Update

Opponents of November's slots referendum are calling a possible $2 million donation to a pro-slots organization outrageous.  

Voters will decide on November's ballot if the state constitution should be amended to allow no more than 15,000 slot machine installations at five different locations across the state.

Magna Entertainment, which owns two race tracks in Maryland, is expected to send the contribution to an organization, For Maryland For Our Future, which is campaigning for the referendum's passage.

The announcement came after MI Developments -- a Canadian real-estate company with a controlling interest in Magna Entertainment -- announced it would change the terms of a bridge contract to the company earlier this week, allowing the money to be forwarded to For Maryland For Our Future.

The referendum has become one of the most heated issues in the state. Proponents argue the slots will provide necessary funding for the state's education infrastructure and will help close the budget deficit. Opponents believe the revenue projections are overly optimistic, the ballot's language is misleading and the problems associated with gambling far outweigh the benefits.

"Accepting such a gift would not come without its transaction fees," Ryan O'Donnell, the executive director of Common Cause Maryland, said in a statement. "It would send the signal that the deciders in this referendum are corporations who care about influence, not voters who care about issues."

Anti-slots organizations have been campaigning actively against the referendum for months and have been critical on multiple fronts.

Until this week, the pro-slots movement has been comparatively quiet on the campaign front. Opponents say the $2 million donation falls along the lines of bribery.

"I have one simple message for Magna and the other special interests - Maryland is not for sale," said state Comptroller Peter Franchot at a rally on Wednesday, according to WBAL.

Franchot is a staunch opponent of the referendum. He also serves on the Marylanders United to Stop Slots steering committee, an organization against the referendums passage.

"You can take your $2 million in bribes and slink on back across the Canadian border," he added.

O'Donnell argues that a donation of this magnitude is evidence "that the time to take money out of politics has come."

For Maryland For Our Future's office was reached for comment but did not respond.

The governor's office responded in an email to PolitickerMD.com.

"The Governor is hopeful that the people of Maryland will support the very limited, state-controlled slots referendum before them on the ballot, to ultimately help close an inherited $1.7 billion structural deficit and help fund valuable education initiatives for the future of our State," wrote Shaun Adamec, a deputy press secretary to the governor. "He welcomes advocates on both sides to present their cases to the people of Maryland, and let the voters choose in November."