What is a Host Community Agreement?

The Expanded Gaming Act requires applicants for a gaming license to “provide to the commission a signed agreement between the host community and the applicant setting forth the conditions to have a gaming establishment located within the host community; provided, however, that the agreement shall include a community impact fee for the host community and all stipulations of responsibilities between the host community and the applicant, including stipulations of known impacts from the development and operation of a gaming establishment.” Host communities may not hold a referendum on the operation of the gaming establishment until after a host community agreement is executed and an applicant makes a request that the community schedule the referendum.

Pursuant to the Commission’s Phase 2 regulations, gaming applicants are required to forward a copy and summary of the executed host community agreement to the Commission for online posting. The regulations further specify that the posting will outline the process by which any community may request that it be added to a list of prospective surrounding communities to that gaming establishment. The list anticipated in the regulation will be used to ensure that gaming applicants provide important notices to communities that may be designated as surrounding communities. For example, the Commission’s regulation specifies that applicants shall forward a copy of certain surrounding community related reports to communities on the list when applicants submit applications to the Commission. While the list will be used for certain notices, placement of a community on the list does not cause a community to be designated as a surrounding community, for the purposes of M.G.L. c. 23K and the Commission’s regulations.

Any community wishing to be placed on the list of prospective surrounding communities should send an email requesting such placement to Mary Thurlow.

Please note: The Commission’s protocols require the Region C applicant to send a copy of its redacted RFA-2 application to communities that are geographically adjacent to the host community.

To view host community agreements that are no longer in effect due to a negative license decision, negative referendum outcome, or applicant withdrawal, please visit the Archived Host Community Agreements page.

City of Everett
With Encore Boston Harbor

Download PDFs (posted on 4.26.13):

City of Springfield
With MGM Springfield

Download PDFs (posted on 5.17.13):

Amendments

Town of Plainville
With Penn National Gaming

Download PDFs (posted on 7.9.13):

 

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