Massachusetts Tribal Gaming

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has long pursued a tribal casino in Massachusetts. The tribe's land-in-trust status was confirmed by the U.S. Department of the Interior in December 2021, though anti-gaming litigation has continued. In January 2025, the tribe opened the First Light Casino Welcome Center in East Taunton - approximately 250 Class II electronic bingo machines on a trial basis. The permanent First Light Resort & Casino was originally envisioned as a near-billion-dollar destination property but has been scaled to a current budget of approximately $100 million as of mid-2026. The tribe is in active discussions with financing partners and evaluating the prospect of a Class III compact with the Healey administration, which has not publicly indicated an intent to negotiate.

In March 2020, a U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a 2016 decision by a lower federal court against the transfer of land in 2015 by the Mashpee Tribe into federal trust. Later that month, the U.S. Department of Interior changed its course to transfer the Mashpee Wampanoag land into a reservation.

In April 2020, a Washington D.C. federal district judge halted the reversal of land trust. In June 2020, the judge ordered the department to review the matter and issue new findings.

In December 2021, the Interior Department ruled that the 2015 land transfer into federal trust was valid; however, the legal status remains in trust.

In February 2022, an anti-casino group of Taunton filed a federal appeals lawsuit to halt the casino construction and the project remains tied up in litigation.

In January 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Massachusetts’ case against the Aquinnah Tribe building a casino on their land on Martha’s Vineyard. In 2019, the Martha Vineyard Commission ruled that the Aquinnah Tribe must follow local zoning laws and acquire proper building permits. In February 2021, the appeals court upheld this decision and in March 2021, the Aquinnah Tribe appealed.

The Aquinnah Cliffs Casino project remains on hold pending building permits from Martha’s Vineyard.