Editorial: Tribal casino in Massachusetts plan faces uncertainty

Thursday, December 20, 2012
Filed Under: Opinion
More on: massachusetts, wampanoag

"The Massachusetts Gaming Commission wisely voted Tuesday to take another 90 days to decide on opening the southeastern Massachusetts casino licensing process to commercial entities.

For the past two weeks, the commission has been discussing whether to accept bids from commercial entities as a result of federal regulatory uncertainty related to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s proposal to build a casino in Taunton.

Under the state law authorizing casino gaming, tribal interests have the first shot at the gaming license in southeastern Massachusetts. But the path to federal approval of the Mashpee’s tribal casino is fraught with uncertainty.

While it may make sense to initiate the “parallel tracks” proposal as a back-up plan in the event the tribal casino falls through, there are some weighty issues that need to be seasoned for more than two weeks. Some unknowns in the tribal casino approval process may also become clearer by March, when the commission will revisit the issue."

Get the Story:
OUR VIEW: Choosing the right path for casino licensing (The Fall River Herald News 12/20)

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Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe given 'last shot' to pursue casino (12/19)