Compacts | Opinion

Editorial: Risky bet on Mashpee Wampanoag gaming compact

Monday, October 29, 2012

"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 gambling law, or state and tribal officials simply expected the federal government to permit an extraordinary number of exceptions to the law.

Massachusetts and the city of Taunton were dealt a significant setback last week 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 Gov. Deval Patrick from the Bureau of Indian Affairs rejecting the compact, the denial should have been an expected outcome since the compact went well beyond the scope of gambling and the intent of the Indian gambling 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:
OUR OPINION: State loses risky bet on casino compact (The Patriot Ledger 10/26)