The fate of the Maine Harness Racing Commission is uncertain.

AUGUSTA (AP) – The Maine Harness Racing Commission could be put out to pasture under Gov. John Baldacci’s proposal for creating a new state commission to regulate slot machines at the state’s commercial racetracks.

The so-called “racino” bill, approved by Maine voters on Nov. 4, allowed slots at tracks in Bangor and Scarborough and granted control over the machines to the Maine Harness Racing Commission, created 68 years ago.

But Baldacci thinks there is a better way to regulate the machines and enforce the laws governing them. He’s considering a gambling commission, a new agency that could eliminate the existing commission.

Baldacci said it’s too soon to say what role, if any, the five-member harness racing commission would have if the new agency comes together. But he said the harness racing commission wasn’t formed with the intent of drafting rules regulating slot machine use.

“We need to reorganize the regulatory arm of this industry now and strengthen it,” he said.

The idea is similar to what is done in other states where slot machines operate at commercial racetracks.

Many states uses their lottery commissions to regulate slot machines or similar games at racetracks, said Bennett Liebman, a gambling expert who directs the Program in Racing and Wagering Law at Albany Law School in New York.

Other states have a separate gaming authority that regulates all forms of gambling, he said. “Racing commissions don’t have the funding or expertise, in almost all instances, to handle all gaming issues,” Liebman said.

In addition, racing commissions in most states have a responsibility to the sport, Liebman said. “When you start dealing with casino gambling, you really want that regulatory commission to be not a promoter of gambling, but a regulator of gambling,” he said.

Maine’s racing commission was established in 1935, and became part of the Department of Agriculture in 1973. Its duties include controlling harness racing for the good of the sport, the participants and the state.

Baldacci said he has met with officials at the Department of Agriculture and legislative leaders about creating state laws, and tightening existing ones, to discourage misuse of the machines or their funds.

“The people have voted for it, and we need to make sure, as much as we can, that we guarantee the integrity of the process and inhibit organized crime and corruption,” he said.

Errol “Abe” Additon is chairman of the state’s racing board. He said members know changes are in the works, if only because four of the five members are up for reappointment.

The harness racing commission will take up a racino-related issue the week of Dec. 15. That’s when it meets to review harness racing license applications, including one from Shawn Scott, the Las Vegas-based casino developer who plans to operate the racino at Bangor.

If the commission grants Scott a state harness racing license, he automatically receives the right to operate slot machines under the racino referendum.

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