Massachussetts' regulator to discuss COVID-19 guidelines on May 26

The Massachussetts Gaming Commission plans to hold a special meeting next week to hear from Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield, Encore Boston Harbor, and racing and simulcasting stakeholders as it considers when and how to remove the COVID-19 restrictions it has imposed over the last year, reports the WHDH.

The amenities at the slots parlor and casinos are subject to the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Gov. Charlie Baker, almost all of which are scheduled to be repealed on May 29. But the gaming areas are subject to the Gaming Commission's own guidelines and restrictions, which must also be removed by the commission.

Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein said Thursday morning that the commission will call a special meeting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 26, to address the COVID-19 guidelines the commission has in place for gaming and simulcasting establishments and for live horse racing at Plainridge Park.

Representatives from Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield, Encore Boston Harbor, the harness horse racing industry, and the state's simulcast wagering halls will participate in the meeting, the chairwoman said.

She said the commissioners will also consider the impact of Gov. Charlie Baker's lifting of his state of emergency order "on the commission's future use of remote collaborative technology." The commission has been meeting remotely since last March.

In addition to adjusting or removing the occupancy capacity, the Gaming Commission next week could also consider allowing gamblers to remove face masks on the gaming floors, slot machines to be stationed closer to one another, more than four-player positions at table games like blackjack, and whether to reauthorize poker.

Since July 2020, the casinos and slots parlor has been operating under the commission’s guidelines, which have been altered a few times since to expand the allowable offerings.

The assistant director of the commission’s Investigations and Enforcement Bureau Bruce Band, said: “The casinos, over the last 14 months, have been nothing but cooperative. They’ve done everything we’ve asked pretty much and have certainly reached out when they had any questions at all to get it clarified.”

The Gaming Commission ordered the state’s gaming centers to close in mid-March, and they remained closed until July. From mid-July through the end of 2020, the three gambling halls, the two casino hotels, and the various retail offerings at the properties operated under commission and state restrictions that capped capacity and limited what games could be offered.

So far in 2021, the casinos and slot parlors have generated $84 million worth of state tax revenue, on a pace of $252 million in annual revenue.