The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is sounding the alarm as the state considers allowing historic horse racing gambling machines, which critics say are identical to slot machines and would compete with the tribe’s Taunton casino.
If the historic horse racing machines are allowed, then they will be added to Raynham Park, a former racetrack in a town neighboring Taunton.
In a rally outside of the Massachusetts State House on Thursday, Oct. 15, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Chairman Brian Weeden said that the prospect of horse racing machines “threatens our tribal sovereignty and the economic future of our tribal community.”
“Anyone with eyes to see would understand that these HHR machines are simply slot machines with a different name,” Weeden said.
