Anxious and attentive faces greeted Massachusetts Gaming Commissioner Stephen Crosby today at a meeting of the 495 MetroWest Partnership in Westborough.
The regional development coalition, which comprises more than 30 towns in the 495 belt, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Crosby spoke to the assembled business and political leaders about the lengthy and complex process for issuing casino and slot licenses in the state. The town of Milford, a member of the coalition, is working with Foxwoods Resort Casinos to develop a casino proposal.
"This law is the best gambling law that’s ever been passed in any jurisdiction in the United States by a mile," Crosby said, defending the complexity of the process by comparing it to casino laws passed in Ohio, where casino owners wrote the bill legalizing further development and began building almost as soon as the law was passed, without a competitive bid process.
The Massachusetts process will take considerably longer. Currently, Crosby said, the commission is wading through 29,000 pages of background checks on the 300 individual sponsors involved with the various proposals. Final proposals for Massachusetts casinos will not be submitted until December of this year, with winners in the three authorized regions not likely to be named until March or April of 2014.
Crosby highlighted the efforts written into the law to mitigate any potential negative effects caused by casinos, citing two funds of $15 to $20 million each authorized by the law, one for mitigating unforeseen impacts on nearby communities, the other a public health trust fund intended to help combat gambling addiction.
He warned, however, that much of the impact on the towns that host the projects as well as surrounding communities will have to be addressed by negotiations between the towns and the developers. Potential host communities are free to withdraw from negotiations if they don’t find the final proposal acceptable, while surrounding communities will be able to ask for any potential negative impacts to be addressed by the developer, with mitigation plans to be evaluated by third parties like regional planning councils.
Towns "can get gold ingots, if the bidder’s willing to give them," he said.
However, Crosby said, surrounding communities will not be allowed to derail casino proposals permanently, warning that the gaming commission has the power to force surrounding communities and developers to enter arbitration.
His words did not entirely appear to resolve concerns among the audience, with some questioning whether bringing casinos to the area could damage the partnerships efforts to brand the area as a high-tech corridor, bringing service industry rather than high-tech jobs to the region.
