"Based upon the number of significant concerns the federal government had with the compact between the commonwealth and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, it looks like either no one in Massachusetts did their homework on Indian gaming law, or state and tribal officials simply expected the federal government to permit an extraordinary number of exceptions to the law.

The commonwealth of Massachusetts and the the city of Taunton were dealt a significant setback Friday when the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs rejected the compact between the state and the tribe that would have begun the federal approval process for a tribal casino in Taunton.

Based upon the reasoning in the 18-page letter to Patrick from the BIA rejecting the compact, the denial should have been an expected outcome since the compact went well beyond the scope of gaming and the intent of the Indian gaming law. It offered an unprecedented amount of control and revenue to the commonwealth, while offering the tribe a single, but unnecessary, “meaningful” concession: the right to exclusivity in Gaming Region C."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Massachusetts loses its risky bet on casino compact (The Fall River Herald News 10/16)

Another Opinion:
Paul McMorrow: A dead end for the Mashpee casino (The Boston Globe 10/16)

Related Stories:
BIA rejects gaming compact from Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (10/15)