Massachusetts Casinos

Massachusetts authorized commercial casino gaming in 2011 through the Expanded Gaming Act, which set up a regional licensing system: two Category 1 full-service resort casino licenses (one for the eastern region and one for the western region) and one Category 2 slots-only license. The process was competitive and controversial — multiple companies bid for each license, municipalities held local referendums, and site selection decisions were contested. Unlike New Jersey’s concentrated Atlantic City market, Massachusetts distributed casinos across the state.

The result was a three-property market. Encore Boston Harbor brought a luxury waterfront resort casino to a former industrial site in Everett on the Mystic River. MGM Springfield anchored western Massachusetts with a downtown Springfield development. Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville converted an existing harness racing facility into the state’s slots-only option.

Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield

Massachusetts's two Category 1 resort casino licenses

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Encore Boston Harbor

Everett

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MGM Springfield

Springfield

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MGM Springfield is the western Massachusetts resort casino, opened in 2018 in the South End of downtown Springfield. The development includes hotel rooms, a bowling alley, a cinema, multiple restaurants, and a gaming floor with slots, table games, and a poker room. MGM Springfield serves western New England broadly — it draws from Springfield, Hartford (Connecticut), and the Pioneer Valley while also pulling visitors from the Connecticut casino corridor who cross the border for a different experience. The downtown location integrates into Springfield’s existing urban fabric more than a suburban site would have.

Plainridge Park: The Slots-Only Facility

Plainridge Park Casino — Massachusetts Category 2 license

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Plainridge Park Casino

Plainville

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Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville is a Penn Entertainment property that converted the existing Plainridge Racecourse harness racing facility into the state’s Category 2 slots-only gaming destination. The facility runs slot machines and video lottery terminals but does not offer live table games or poker — those are restricted to the two Category 1 resort casinos. Live harness racing and year-round simulcast wagering operate alongside the gaming floor. Plainridge is located about 35 miles southwest of Boston, making it the most accessible Massachusetts gaming option for Providence-area visitors and those in the metro west and south shore regions.

Games at Massachusetts Casinos

Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield offer full Class III gaming: slot machines, video poker, live blackjack, craps, roulette, baccarat, and poker rooms. Plainridge Park is limited to slot machines and electronic gaming by the terms of its Category 2 license. Sports betting is available at all three properties via retail windows, and mobile sports betting is available statewide.

Massachusetts Gambling Law and Regulation

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission regulates all three licensed gaming facilities. The southeastern region Category 1 license situation — involving the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s proposed First Light casino in Taunton — has been the subject of years of federal litigation concerning the tribe’s land-into-trust status and remains unresolved.

Quick Visitor Reference

• From Boston: Encore Boston Harbor is a 10-minute drive from downtown Boston; a free water shuttle also runs from Fan Pier
• From Providence: Plainridge Park Casino is about 20 miles north (~25 min)
• From Hartford: MGM Springfield is about 30 miles north (~35 min)
• Best poker room: Encore Boston Harbor (largest room; MGM Springfield also active)
• Sports betting: Legal — retail at all three facilities; mobile statewide via licensed apps
• Plainridge Park: Slots only — no table games or poker
• Minimum age: 21 at all three facilities