Law Article: Setback on Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's casino

The Mashpee Wampanoag casino project planned for the town of Taunton in southeastern Massachusetts received a major setback when the state Gaming Commission voted last week to suspend the legislated tribal priority for a license in that portion of the state. The priority was part of a statewide casino plan enacted by the state legislature two years ago authorizing three casinos in the state with a preference giving an Indian tribe the rights to the license designated for the southeastern part of the state. That preference clearly was intended to benefit the Mashpee Wampanoag, which was federally recognized in the spring of 2007 through a Department of the Interior administrative process. Non-tribal casinos were authorized for two other areas of the state, and those licenses are the subject of competition among casino development teams.

The Gaming Commission action was a predictable consequence of the legislative priority itself, in that the law established timelines for the Tribe that many believed would be virtually impossible to meet. Indeed, the Tribe's deadline to get the gaming into trust status in a timely manner has been extended to give Interior additional time in which to accept the proposed casino site into trust status for gaming.