What Do Massachusetts Casinos Mean For Connecticut?

The Massachusetts Legislature, on October 13, gave final legislative approval to a casino gambling bill. Some industry analysts suggest that Connecticut stands to lose significant revenue from this development because of the number of Massachusetts residents who gamble at the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos. In 2010, approximately 1 million Massachusetts residents visited Foxwoods and 638,000 visited the Mohegan Sun, according to the Center for Policy Analysis at Dartmouth. And, according to some estimates, Massachusetts residents spend almost $1 billion annually at the casinos. A decline in casino revenue has implications for the state and towns. The state gets 25% of the casinos’ gross slot machine revenue, which goes into the state general fund, with a portion awarded to towns.