Mass. Budget Bets Voters Don’t Repeal Casino Law
The Massachusetts state budget approved by legislators on Monday relies on about $75 million in revenue from the new casinos and slot parlor, the same casinos and slot parlor that may not exist depending on a coming repeal vote.
The Boston Globe dug into the details of the new $36.5 billion budget and noticed that the state was relying on revenues from the new casino law, which allowed for legalized gambling at three casinos and one slots parlor. But just two weeks ago, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that repeal of the Gaming Act would be put to a public referendum. That means that the budget’s earmark for an expected $73 million revenue — $53 million from casino revenues and $20 million from slots — could, in the course of one November day, be reduced to nothing.
“Obviously, it’s a concern,’’ Mass. House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo told the Globe. Should the casino law be repealed, the state would dig into its rainy day coffers to make up the loss of revenue. The budget already relies on $140 million from that rainy day fund to make ends meet.
Early polls have suggested that the casino law will not be repealed: a Globe poll two weeks ago found 52 percent of respondents would keep the law, while 41 percent would vote to repeal. A more recent UMass-Dartmouth poll noted a 46-41 split of keeping or repealing the law, respectively, with a 4.9 percent margin of error.
With big money from pro-gambling and anti-gambling sides expected to flow into the state, state budget-makers will have their eyes attuned to the coming referendum. They are already all-in.
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