The Massachusetts Legislature has until July 31 to ratify a Class III gaming compact for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

The tribe signed the compact with Gov. Deval Patrick (D). The 15-year deal includes a high revenue sharing rate -- 21.5 percent of gross gaming revenues.

Once lawmakers approve the compact, it will be sent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The agency is also considering the tribe's land-into-trust application, a significant hurdle in the process.

"I'm going to be working with the tribe to get prompt resolution in the Department of Interior and the [BIA] on both the compact and the land in trust," Patrick said at a press conference, The Cape Cod Times reported.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission plans to give the tribe sufficient time to complete the process although a deadline hasn't been set. “Getting the land into trust could go quickly or it could take forever,” Stephen Crosby, the panel's chairman, said at a public meeting, The Boston Globe reported.

The main obstacle is the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. The ruling restricts the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" as of 1934 but the Mashpees didn't gain recognition until May 2007.

Get the Story:
State, tribe ink casino compact (The Cape Cod Times 7/13)
Big Hurdles Remain For Mashpee Wampanoag Taunton Casino (WBUR 7/13)
Patrick: Casino Deal With Tribe Among Best In U.S. (AP 7/13)
Towns abutting Taunton want answers about casino (The New Bedford Standard-Times 7/13)
Questions still remain over tribal land in Taunton casino debate (The Taunton Daily Gazette 7/13)
Berkley Selectmen unhappy with casino compact (The Taunton Daily Gazette 7/13)
Gaming Commission will set time limit on tribe’s casino bid (The Boston Globe 7/13)
State assures neighboring towns they won’t be shut out of Taunton casino planning (The Attleboro Sun Chronicle 7/13)

An Opinion:
Editorial: The clock is ticking (The Boston Herald 7/13)

Related Stories:
Mashpee Wamapanoag Tribe reaches Class III gaming compact (7/12)