Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Plainridge Park Casino, the first gaming facility and the only slots parlor licensed under the state’s 2011 casino gaming law, saw approximately 10,000 visitors on its opening day June 24 and generated more than $6 million in income in its first week of operation, according to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
The slots parlor is taxed at a rate of 49 percent of its gross gaming revenue, with 82 percent of that amount designated for local aid. So the first week of operation generated just under $2.5 million for the Gaming Local Aid Fund for distribution to cities and towns.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission projects that Plainridge will generate approximately $200 million in revenue annually. The gaming facility, located in Plainville, has 1,250 electronic slots and poker game machines as well as the state’s only live-harness racetrack.
The 2011 casino gaming law divided the state into three regions and gave the Gaming Commission the authority to issue a resort casino license in each region, in addition to the single slots license for the state.
Last year, the Gaming Commission awarded the Greater Boston casino license (Region A) to Wynn LLC in Everett and the western Massachusetts (Region B) casino license to MGM in Springfield. These resort casinos are projected to open in 2018.
The Gaming Commission announced that the casino license for Region C, or southeastern Massachusetts, will likely be awarded in March 2016 but could be awarded as early as January 2016. Citing the need to advance economic development in all regions of the state, the commission initiated a parallel commercial licensing process in the region in case the development of a tribal casino included in the state’s gaming legislation is unable to meet federal or other requirements to proceed.
Two casino developers have submitted proposals that remain in contention for the commercial license in Region C: Mass Gaming & Entertainment in Brockton, and KG Urban in New Bedford. Both proposals have received the required favorable votes in their host communities and will proceed with the first of a two-part competitive application process.