Massachusetts HD 5121: A communication from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (see Section 70 of Chapter 23K of the General Laws) submitting a complete and detailed fiscal year 2021 annual report of the commission’s activities

Bill Text

2021
ANNUAL REPORT



LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
December 2021
The Honorable Charles Baker, Governor 
The Honorable Maura Healey, Attorney General  
The Honorable Deborah Goldberg, Treasurer 
The Honorable Michael Rodrigues, Chair, Senate Committee on Ways and Means 
The Honorable Aaron Michlewitz, Chair, House Committee on Ways and Means 
The Honorable Eric Lesser, Senate Chair, Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies 
The Honorable Jerald Parisella, House Chair, Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies
HONORABLE MADAMS AND MESSRS.
It has been a milestone year. Ten years have passed since the enactment of the Expanded Gaming Act. And an unimaginable 
set of circumstances found the Commonwealth’s three licensed casinos gradually rebuilding to full-scale operations  
just prior to the star t of this fiscal year, after about 440 days of unprecedented closure and subsequent compliance with 
strict public health protocol s. The 2021 Annual Repor t detail s the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s operations from 
July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021 (F Y21) in accordance with G.L. c.23K, §70. It al so documents the resilience of this 
emerging Massachusetts industr y, the effective oversight of our agency ’s committed team, and the numerous successes  
of a year marked by relentless uncer tainty.
Despite the impacts of COVID-19, our licensees — Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield, and Encore Boston Harbor 
— grossed $815.4 million in F Y21, contributing $233.27 million in tax revenue to the Commonwealth. A s of July 31, the 
cumulative GGR exceeded $2.4 billion.
Our workforce remained fully remote throughout the fiscal year with seamless vir tual connectivity, and the Commission 
successfully held no less than 58 remote public meetings (not inclusive of additional public hearings), relying on the 
statutorily extended modifications to the Open Meeting L aw. Like employers across the Commonwealth and our nation, 
the Gaming Commission sought to leverage the flexibility gained from remote work and the indisputable benefits of in-
person collaboration and adopted a hybrid work arrangement. The MGC hybrid work model offers management and staff, 
respectively, the oppor tunity to work out-of-the-office two and three days per week.
F Y21 al so saw transition at the Commission level with the depar ture of two Commissioners: Bruce Stebbins and Enrique 
Zuniga, both who made significant contributions to the MGC since its inception in 2011. Karen Well s, appointed Executive 
Director in September of 2020, set, and met her stated operational priorities as the agency continued to pivot successfully 
in response to the pandemic.
The Commission renewed its commitment to build upon diversity effor ts under way at the three gaming facilities and 
with increased internal emphasis. The Equity and Inclusion Working Group, convened in June of 2020, continued to 
make measurable progress on its action plan. With pledged intentionality, we revised and enhanced hiring practices to 
minimize disproportionate negative impact on people of color and achieved a workforce diversity just one percentage 
point shy of our 25% goal.
The highlights for this fiscal year are fur ther detailed on page 9. I wish to thank my fellow Commissioners for their dedicated 
ser vice as we work to ensure the public confidence in the integrity of the gaming license process and strict oversight of the 
gaming establishments. On their behalf, I commend the consistent, thorough, and transparent effor ts of the entire MGC 
team as the unique challenges of the year continued to impact our Commonwealth and the world around us.
The Commission remains available to discuss our work and goal s for the year ahead as we begin the next decade of 
rigorous and fair regulation of expanded gaming here in Massachusetts.
Sincerely,

MISSION 
STATEMENT
The mission of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is 
to create and maintain a fair, transparent, and participator y 
process for implementing the expanded gaming law passed 
by the Legislature and signed by the Governor in November 
of 2011. The Commission strives to ensure that its decision-
making and regulator y systems engender the confidence of 
the public and participants, and that they provide the greatest 
possible economic development benefits and revenues to 
the people of the Commonwealth, reduce to the maximum 
extent possible the potentially negative or unintended 
consequences of expanded gaming, and allow an appropriate 
return on investment for gaming providers that assures the 
operation of casino-resorts of the highest quality. 

KEY PROVISIONS 
OF THE GAMING ACT
Chapter 194 of the Acts of 2011 (“The Gaming Act”) includes significant features to ensure public confidence and 
a robust gaming industr y that generates economic development while providing mitigation measures to protect 
potentially vulnerable groups.
A STRONG, INDEPENDENT REGUL ATORY FR AMEWORK
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