- Massachusetts lawmakers representing Springfield unsuccessfully sought to have the town’s Group Mitigation Fund cash returned
- State lawmakers just lately voted to redirect such annual allocations
Springfield, MA, house to MGM Springfield, is not going to regain its full annual allocation of group mitigation funding after state lawmakers this week rejected motions to reestablish the Western Massachusetts metropolis’s full share.
The Marriott and Sheraton inns in Springfield, Mass., are pictured from alongside Memorial Bridge. MGM Springfield is about two-tenths of a mile east of the Sheraton. (Picture: Shutterstock)
Massachusetts’ 2011 Expanded Gaming Act established the Group Mitigation Fund (CMF).
The commonwealth’s Resort-On line casino licensees, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor, direct 25% of their annual gross gaming income (GGR) to the state. For the reason that MGM and Wynn Resorts developments bought underway virtually a decade in the past, the state has, in flip, used a few of these on line casino tax proceeds to flush the Group Mitigation Fund. The account is to assist host cities offset elevated prices related to the casinos, together with initiatives for group planning, public security, transportation, and workforce improvement.
Springfield has obtained about $3 million a yr since MGM opened its resort in August 2018. Earlier this yr, nonetheless, lawmakers in Boston voted to redirect the CMF income.
The refocus resulted in Springfield receiving lower than $400K in group mitigation cash within the 2025 fiscal yr.
Senate Rejects Amendments
On Thursday, Massachusetts Sens. Adam Gomez (D-Hamden) and Jacob Oliveira (D-Hamden) proposed two amendments to revive Springfield’s annual mitigation profit.
“In 2011, the Legislature handed the Expanded Gaming Act. That regulation wasn’t nearly producing income; it was about accountable improvement. It acknowledged that casinos deliver actual impacts. To handle these impacts, the Legislature created the Group Mitigation Fund, funded by 6.5% of gross gaming revenues. Since 2015, the CMF has awarded over $56 million in grants for cities and cities. However in FY25, that funding was zeroed out,” Gomez stated on the Senate ground.
This was not a technical oversight; it was a coverage selection,” Gomez continued. “It has actual penalties. In Springfield, we’re proud to host one of many state’s largest casinos. Nevertheless it has introduced elevated calls for on our providers and roads. And in previous years, we bought thousands and thousands from the CMF to satisfy these calls for, however that funding is now gone and the impacts stay.”
Gomez’s Amendments 58 and 59 sought to revive the 6.5% funding for the CMF and make sure that Springfield is assured $3 million yearly shifting ahead.
Gomez cited the truth that whereas Springfield’s CMF profit has practically disappeared, lawmakers allotted Boston $10 million to offset internet hosting the World Cup subsequent yr. The Better Boston Space will host seven World Cup matches, together with a quarterfinal, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, roughly 20 miles south of the capital metropolis.
Stagnate On line casino Income
State lawmakers stated the annual CMF profit for Springfield isn’t as wanted because it as soon as was, as prices related to the development and opening of the MGM on line casino are lengthy previously. Proponents of ending the subsidy additionally cited flattening on line casino income, which means additional public security, group planning, and infrastructure prices instantly linked to the on line casino are unlikely.
In response to the Massachusetts Gaming Fee, gross gaming income at MGM Springfield (slots and desk video games) totaled $259.1 million in 2022, $274 million in 2023, and $272.1 million final yr.
Via September, MGM Springfield’s GGR totaled $212.2 million. That’s a 4% year-over-year improve.