The Portland City Council in Maine voted on Oct. 18 to change the city’s fee structure for licenses of amusement devices, which is assessed annually. Under the new amendment, the city will charge $153 for each of the first 25 devices a business has and $10 for each additional device. Previously, it was $153 each, no matter how many machines.
According to the Maine Wire, the change went into effect immediately and applies to all licenses that were pending on or after Sept. 13, which included Arcadia National Bar, a business that filed a liquor license application with the city that day.
One of that bar’s owners, Dave Aceto, drew attention to the amusement fee via social media posts. He and co-owner Nicole Costas-Rosa had to pay more than $18,000 in licensing fees to the city for their 100-plus pinball machines and other arcade and console games.
