Casino Inspectors Sign Letter of No Confidence in Maine Gambling Control Unit Executive Director Milton Champion

All nine union state casino inspectors (MSEA-SEIU 1989) have signed a letter of no confidence in Maine Gambling Control Unit Executive Director, Milton Champion, this week. The inspectors, who work in the Maine Department of Public Safety, cite a dysfunctional and toxic work environment, recent scheduling changes that prevent them from inspecting Maine’s two casinos on Sundays and Mondays, and their legal obligation to enforce Maine’s gambling rules and laws.

“As Public Safety Inspectors, we are deeply committed to the mission of responsible regulation of casino gambling within the state of Maine. We have accomplished this mission for nearly 20 years and in that time our roles have grown exponentially along with the growth of our two casinos,” the casino inspectors wrote in their letter of no confidence. “Despite the significant expansion of gambling within our great state, our current Executive Director Milton Champion has actively demonstrated an eagerness to deregulate casinos in Maine without input from the voting public and with little-to-no guidance to our casino partners on how to conduct business while remaining compliant with gambling rules and statutes.”

According to their letter of no confidence, “Milton Champion has made it clear through his actions that he does not respect the oversight role of the Maine Gambling Control Board. Since he started as Executive Director in 2016, the Board has denied many of his proposals for a variety of reasons. Now, rather than subject himself to the checks and balances of the Board’s oversight function, Milton Champion is circumventing the Board altogether by making unilateral decisions that completely undermine the Board’s ability to oversee gambling matters in Maine. Many of these decisions make very little sense, are based on false data, and have irreparably harmed the Maine Gambling Control Unit’s ability to regulate casino gambling (which we are required to do by state statute).”

Specifically, the casino inspectors cited Champion’s lack of respect for their contractual rights, retaliation against individual inspectors and the inspectors as a group, a dysfunctional and toxic work environment, his refusal to pay them correctly for services rendered, multiple violations of their contractual rights, and his recently enacted scheduling changes that have left both the Oxford Casino and Hollywood Casino Bangor without any inspectors on Sundays and Mondays.

“Despite MSEA’s attempts to continue bargaining with the Department over Champion’s recently enacted changes impacting our schedules and pay, he and his team have refused to meet to continue negotiations,” the casino inspectors wrote. “This inaction has eroded trust between employees and the Department and has emboldened Milton Champion to continue the toxic work environment he has created.”

MSEA-SEIU Member and Casino Inspector Gayle Craig, who has worked at Hollywood Casino Bangor for seven years, said it’s important for inspectors to be at the casinos every day. “On Sundays or Mondays (when there currently aren’t any inspectors at the casinos), if a slot machine malfunctions, the casino is still allowed to repair and reprogram that game to make it operational, Craig said. “If the settings on the slot machines are programmed incorrectly, it would cause the players to be paid back incorrectly until it is discovered by an inspector upon return on Tuesday.”

MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 Member and Casino Inspector Nathan Daigle, who has worked at Oxford Casino for 12 years, said it’s essential for the casino inspectors to be onsite. "The real issue here is that our jobs as Public Safety Inspectors regulating Maine casinos are deeply intertwined with state statute, gambling rules and the internal controls both casinos must abide by,” Daigle said. “Our presence is required for much of the casinos’ day-to-day operations and both casinos still have significant concerns regarding how they remain in compliance with state regulations without Inspectors present."