Mashpee Wampanoag’s plans for casino prompts gaming regulator to push off decision on Massachusetts’ third casino

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is putting off its decision on awarding a third casino license in the state following news that the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe will soon present its own casino project.

Media outlet MassLive.com reported that MGC announced it will make a decision on “Region C”—as southeastern Massachusetts is called—by the end of April, weeks after the tribe presented plans for a Taunton casino, called “Project First Light.”

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe is scheduled to present its plans on March 15.

The state’s 2011 expanded gambling law allows the commission “to award up to three commercial casino licenses and a slots parlor,” but tribal casino is considered to be a “critical variable” in whether MGC makes an award in Region C, MGC chairman Stephen Crosby said, according to the report.