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Massachusetts Casinos Face Many Headwinds

Author: Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC|February 18, 2014

Expanded Gaming Act

Massachusetts Casinos Face Many Headwinds

Expanded Gaming Act

On Nov. 22, 2011, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed the Expanded Gaming Act, which allows for up to three designated resort casinos in the state located in three geographic regions.

However, these projects have required the support of the citizens in each town where construction is to take place, which has presented some issues. In fact, WWLP reported that there is expected to be a ballot initiative in 2014 that could repeal the casino law.

Voters who want to repeal the Massachusetts’ casino law will need to secure enough signatures to get on the ballot and win the vote. But, that could be a struggle, as the attorney general has said the repeal effort would be unconstitutional, and the gaming companies have also joined together to file a lawsuit to stop the initiative.

What can these casino giants do to get people on board with their projects? For one, they need to sell people on the ability of the new gaming facilities to create jobs. Though we are years removed from the recession, many areas are still struggling, so jobs could be a strong sell point.

The generation of additional tax revenue could be a hard sell to citizens, as this mainly benefits the state, but there are ways it could help people. For example, if these funds are reallocated, and used to improve the town infrastructure citizens could see the impact of high tax revenue first hand.

As long as the casino law isn’t repealed, the casino giants don’t necessarily need the majority of people on their side, but it would make things a lot easier. It will be interesting to see if these casino companies face any future legal fights to begin construction.

Massachusetts Casinos Face Many Headwinds

Author: Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC

On Nov. 22, 2011, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed the Expanded Gaming Act, which allows for up to three designated resort casinos in the state located in three geographic regions.

However, these projects have required the support of the citizens in each town where construction is to take place, which has presented some issues. In fact, WWLP reported that there is expected to be a ballot initiative in 2014 that could repeal the casino law.

Voters who want to repeal the Massachusetts’ casino law will need to secure enough signatures to get on the ballot and win the vote. But, that could be a struggle, as the attorney general has said the repeal effort would be unconstitutional, and the gaming companies have also joined together to file a lawsuit to stop the initiative.

What can these casino giants do to get people on board with their projects? For one, they need to sell people on the ability of the new gaming facilities to create jobs. Though we are years removed from the recession, many areas are still struggling, so jobs could be a strong sell point.

The generation of additional tax revenue could be a hard sell to citizens, as this mainly benefits the state, but there are ways it could help people. For example, if these funds are reallocated, and used to improve the town infrastructure citizens could see the impact of high tax revenue first hand.

As long as the casino law isn’t repealed, the casino giants don’t necessarily need the majority of people on their side, but it would make things a lot easier. It will be interesting to see if these casino companies face any future legal fights to begin construction.

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