Online Casino Gambling in Massachusetts Fields Powerful Opposition in Wynn Resorts
Posted on: November 17, 2025, 12:01h.
Last updated on: November 17, 2025, 12:21h.
- Wynn Resorts opposes iGaming in Massachusetts
- The Encore Boston Harbor operator says any tax revenue benefit would be greatly offset by associated economic declines
Online casino gambling was considered by the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies last week. Wynn Resorts, the dominant casino operator in the commonwealth’s three-casino market, made its position known that it’s no fan of iGaming.
Las Vegas-based Wynn’s only domestic property off the Strip is in Massachusetts. Located in Everett, just across the Mystic River from the capital city, representatives from Encore Boston Harbor submitted testimony opposing the consideration of iGaming in the Bay State.
Eileen McAnney, executive director of government relations for Encore Boston Harbor, opined that legalizing iGaming would greatly increase problem gambling rates. She added that iGaming hurts retail resort operations, jeopardizing Encore’s 3,000-person workforce and the approximate $15 million a month it pays to the state on slot machine and table-game revenue.
The rationale that internet casino gambling will increase state revenues does not factor in the significant cannibalization of brick-and-mortar gaming taxes, lost hotel, restaurant, and entertainment tax revenues, lost tax revenues stemming from significant job losses, lost tax revenue from reductions in casino purchases from small businesses and suppliers, and the social costs related to increased problem gambling, bankruptcies, welfare, health care costs, homelessness, domestic violence and family seperation, criminal justice impacts, and more,” McAnney declared
Encore Boston Harbor rules the Massachusetts gaming industry. Over the past 12 months, the Wynn property has averaged about $60 million a month in gross gaming revenue from in-person slots and live-dealer tables. MGM Springfield was a distant second at roughly $20 million, and the slots-only Plainridge Park Casino was third at around $15 million.
Wynn, Sands Outliers
Online casino gambling is legally limited to only seven states — Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.
Though several of those states allow casino companies without a physical presence to secure iGaming licenses, Wynn Resorts no longer participates in any iGaming, though it did formerly operate its WynnBet online casino in New Jersey, Michigan, and West Virginia. The WynnBet Sportsbook additionally operated online in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, New York, Tennessee, Virginia, and Massachusetts.
Wynn and Las Vegas Sands, a former Strip competitor that owned and operated The Venetian and Palazzo until 2022, have both refrained from betting on iGaming and online sports betting. Unlike the resorts’ primary competition, namely, MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, Wynn and Sands have largely held steady in their opposition to internet gambling.
Supporters Claim Easy Money
Lobbyists who crisscross the country, encouraging state lawmakers to authorize iGaming, showed up on Beacon Hill last week. John Pappas of the iDevelopment & Economic Association (iDEA), a group committed to expanding legal online gambling, testified that internet casinos are already operating within Massachusetts.
Let’s be clear, iGaming is happening today in the commonwealth. A recent report with one of our member companies, GeoComply, found that residents are actively gambling with illegal online platforms. According to the data, residents conduct more than 250K monthly searches for online casino and poker content, and that’s resulted in 1.2 million visits to illegal online casino sites,” Pappas said.
“These casinos are aggressively advertising to consumers, who don’t even recognize that they’re engaging with an illegal gambling platform,” Pappas continued.
Along with protecting consumers and encouraging responsible play, Pappas told the committee that the introduced iGaming bills would generate sustainable tax revenue without negatively impacting land-based revenue.
iDEA members include Boston-based DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, and BetMGM.
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