A state commission overseeing the approval of slot machine licenses in Maryland is leaning heavily on Penn National Gaming Inc. to increase its stake in a Cecil County gaming parlor, suggesting it might not approve the project otherwise.

Penn National officials said they’re planning to seek the 1,500 slot machine licenses they’ve been authorized to include in their proposed Perryville facility, and to pay another $6 million for those licenses.

The commission is in charge of awarding up to 15,000 slot machine licenses to gaming parlors at five different sites in Maryland, including up to 1,500 in Cecil County. As part of a series of public hearings, the commission met at Cecil College Thursday to hear from Penn National on its plans.

But so far the company has only applied for 500 licenses, at a cost of $3 million. That investment drew harsh criticism from members of the Maryland Video Lottery Facility Location Commission, many of whom said they fear the state won’t reap the economic winfall it counted on in legalizing slot-macine gambling in Maryland.

“Are you committed to Maryland or are you not?” slots commission member Thomas Barbera asked representatives from Penn National. “Suppose we decided we want to rebid it? Suppose we decide 500 is too few?”

Steven Snyder, senior vice president of Penn National, said the company would participate in the re-bidding because it considers the location ideal for a slots parlor.

This is an issue that could play out in Baltimore City, too. Baltimore City Entertainment Group, like Penn National, has only applied for 500 licenses, though it has been authorized for as many as 3,750 machines. It’s scheduled to present its plans to the slots commission Aug. 26.

Penn National (NASDAQ: PENN) hopes to build a slots parlor at a 36-acre site just off Interstate 95 and Route 222 in Perryville. The national gaming company plans to spend $75 million to build a new slots parlor large enough to include 1,500 video lottery terminals.

Snyder said the facility could generate about $47 million in revenue in its first five years of operation and is slated to open in October 2010.

Snyder said Penn National needs more information from the state before investing another $6 million to commit to its full allocation of slots licenses. He said he wants to make sure Penn National can get its money back if the state doesn’t approve its licenses. In addition, he wants to know what type of machines will go into the new parlor.

Under the state’s slots plan, the Maryland Lottery Commission will buy or lease all of the slot machines that will go into the five gaming facilities. Lottery commission Director Buddy Roogow said the state plans to issue requests for proposals, or RFPs, Aug. 14, and it could take until late October before the state knows what kinds of machines it will be getting and awards a contract to buy or lease those machines.

But that could be too late for Penn National. The state slots commission expects to decide in the fall which developers will get slot machine licenses. And Snyder said he is reluctant to invest another $6 million without knowing what type of machines the state will be providing to its slots facilities.

It’s an important issue, he said, because for a slots facility to attract potential gamblers it must have the most current, advanced, and up-to-date gaming machines. Otherwise, he said, those gamblers might travel to West Virginia, Pennsylvania, or Atlantic City, N.J., to drop their quarters.

But lottery commission Chairman Donald C. Fry, CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee, said his group will have to decide on whether to give Penn National its gaming licenses based on the information Penn National has submitted to it. And for now, he noted, that means deciding whether to gamble on just 500 licenses.

Following the meeting, Penn National spokesman Eric Schippers said he believes the issue will be resolved before the slots commission meets to decide whether to award it any licenses or not. But he said as a publicly held company, Penn National can’t risk another $6 million of shareholders’ money without knowing as much information as possible.

“We expect that we’re going to get to a satisfactory position for all parties,” he said in an interview. “We’ve got a responsibility to make wise investments.”