Voters have more than five months before they decide whether slot machines will come to Maryland. But money to influence the outcome of that decision is already here, and watchdog groups and state officials said it won?t be easy to track until new state legislation goes into effect.
A bill signed into law last week and scheduled to go into effect Sunday requires any individual or organization spending more than $10,000 to support or oppose the slots referendum to notify the state Board of Elections within seven days of the expenditure, said Jared DeMarinis, director of the board?s candidacy and campaign finance division.
On Tuesday, political watchdog group Common Cause Maryland called for lawmakers to reject any contributions from pro- or anti-slots interests. The group put out a similar call in April to the main advocacy organizations on both sides of the issue.
However, the group?s director and DeMarinis both said it?s not clear right now how much money has already been put into the slot issue, and where that money has gone. DeMarinis said the Board of Elections and the state Attorney General?s Office are discussing how the new law might apply retroactively.
“It will be difficult to track contributions during this time period, but never more important,” said Ryan O?Donnell, executive director of Common Cause Maryland, which has not taken a stance on slots. “You have to give people faith that the referendum is happening democratically.”
DeMarinis said financial disclosures required on Oct. 10, Oct. 24 and Nov. 25 will show elected officials who received contributions from pro- or anti-slots interests, and other ways money has been spent in the slots debate.
Under the new state law, entities spending more than $10,000 on the issue and are required to file a notice with the state Board of Elections and must also file full disclosures on those dates, DeMarinis said.
Unlike political action committees connected to a particular candidate, the amount that anyone can contribute to a pro- or anti-slots group is unlimited, DeMarinis said. But much of that funding will likely come down in favor of slots, said Jeff Hooke, a Maryland-based investment banker who has studied the gambling industry.
Hooke said in other states, pro-slots advocates have outspent their opposition by as much as 100 to 1.
“There?s hundreds of millions of dollars at stake here, there?s going to be some big winners if this passes,” he said. “I?d think the money spent on advertising … would run into the millions.”
