Online Casino Transfer: News - Gambling in Massachusetts

04/26/2010		Online Casino Style: News Gambling in Massachusetts - 4
Home History Games News Dictionary		continued from Gambling in Massachusetts - 3 Instead, a five member commission will be charged with deciding where the casinos will be located. The bill is structured to entice back into financial (and taxation) jurisdiction at least half of the $1.1 billion that Massachusetts residents currently bet and spend in other casinos, traveling to Rhode Island and Connecticut to place their wagers. Tourism will mean tax dollars, and the casinos will mean thousands of jobs at least initially, as construction begins. Estimated figures guess that as much as $260 million could be made in licensing fees alone, with an additional $300 to $500 million generated in tax funds every year. As Online Casino Style was going to press, the final confirmation came in that Wednesday’s House session did come to a final vote on the proposal, passing the bill to add two casinos to the state of Massachusetts and install 750 slot machines among the state’s existing racetracks. The bill was approved with a vote of 120 for, and 37 against, and included a major change requested by the PPA and internet gambling community, striking out the offensive lines that would have prohibited online gambling should it become federally legal. "On behalf of poker players in Massachusetts and nationwide, I'd like to thank Representative Dempsey for his effort to remove the criminalization language from the gaming bill, as well as Representative Brian Wallace for his continued support," said John Pappas, chief executive for the PPA. "We will now focus our efforts on the Massachusetts Senate to include the skill language into the bill and to ensure the criminalization provision stays out of the final package." The bill will now head to the Senate, where many in the online gambling community believe it might have a much harder time getting passed. A few Senators have said that they would support the new casinos, but find no benefit in the added slots machines as they would not add any new jobs.

04/26/2010

Online Casino Style: News
Gambling in Massachusetts - 4

continued from Gambling in Massachusetts - 3

Instead, a five member commission will be charged with deciding where the casinos will be located. The bill is structured to entice back into financial (and taxation) jurisdiction at least half of the $1.1 billion that Massachusetts residents currently bet and spend in other casinos, traveling to Rhode Island and Connecticut to place their wagers. Tourism will mean tax dollars, and the casinos will mean thousands of jobs at least initially, as construction begins. Estimated figures guess that as much as $260 million could be made in licensing fees alone, with an additional $300 to $500 million generated in tax funds every year.

As Online Casino Style was going to press, the final confirmation came in that Wednesday’s House session did come to a final vote on the proposal, passing the bill to add two casinos to the state of Massachusetts and install 750 slot machines among the state’s existing racetracks. The bill was approved with a vote of 120 for, and 37 against, and included a major change requested by the PPA and internet gambling community, striking out the offensive lines that would have prohibited online gambling should it become federally legal.

"On behalf of poker players in Massachusetts and nationwide, I'd like to thank Representative Dempsey for his effort to remove the criminalization language from the gaming bill, as well as Representative Brian Wallace for his continued support," said John Pappas, chief executive for the PPA. "We will now focus our efforts on the Massachusetts Senate to include the skill language into the bill and to ensure the criminalization provision stays out of the final package."

The bill will now head to the Senate, where many in the online gambling community believe it might have a much harder time getting passed. A few Senators have said that they would support the new casinos, but find no benefit in the added slots machines as they would not add any new jobs.