An Oxford County group is urging Mainers to reject two ballot measures that would allow a casino in Lewiston and racinos in Biddeford and Washington County.
Friends of the Oxford County Casino said in press release today that the new gaming operations would compete with the yet-to-be-built casino in Oxford and reduce the amount of revenue expected to be generated by that casino for K-12 education.
“We’re all in real danger of cannibalizing a good idea if we approve too many casinos too fast,” Mark Ferguson, a spokesman for the Oxford County anti-casino group, said in a statement.
The group is a political action committee formed to oppose Questions 2 and 3 on the Nov. 8 state ballot.
Ferguson said the state could lose $25 million annually in K-12 education funding if voters approve the two ballot questions.
In 2010, when the initiated bill allowing the Oxford casino was before the Legislature, legislative analysts estimated that the Oxford casino would provide $15.3 million to K-12 education annually.
Maine voters narrowly approved the Oxford casino last November.
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