Casino Stalker | Legislation

Sen. Warren plans to vote for repeal of Massachusetts casino law

Friday, September 5, 2014

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts). Photo from Sen. Warren

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) said she will vote to repeal H.3702, the Massachusetts Expanded Gaming Act.

The law is on the November ballot. Repealing it would end plans by the Mohegan Tribe to open a commercial casino in the state.

Artist's rendering of proposed $1.3 billion Mohegan Sun casino in Massachusetts. Image from Mohegan Sun Massachusetts

“It’s a tough call here. People need jobs, but gambling can be a real problem economically for a lot of people," Warren said earlier this week, The Boston Herald reported. "I didn’t support gambling the first time around and I don’t expect to support it (now).”

Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, tribes can engage in the same types of gaming that are legal in a state. So repealing the law might also prevent the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe from opening a casino.

Artist's rendering of proposed First Light Resort and Casino. Image from Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

The Bureau of Indian Affairs, however, has already approved the tribe's Class III gaming compact. And the agency just published the final environmental impact statement for the proposed $500 million First Light Resort and Casino in the city of Taunton.

Public comments are being accepted on the EIS, after which the BIA will issue a record of decision on the tribe's land-into-trust application for the 170-acre gaming site and another 151-acre site in the town of Mashpee, where the tribe's headquarters are located.

Get the Story:
State congressional delegation is split on casino question (The Taunton Daily Gazette 9/5)
Environmental Report Brings Tribe Closer To Building Massachusetts Casino (AP 9/4)
Elizabeth Warren: I will vote to repeal Bay State casino law (The Boston Herald 9/2)

Federal Register Notice:
Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Fee-to-Trust Transfer of Property and Subsequent Development of a Resort/Hotel and Ancillary Facilities in the City of Taunton, MA and Tribal Government Facilities in the Town of Mashpee, MA by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (September 5, 2014)