SCARBOROUGH – Ignoring arguments that the survival of Maine’s harness racing industry is at stake, the Town Council has approved a zoning ordinance that bans video gambling at Scarborough Downs.

The overwhelming vote Wednesday in favor of the measure was a setback for a petition effort that seeks to force a statewide referendum next year on a bill to legalize video gambling. A similar ballot measure in 2000 was defeated.

The zoning ordinance did not name Scarborough Downs, but it banned video gambling in the business zone the racetrack is in.

Supporters of video gambling expressed concern that the track would close without additional revenue, putting horse breeders and the farmers who supply them out of business.

“This is all we got left for agricultural farming in Maine,” said Dennis Lowell, who works with harness-racing horses and lives in Saco.