In 2015, the state General Assembly passed a law permitting the two tribes in the state to join forces - an enterprise known as MMCT Venture - and pursue a third casino in the state in the area around Hartford. The state’s Office of Fiscal Analysis has estimated that the appearance of the Springfield casino and subsequent revenue decreases could blow a nearly $70 million hole in the state budget. The Springfield casino, expected to open in 2018, threatens to cut severely into the revenue generated at Connecticut’s tribal casinos, something both they and the state are invested in protecting. Since the expansion of gaming in Massachusetts in 2011, which allowsįor the construction of three new casinos in the state, gaming giant MGM has broken ground on a casino in downtown Springfield, less than 10 minutes from the Connecticut border. Like a pre-independence colonial conflict, with cross-border raids for resources and markets, Connecticut and Massachusetts gambling interests are clashing over market share in the rapidly growing New England gaming sector. Into this uncertain time comes MGM’s new Springfield casino. Recent drops in casino revenue have meant less cash for the state. As it stands, the 25 percent of slot revenue the state claws back from the two casinos is a big part of its yearly budget calculations. This year, with a divided state Senate, raising new revenues through taxes is seen as being doubly difficult. The reality is a bit more complicated, and is becoming more complicated by the month, it seems. Or at least all of the above is how advocates of casino gaming frame it.

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