FREDERICTON, New Brunswick – The provincial government has issued a request for proposals for a casino to be in operation somewhere in the province by 2010.

In doing so, Maine’s Canadian neighbor is wagering that a casino will revive its faltering tourism industry, which has seen the number of visitors decline by 25 percent over the past five years.

A plan to expand gaming across the border in eastern Maine was rejected earlier this week.

Supporters of a proposed harness racetrack-casino in Calais sought to make the eastern Maine city a destination for tourists largely from Canada. But the proposal, which called for doubling the number of slot machines allowed in Maine to 3,000, was rejected Tuesday in a statewide referendum. Maine already has a racino in Bangor.

The facility envisioned in New Brunswick won’t be funded or operated by the government, but Finance Minister Victor Boudreau said he expects the province will pocket about $25 million per year in revenue.