{"id":280530,"date":"2023-07-10T09:48:09","date_gmt":"2023-07-10T14:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=280530"},"modified":"2023-07-10T11:33:42","modified_gmt":"2023-07-10T16:33:42","slug":"maine-gambling-regulator-back-at-work-after-offensive-tweets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/maine-gambling-regulator-back-at-work-after-offensive-tweets\/","title":{"rendered":"Maine’s Chief Gambling Regulator Back at Work After ‘Offensive’ Tweets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maine\u2019s chief gambling regulator returned to work Monday after serving a weeklong suspension without pay. The penalty was for tweeting out a sexist slur and a dubious comment about a white nationalist march.<\/p>\n

\"Milton
Milton Champion, above, has officially apologized for the two tweets, which he says were meant to be funny. He has been ordered to undergo workplace harassment and social media training. (Image: Maine Public)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Milton Champion\u2019s social media antics<\/a> were found to have \u201creflected negatively on the reputation of the state\u2019s Gambling Control Unit (GCU),\u201d following an investigation by the Maine Bureau of Human Resources.<\/p>\n

The 66-year-old, who is the chief executive of the GCU, has also been ordered to undergo workplace harassment and social media training.<\/p>\n

Boomer Moment<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On May 6, Champion replied to an opinion in his Twitter feed that it was inappropriate to refer to a group of women as \u201cladies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this day and age, I guess \u2018bitches\u2019 is better,\u201d he suggested to his 61 followers.<\/p>\n

Then, on May 14, Champion reacted to images of a white nationalist march on the US Capitol with: \u201cAt least they are not burning down or looting stores.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Incredibly, despite Champion being placed on administrative leave on May 17, the tweets weren’t deleted for another seven days.<\/p>\n

In a statement Friday, the chief regulator apologized for his actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the two tweets were intended to be humorous, I recognize they were anything but. They were a mistake and an error in judgment, and I apologize for my actions,\u201d Champion said. \u201cI thank the employees of the unit for their hard work and commitment in my absence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slow Rollout<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Champion is the man in charge of rolling out sports betting in the state<\/a>, and he has been criticized by Maine tribes for taking too long about it. The tribes have been given mobile-betting exclusivity and are eager to start reaping the economic benefits from gaming, which has previously been denied to them.<\/p>\n

Champion\u2019s Twitter debacle and resulting suspension, first with pay, then without, is an unwelcome diversion for Maine\u2019s sports betting stakeholders.<\/p>\n

\n

Maine\u2019s four tribes were recognized by a 1980 land settlements bill that offered a narrower version of sovereignty than most tribes enjoy in other states. This has meant they have been unable to organize gaming legally under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and Maine\u2019s new sports betting law is an attempt to partially redress the balance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Despite Maine Gov. Janet Mills signing the bill into law in May 2022, Champion said before his suspension that the \u201cbest case scenario\u201d for market launch would be November 2023.<\/p>\n

Champion has headed the GCU since 2016. He has more than three decades of gaming industry experience and was previously Director of Pari-mutuel Wagering in Florida.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maine\u2019s chief gambling regulator returned to work Monday after serving a weeklong suspension without pay. The penalty was for tweeting out a sexist slur and a dubious comment about a white nationalist march. Milton Champion\u2019s social media antics were found to have \u201creflected negatively on the reputation of the state\u2019s Gambling Control Unit (GCU),\u201d following […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":280532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,13592,1074,18456],"tags":[84199,86446,80968,82713],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMaine Gambling Regulator Back at Work After 'Offensive' Tweets<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Milton Champion, chief executive of Maine\u2019s Gambling Control Unit (GCU), is back at work after serving a week\u2019s suspension.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/maine-gambling-regulator-back-at-work-after-offensive-tweets\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Maine Gambling Regulator Back at Work After 'Offensive' Tweets\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Milton Champion, chief executive of Maine\u2019s Gambling Control Unit (GCU), is back at work after serving a week\u2019s suspension.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/maine-gambling-regulator-back-at-work-after-offensive-tweets\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-07-10T14:48:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-07-10T16:33:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Maine-Milton.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"880\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"587\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/maine-gambling-regulator-back-at-work-after-offensive-tweets\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/maine-gambling-regulator-back-at-work-after-offensive-tweets\/\",\"name\":\"Maine Gambling Regulator Back at Work After 'Offensive' Tweets\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/maine-gambling-regulator-back-at-work-after-offensive-tweets\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/maine-gambling-regulator-back-at-work-after-offensive-tweets\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Maine-Milton.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-07-10T14:48:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-07-10T16:33:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Milton Champion, chief executive of Maine\u2019s Gambling Control Unit (GCU), is back at work after serving a week\u2019s suspension.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/maine-gambling-regulator-back-at-work-after-offensive-tweets\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/maine-gambling-regulator-back-at-work-after-offensive-tweets\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/maine-gambling-regulator-back-at-work-after-offensive-tweets\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Maine-Milton.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Maine-Milton.jpeg\",\"width\":880,\"height\":587,\"caption\":\"Milton Champion, above, is accused of creating a \u201ctoxic workplace environment\u201d in a letter signed by all nine of his casino inspectors. 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