Boston Globe: Mass can support three casinos, slot parlor
Martin Romitti, director of the Economic and Public Policy Research group at the UMass Donahue Institute was quoted in a Boston Globe article covering a forum held by the Massachusetts’ gaming commission on plans to bring gambling to the Bay Sate. According to economists and casino industry analysts, there is enough disposable income in the state to support three profitable casino resorts and one slot parlor. Romitti believes this number and type of establishments “could fit comfortably in the Massachusetts market.”
Several analysts estimated the state’s market at $1.5 billion to $2 billion annually; which is the amount of money casino patrons would be expected to lose in one year. Commercial resort casinos will pay 25 percent of their gambling revenue to the state in tax.
If these estimates prove correct, the Massachusetts market would be similar in size to Missouri’s, a $1.8 billion market that already supports a dozen casinos, said Romitti, who studied the Missouri market extensively for that state’s gaming commission prior to working at the Donahue Institute.
Hosted by the state’s new gaming commission, the forum was the second in a series of educational events planned by the commission. Upcoming forums will address problem gambling and measures to help communities mitigate the effects of casino developments.
Read article: Mass can support three casinos, slot parlor
June 14, 2012
