Commissioner Eileen O’Brien was first appointed to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission by then-Attorney General Maura Healey in March 2018. At the time of her initial appointment, AG Healey cited O’Brien’s extensive experience in criminal investigations and enforcement. Candidates for the Attorney General’s one appointment to the Gaming Commission must have a background in law enforcement and criminal investigations. Attorney General Andrea Campbell appointed O’Brien to a second term in April 2023.

During her first term, the commission presided over the opening of two Category 1 full resort casinos. The commission also conducted a suitability review for Region A licensee, Wynn, following sexual misconduct allegations. The commission continues to supervise the subsequent corporate monitorship imposed as one of the license conditions following that review.

In 2020, the Commission successfully oversaw the safe closure and reopening of the casino establishments during the COVID pandemic. In 2023, the commission completed the necessary regulatory framework to implement the 2022 statute authorizing sports wagering in the Commonwealth.

Commissioner O’Brien also serves as the Chair of the Public Safety Subcommittee and has continuously been the Commissioner member of the internal audit and compliance working group.

Before joining the Commission, Eileen O’Brien served as Director of the Audit, Oversight and Investigations Division of the Inspector General’s Office. Her role included overseeing investigations related to allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse of public funds.

Commissioner O’Brien spent five years as Senior Trial Counsel for the Criminal Bureau of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office where she investigated and prosecuted cases of trafficking, embezzlement, and public corruption.

O’Brien also served in various positions within the Special Investigations and Narcotics Division at the AG’s Office, including chief of the division from April 2004 to July 2008. Following law school, she was a law clerk at Massachusetts Superior Court and served as an assistant district attorney at the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.

In 2015, O’Brien received the Manuel Carballo Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service along with the Inspector General’s Westfield State University Investigation Team. She has also previously received a Special Achievement Award from the New England Narcotic Enforcement Officers’ Association in 2004, and the Scott Harshbarger Award for Excellence in 2003.

O’Brien graduated from Northeastern University School of Law and Middlebury College.

• Email: eileen.obrien@massgaming.gov