambling in Maine has moved beyond the unknown to reality. Policy-makers now know what a racino looks like, how it operates and what it means to a community. That changes the way Maine will debate the issue.

In 2003, the state’s voters approved the Bangor racino by a 53-47 margin. In the same election, they rejected a tribal casino in southern Maine with only a third of voters supporting it.

Last year, Hollywood Slots of Bangor took in more than $564 million resulting in net revenue of more than $37 million. By law, 39 percent of this goes to a variety of state and local funds, including harness racing purses, support for agricultural fairs, university and community college scholarships. Bangor, as the host city, receives 1 percent.

The Passamaquoddy facility, likely to be in Calais, is slated to have as many as 1,500 slots, a hotel and perhaps even a dock for cruise ships. A horse track would also have to be built, showing the fallacy of tying slot machines to horse tracks. Rather than continue this, the tribal facility should be allowed to dedicate a portion of its revenues to harness racing without having to locate near a track.

Gambling is a fast growing part of the tourism sector. More than one-quarter of all Americans visited a casino in 2002, according to the American Gaming Association. The question for voters is whether Maine should try to draw more of these people to gamble here.