BOSTON - The Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Thursday decided to wait two more weeks before it votes on whether to open Southeastern Massachusetts to bidding on a commercial casino license.
The five-member commission has been hung up for months on whether to give the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe enough time to get the federal approval it needs, risking that Southeastern Massachusetts would fall behind the Boston area and Western Massachusetts in opening a casino. Accepting commercial license bids in the region presents the possibility that the Mashpee would eventually get their own casino as well -- one that would not share revenue with the state.
A commission ruling in favor of seeking commercial bidders is likely to prompt a lawsuit from the tribe or its backers.
An earlier version of this report was posted at 4:07 p.m.