Wynn Resorts Has Proposed a Casino Resort in Everett, Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission and the Massachusetts Health and Human Services Department are partnering on a new agency which will address concerns about problem gambling. The initiative is meant to study the impact of bringing Las Vegas style gambling to Massachusetts.
Public Health Trust Fund – Funding Process
The new Public Health Trust Fund will be drawn from the state’s tax revenues on gambling. The fund will have an oversight committee to direct its efforts. John Polanowicz, the Health and Human Services secretary of Massachusetts, says the initiative will support treatment, prevention of problem gambling, and research into intervention. Polanowicz says efforts need to be made to prevent the “unintended consequences” of casino gambling.
Funding will come from annual slot parlor and casino revenues, along with a portion of state gaming license fees. For the time being, the Gaming Commission ill finance a new “Director of Problem Gambling Services”, which will be a part of the Public Health Department. When enough funds exist in the trust fund, the director’s salary will be paid from the fund.
Substance Abuse Also Included
Not only will be the new problem gambling services support programs for gaming addiction, bu it also will spend resources on programs for substance abuse issues. Educational programs will be enacted to “mitigate the potential addictive nature of gambling”. Along with educational programs, the fund is expected to launch studies on the social and economic impact of casino gambling on Massachusetts and its residents.
The Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary is the fund’s designation trustee, while the Gaming Commission will provide “advice and consent”. Seventy-five percent of the fund’s annual spending will go towards gambling addiction iniatives.
Unique Arrangement
Officials from the Gaming Commission, Health and Human Services Office, and Massachusetts Department of Public Health proper described the the agreement as “unique”. All wanted to show that the state’s casino law, which was voted on in 2011, will be properly implemented.
In 2011, as the state was facing a budget deficit, Massachusetts voters approved a casino for the Boston metropolitan area. Voters saw gambling funds as a way to raise more cash without raising taxes. Yet casino gambling draws criticism from various groups, because of social concerns the practice raises.
Upcoming Casino Vote
Later this year, Boston area voters will have a chance to cancel the 2011 law and disapprove of the casino development process. The current initiative, while well-intentioned, might have the additional benefit of assuring voters that the new casino will have a positive impact.
At present, the Mohegan Sun is seeking a license to build a casino in the Revere suburb of Boston. Meanwhile, Wynn Resorts hopes to build a casino in Everett. The Gaming Commission still must decide on which of the two proposals to select, while fending off a lawsuit from Caesars Entertainment, protesting about the licensing process to this point.
The casino project is part of a multi-layer plan by Massachusetts politicians to keep gaming dollars inside the state. For two decades, Massachusetts gamblers have traveled into Connecticut to gamble at Foxwoods Casino and Mohegan Sun. In the past few years, the state of Rhode Island set up slots parlors just across the state border, which took gamblers away from nearby Massachusetts racetracks. The Rhode Island betting has been addressed by adding gaming machines to the Plainridge facility, but a major casino in the Boston area would keep casino gamblers in the state.
A casino also would create thousands of jobs, both in short term construction jobs on the development and in permanent jobs as dealers, waiters, and other staff at the casino. A casino would draw in more non-tax revenues, as well. Set against such advantages are concerns about problem gambling and underage gambling, which is why the new trust fund is being set-up.
