Past attempts to legalize casino gambling failed, but the idea gained popularity recently as the recession tempered the state’s economic growth.
The Senate bill passed 24 to 14 after days of debate. Last month, the state’s House passed a bill allowing the same number of gambling establishments. Some differences remain, but they are expected to be resolved in a conference committee of the Democratic-controlled Legislature, and Gov. Deval Patrick has indicated he will sign the final legislation.
Last year, a gambling measure failed when Mr. Patrick and the House speaker, Robert A. DeLeo, disagreed on the number of slots parlors. The new legislation emerged after months of closed-door negotiations involving Mr. Patrick, Mr. DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray.
Scott Harshbarger, a former state attorney general who is now president of the anticasino group Citizens for a Stronger Massachusetts, criticized what he said was too much secrecy.
“This was just a classic, Massachusetts, behind-closed-doors power play by the special interests and lobbyists and casino owners,” Mr. Harshbarger said. “Only the public interest lost.”
Supporters promote casino gambling as a major job creator, saying it will drive industry growth in construction, service and tourism.
“It has potential to bring home $1.2 billion that’s being spent by Massachusetts residents in neighboring states’ casinos,” said Senator Stanley C. Rosenberg, a Democratic supporter, “and, at the same time, create more than 10,000 jobs and provides hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue.”
But opponents say gambling is a false carrot that increases crime and encourages addiction.
“It is tantamount to a tax on the poor; though we do have a grave budget that we need to cover, covering it on the backs of poor and working-class families is not the right thing to do,” said State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, a Democrat who represents parts of Boston.
Nearby states that have legalized gambling are watching the development in Massachusetts warily. Connecticut has two resort-style casinos that could lose business to Massachusetts casinos. Rhode Island has expressed concerns that its two slots parlors could also suffer; a study by the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, found Massachusetts residents made up 56 percent of visitors to the Rhode Island establishments in 2010.
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