Massachusetts Tribe Sees Its Casino Dreams Slipping Away

The already dire prospects of a tribal casino in southeastern Massachusetts took a major blow last week. A multi-year legal battle is winding its way through the courts, and it’s not going well for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

The latest ruling against the tribe was proffered by the US Court of Appeals First Circuit, which upheld a lower court’s ruling that the tribe doesn’t meet the requirements to have its land taken into trust. As such, the tribe lacks the authority to build and operate a casino in Taunton, Massachusetts.

The case stems from a 2015 decision by the Department of Interior to place the lands of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe into trust, thereby paving the way for a tribal casino. Local residents immediately challenged the DOI ruling, and it’s been a bumpy ride for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe ever since.  

The tribe has found itself on the losing end of several court rulings, rebuffed by the DOI when it asked the department to place its land into trust on separate grounds, and all the while, it’s been racking up a pile of debt while its leadership comes under fire.

What Happens Next?

The tribe plans to continue to appeal the decision, but its casino plans are likely in the hands of Congress.

Massachusetts Rep. William Keating’s “Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act” (HR312), would reaffirm the 2015 Department of Interior opinion that the Mashpee Wampanoag land could be taken into trust. The resolution passed the House of Representatives 275-146 back in May but has fallen on deaf ears in the Senate.

And there’s always the possibility of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (and their casino partner Genting) applying as a commercial casino operator. That’s an available avenue Chairman Cromwell didn’t rule out in a 2017 interview with WGBH.

Speaking of Commercial Casinos…

Expect a renewed push to reopen the application process for the state’s third and final commercial casino license – a license the Massachusetts Gaming Commission has been sitting on until it was clear how the Mashpee case would play out.

The MGC made a recent request for public comments on whether it should reopen the application process for the commercial casino license in the southeastern region (Region C). Previously, Mass Gaming and Entertainment, a subsidiary of Rush Street Gaming, proposed a casino at the former Brockton Fairgrounds, but the MGC shelved the proposal fearing a commercial casino along with the proposed tribal casino would saturate the region.

As WCVB reported, Mass Gaming and Entertainment, “has continued to ask the state to reconsider that decision because the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe’s casino project remains mired in legal challenges.”

Furthermore, the up-in-the-air casino situation has given lawmakers a convenient excuse to push other gaming issues like legal sports betting, online gambling, and online lottery to the backburner. A lot of variables and unknowns will be removed as the Mashpee Wampanoag situation resolves, and if and when the MGC awards the third commercial casino license.