Massachusetts Casinos Fight Horse Racing Machine Plan
A fight over historical horse racing machines is shaping up as a major sticking point in Massachusetts as House and Senate negotiators work on a wide-ranging economic development bill.
Wynn Resorts, MGM and Penn Entertainment, which operate the state's three casinos, say the machines would cut into their revenue, according to the Boston Globe.
The dispute is not new. The Globe reported on October 19, 2026 that the operators had sent legislators a letter that Monday, and a Globe opinion column on November 3 shows the argument is still live. The conference committee is expected to push the issue into the lame-duck session.
What The Proposal Would Do
The plan comes from developer Richard Fields, an investor in Suffolk Downs, which is now only a simulcasting parlor. It would let historical horse racing machines operate at former race tracks, including Suffolk Downs and Raynham Park. Fields says he has an option to buy the shuttered Raynham site.
The machines look and play like slot machines, but they let players bet on races that have already been run. That puts them under track-betting rules rather than casino rules. New Hampshire has built a casino industry around them.
House leaders included the language in their version of the bill, and the Senate balked. According to the Globe's opinion column, the House text places no restrictions on where facilities could open or on how many machines they could run, and it sets a 2.5% tax on handle for the state's Health Safety Net trust fund, which reimburses hospitals and health centers for care of the uninsured and underinsured.
Dueling Revenue Reports
To make their case, the casino operators hired two gambling consultants, Morowitz Gaming Advisors and Global Gaming and Hospitality, to study the impact on Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park. Their report forecasts that public tax revenue would fall by between $45 million and $73 million a year as the machines cannibalize casino business, and that the casinos would cut between 585 and 975 jobs.
The column says the machines could move between $131 million and $216 million a year away from the three licensed casinos. For scale, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission reported about $82.69 million in gross gaming revenue across the three properties in September 2026.
A report funded by Fields tells a different story. It projects $120 million a year in new state tax revenue by the third year if machines are added at Suffolk Downs and Raynham, along with 1,200 jobs at the two facilities. The two reports use different machine counts, partly because the bill sets no cap. The casinos also modeled a second scenario with a third location in Boston.
Why Casino Tax Rates Matter
The commission's release shows why cannibalization is sensitive for the state. Plainridge Park, a category 2 slots facility, is taxed on 49% of gross gaming revenue, with 82% of that going to local aid and 18% to the Race Horse Development Fund. MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor are taxed at 25%. Since the three casinos opened, the commonwealth has collected roughly $2.55 billion in taxes and assessments from them.
A shift of play from taxed casinos to machines governed by track-betting rules would change the mix of what the state receives, which is the core of the operators' argument.
Massachusetts also has a regulated betting market. Residents can compare Massachusetts sportsbooks and Massachusetts casino options on our state pages while the legislature decides whether to expand slot-style gaming further.
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