The GOV and Senate President Are Right

…on racino licensing.

Both are pushing back on racino proposals that would not apply market pricing to these particular gaming licenses. As I wrote in 2006 for the Boston Globe:

Massachusetts’ great gambling giveaway

IF THE MASSACHUSETTS Legislature wrote a billion-dollar check to the casino industry, people would be outraged. But the [2006] gambling bill, awaiting action in the House after receiving Senate approval, threatens to give away more than $1 billion in value by charging an inordinately low fee for the four proposed licenses….

…The point is not that the state should fix the exact license price. Rather, there is credible evidence that the proposed license price is too low and difficult to ascertain….

…the state should not provide a huge windfall to a select few through underpriced monopoly licenses. If the licenses are to be granted, the Legislature should conduct an open and transparent auction that maximizes the return for all the citizens of the Commonwealth.