A gambling operator looking to be able to expand gaming into an existing racetrack has gone on the record as saying that the government politics behind the situation have been "sleazy" from the start.

According to a report by The Washington Post, Penn National Gaming Senior Vice President for Public Affairs Eric Schippers referred to the expanded gaming process currently playing out in the State of Maryland as being a "sleazy process."

Schippers' comments came during a company conference call on Tuesday, July 24 which was to discuss the company's second-quarter earnings.

“It’s safe to say that we have viewed the process from the very beginning as just a sleazy process that has unfolded in Maryland,” The Washington Post article quoted Schippers as saying.

There has been an ongoing struggle for gaming expansion between Penn National --- who wants to turn Rockingham Park into a racino --- and another company, who wants to bring gambling to the nearby National Harbour.

“We have been on the outside looking in throughout this process due to what can only be described as a backroom deal between National Harbor and the county executive,” Schippers said. “And now shockingly, the governor is the one who is doing a full-court press to try to bring about a deal that by anybody’s measure is a sole-source contract for National Harbor. So hopefully, that captures ... the level of disgust we have with this process that has unfolded.”

(With files from The Washington Post)