Online gambling on Keno is among the possibilities being examined by the Maine legislature, along with video gambling and other gaming expansions.

Play Now at Rome Casino Looking for ways to avoid further budget cuts, Maine legislators are considering several options involving gambling, including online Keno. Video gambling and expanded charitable gambling are also on the agenda, according to a report by Maine Public Broadcasting.

State lottery experts say bringing Keno to the Internet could pull in an additional $2.4 million in annual revenue. Dan Gwadosky, director of the Maine lottery, defended Keno, saying the game works much like Powerball, but with far more frequent drawings.

Opponents of the gaming suggestions offered mutually exclusive reasons to resist the proposed gambling expansions: that new revenue would simply compensate for revenue drained from existing games, and that greater numbers would suffer from problem gambling. If problem gambling increased, it would reason that total gaming had increased also, rather than simply shifted games.

“The Keno game is a little bit different than your scratch ticket, so it may, in fact, attract a different player,” Gwadosky responded. “There’s only so much disposable income out there, and there would be some loss.”

Gwadosky says Governor Baldacci has not indicated support for the online gambling program.

According to the US Department of Justice, all online gambling in the US is illegal, even though courts have determined there is no federal law against Internet gambling, with the exception of sports betting. However, the DoJ has not prosecuted domestic operators, preferring to concentrate its efforts in protectionist defense of monopolistic conditions for US gaming concerns.

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