Massachusetts Gaming Commission Executive Director leaves, returns to law firm

Edward Bedrosian, who has been the Massachusetts Gaming Commission Executive Director since 2015, is leaving next week for a job in the private sector.

Commission Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein announced Thursday that Bedrosian will depart the commission after Friday, Jan. 10. He is returning to Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, the international law firm where he worked before joining the commission, which regulates the state’s casinos. As a partner in the firm’s new Boston office, Bedrosian will work on issues related to sports betting. 

“I came into this position with the goal of getting the commission up and running and opening casinos. I feel I have accomplished that, and it’s time to move on,” he said, as reported by Boston Globe. “It’s an exciting time for new technologies and new opportunities in the gaming world as sports betting takes hold in different states.”

In a statement, Judd-Stein said Bedrosian “was instrumental in guiding complex regulatory preparations to ensure the successful opening of both MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor.” “He consistently led and encouraged MGC staff to meet and exceed the demanding professional responsibilities required for what was no less than a true start-up operation,” she added.

Karen Wells, the commission’s deputy director and the director of its Investigations and Enforcement Bureau, will serve as interim executive director — a role she also filled between Day’s departure and Bedrosian’s arrival.

Though gaming commission members make the major decisions regarding the gambling industry in Massachusetts, the 90-person staff — overseen by Bedrosian — plays a significant role in shaping policy. Staffers gather the information that forms the basis for many of those big decisions. They also enforce state gaming law by vetting staffers, reviewing technology, and investigating allegations of wrongdoing.

Now, with three casinos up and running — and the commission proceeding slowly on the question of whether to award a fourth license in Southeastern Massachusetts — the agency’s staff has been in transition.

Bedrosian’s departure follows the recent retirement of chief administrative officer Janice Reilly, who was the commission’s first employee. Bedrosian was the second person to hold the position of executive director, after Rick Day, who was hired in 2013 and left two years later following another busy period in which the commission handed out the licenses for the state’s casinos.

Previously, Bedrosian had served as first assistant attorney general. He worked with the Legislature on gambling legislation, worked with the commission on its structure and early litigation, and established the attorney general’s Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Bedrosian departs on Jan. 10, a day after the commission meets to begin the search process for a new director. In his role at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, Bedrosian said, he will be advocating for clients who are interested in the regulatory rollout of sports betting in states where it has been approved by lawmakers.

The firm, which opened a Back Bay office last year and now has 20 attorneys working at it, says its clients include Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the PGA Tour, and sports betting companies FanDuel and DraftKings.

Bedrosian is the second high-profile gaming official to step away from his post in recent weeks. Bob DeSalvio, who helped Wynn Resorts get its casino in Everett up and running as Encore Boston Harbor’s president, left Wynn Resorts in December to oversee all operations at Resorts World Catskills and Resorts World Casino New York City for gaming giant Genting.

Massachusetts lawmakers have not yet decided whether to legalize sports betting, but under state law Bedrosian won’t be able to advocate before the gaming commission for a year. In addition, former commission employees who had “a major policymaking position” must wait two years before being employed by a licensee or applicant.