The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, which still hopes to build a $1bn casino resort in Massachusetts, may be forced to wait before it sits down at the negotiating table with state officials after a spokesperson intimated the tribe would first have to successfully apply to the US Department of Interior to create an official reservation before talks over a gaming compact could commence.

Two Massachusetts racetracks are teaming up in a bid to build a resort-style casino in Boston. The new partnership comes amid signs that Gov. Deval Patrick and state lawmakers may take another look at expanded gambling due to a worsening state budget crisis.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has launched a major push to win legislative approval for his embattled proposal to open New England’s richest state to casino gambling. With new support emerging from some of the state’s powerful unions, and deteriorating economic conditions, the controversial scheme may be about to enjoy a second chance.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has rejected a push by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe to enter into early compact talks over plans for a proposed, $1bn casino. The rebuff by the governor, ahead of the crucial presidential election this year, could slow the tribe’s drive to win federal approval to create a sovereign reservation for a gambling resort.

A hotly contested proposal to legalize resort casinos in Massachusetts has mobilized groups on both sides of the issue, with local political leaders and business executives squaring off against religious and social activist groups. The election-style campaigning comes as Gov. Deval Patrick prepares to make a major State House push this spring in a bid to win passage of his casino plan.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is raising eyebrows by proposing a crackdown on Internet gambling in the state, even as he pushes ahead with plans to build a trio of giant resort casinos. The proposed ban, which includes the possibility of jail terms of up to two years for violators, has put the governor at odds with one of the state’s senior congressional leaders, US Rep. Barney Frank.

As Massachusetts' challenging economic conditions continue to heighten, efforts to legalize and roll out slot machine gaming have reached epic levels in recent months, with a new casino proposal expected imminently. Debate also continues over the location where slot machines should be permitted.

Gaming companies interested in competing for the right to build one of three proposed Massachusetts casino resorts will have to pay up to play in the state, with financial requirements ranging well past the $1 billion mark, according to a legislative proposal filed yesterday by Gov. Deval Patrick. The plan also spells out how the industry would be regulated in the state, with a new seven-member gaming authority to oversee the casinos.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is nearing a landmark decision on whether to endorse casino gambling in the state, an announcement that could come as soon as next week. Gov. Patrick has spent months studying the issue, appointing a panel of top officials in his administration to explore the pros and cons of opening up the Bay State to expanded gambling.

Massachusetts may be one of the last holdouts in the US against casino liberalisation, but a new study claims that residents of the state are helping fuel the expansion of the casino industry elsewhere in New England. The findings of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth report, and further figures showing booming lottery ticket sales, suggest that the debate over expanded gambling is likely to continue to simmer in the state, despite the recent defeat of a proposal to legalize resort casinos.