There is serious consideration about opening a new casino in Massachusetts, as state gambling regulators are weighing the idea of reopening the competition for the third and what would be the final casino license in the state. This license is reserved for a facility in the southeastern part of the state.
The gaming commission posted the question “Does Massachusetts need another casino?” on their website, and is seeking the public’s opinion as to whether another casino license should be issued. Citizens are given until March 16, 2020 to post their thoughts and comments. In addition to asking the public, they have also asked a group of experts their opinion on the matter.
The southeastern part of the state is already home to Plainridge Park, a slots parlor and harness racing track. This is not very far from the state line with Rhode Island where Twin River already operates two casinos.
In addition, the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian tribe has already proposed building a resort-casino that is expected to cost about $1 billion. The Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe is seeking to build a gambling hall directly on Martha’s Vineyard.
With so much activity already, the state had to ask if enough was enough. The last time that Massachusetts officials considered taking applications for a southeastern regional license only received one proposal. That was for a $677 million facility to be built at the Brockton Fairgrounds. That was back in 2016, and the gaming commission decided that they did not want to add another facility out of concern that it would cause a glut of facilities in the region.
While initially rejected, the Mass Gaming and Entertainment group continued to lobby the state to reconsideration their proposal. They were behind the Brockton project and have continued to push to get that third license, especially considering that the Mashpee Wampanoag casino facility is stuck in limbo due to a series of legal challenges.
This has led the Mass Gaming and Entertainment group to push for the remaining license to be granted to them. With the Mashpee project stuck and not moving forward anytime soon, they contend that this is denying the state the opportunity to open the additional facility, as it is not clear at this point if the tribal casino will even open.
Currently, Massachusetts has two large-scale resort-casinos. The MGM Springfield facility is located near the state line with Connecticut, while the Encore Boston Harbor is located in the town of Everett near Boston.
