South Carolina to vote on Maine casino

South Carolina Legislature has sent legislation regarding a third casino in Maine to a statewide vote after a successful referendum.

US.- The proposal for a third casino in Maine, South Carolina, has been sent to a statewide vote in November’s ballot after a successful referendum. The citizen initiative campaign has taken the matter into voters hands, who will have the power to decide if a York County venue gets approved or not.

Nonetheless, according to Innovate Gaming, the proposal is under investigation by the Maine Ethics Commission, which is reviewing its compliance with Maine’s campaign finance law. Some reports indicate that organisations promoting the referendum filed late, inaccurate or nonconforming records.

There have been more than US$4.3 million transferred by organisations that have links with Lisa and Shawn Scott to a campaign that would give the latter the exclusive right to build the casino. The entrepreneur had already paid for the 2003 slot machine referendum campaign, before selling the rights to build the Hollywood Casino in Bangor for US$30 million.

This campaign has been accused of unlawful, as there have been complaints of aggressive or deceptive signature gatherers, questionable record-keeping and unpaid bills. The source of the funding has also been questioned, and three out of for political commitees involved in it missed campaign filing deadline this week.

Some lawmakers designed plans to kill the casino proposal before November but decided to drop them to avoid a court challenge. However, the Legislature will open twice before the election, meaning there could be further objections.