After just a few hours of silence, it grew to become abundantly clear nobody would communicate in opposition to the three casinos hoping to take bets on skilled and a few faculty sports activities subsequent 12 months.
“Beginning tomorrow and then on Wednesday and Thursday the Commission will evaluate, individually, each of the applications that have been submitted,” Commission Chair Cathy Judd-Stein defined to start out a public listening to held Monday. “In preparation for those upcoming evaluations, the Commission is interested in any information or comments the public may wish to offer relative to any or all of these applicants.”
This summer time Gov. Charlie Baker signed an Act Regulating Sports Wagering into legislation. As a consequence, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission has spent the previous few months creating the foundations beneath which the brand new trade will function and, on Nov. 21, introduced they’d obtained 15 functions throughout three classes of bet-taking licenses.
Last week the fee determined they’d maintain public hearings on the functions and deliberate the primary for casino-based sports activities betting, or Category 1, which might go reside as quickly as January. Online bet-taking gained’t start till a minimum of March.
According to the fee, whereas they’re set to start evaluate of the functions obtained from the state’s three licensed casinos — Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor — at their common assembly Tuesday, they haven’t but heard from residents on the matter.
“We had identified just this, sort of, overarching issue: the opportunity for the public to give comments, both in person and in writing,” Commissioner Nakisha Skinner stated earlier than regulators agreed to the hearings.
Judd-Stein, after opening the listening to simply after 10 a.m. Monday, turned the ground over to Plainville resident and Select Board Vice Chair Jeff Johnson, who had apparently arrived simply to convey the city’s gratitude for the Plainridge Park Casino’s constructive impression regionally and their willingness to be a superb company neighbor.
“We look forward to this process bearing fruit early in the new year. In particular, here in Plainville, I will be grateful to know that the cars we see exiting the Commonwealth, carrying our money to sports wagering and table games just across the border from us, will have options to eat and spend and enjoy our money in our state,” he stated. “On behalf of Plainville, I’m here to recommend the application.”
After Johnson completed talking, Judd-Stein known as for extra audio system, however there have been none. Commissioners, having agreed to carry the listening to from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., stayed on the video convention name for the total three hours roughly alone and silent.
Judd-Stein, in her opening remarks, stated commissioners wouldn’t vote throughout Monday’s listening to and they didn’t, besides to adjourn.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”