In the decision that was made formal on September 18th to take land for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe into trust to be used for projects such as a Casino Resort has already changed the landscape for gambling in Massachusetts. Two casino projects have already been approved by State Regulators. So if the gaming market will bear a third casino or even a forth is the ultimate question.
This uncertainty has ultimately lowered the amount of competitors for the State’s Region C commercial gaming license to 1. The only contender left is the Rush Street Gaming subsidiary.
Just a few days before this decision was announced, MGE asked the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to commit itself to issuing a commercial license for Region C even if the BIA decided to favor the Mashpee’s application.
On September 24th just a few days after the BIA announced its decision in favor of the Mashpee Wampanoag application that clearly stated that the land that was to be taken into trust met the IGRA’s standards for gaming. The commission announced that they rejected the MGE’s request, also stating at this time that they would proceed with its usual process when evaluating any applications, should they receive any final applications for the Region C.
Again on September 30th the MGE submitted another application for a license that included a proposal of a $650 million dollar Casino Resort project that would be based in Brockton. As of October 1st the commission stated that they were in the first steps of the evaluation process of reviewing the application for completeness.
Nonetheless, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is moving forward with its plans to build the 2,500 member First Light Casino Resort. This resort is a $500 million dollar project that will be located in Taunton only a short 15 miles away from Brockton.
