Murray warns of state loss on casinos

As senators continue to debate legislation to license three casinos, Murray and other proponents of expanded gambling are making the case that passing the bill will give the state more control and more money.

Murray said a memo circulated Monday by the US Department of the Interior, which oversees tribal affairs, sets the stage for the Mashpee Wampanoag to open casinos in the next few years with electronic bingo machines, which are similar to slot machines in appearance and known in the industry as Class II slots. The department said it would continue reviewing tribes’ applications for casinos on land not in reservations, an issue that has been in dispute.

“If we don’t act, they could set up Class II gaming on their own land,’’ Murray said. “And we would get nothing.’’

The tribe’s chairman, Cedric Cromwell, has said that he would prefer to work with the state. Winning a state license could assure the tribe of a smoother and perhaps faster regulatory process and the guarantee of full-fledged slot machines, which are more lucrative than electronic bingo. The Senate bill would give the tribe a potential leg up in the competition for one of three licenses.

Yesterday was the sixth day of debate in the Senate, and senators of many ideological stripes continued to use parliamentary tactics to push back a vote, citing concerns ranging from taxes to the health and addiction problems wrought by smoking, drinking, and gambling. The House passed its version of expanded gambling legislation in April.

Senators who oppose slots said the state should slow down to assess the effect of the Interior Department’s announcement. Senator James B. Eldridge, an Acton Democrat, said he does not believe that electronic bingo parlors would be successful enough to persuade investors to build a casino.

Eldridge halted the Senate’s debate yesterday at 5 p.m. using a procedural move, because he and other more liberal senators are also concerned that more powerful legislators are trying to circumvent a ban on smoking in casinos that was passed last week. Senator Susan C. Fargo, a Lincoln Democrat, said gambling proponents have been too willing to retreat on protections against problem drinking and smoking that have been years in the making, in order to protect casino interests.

Republican senators have also been using delay tactics in an attempt to force votes on tax-cutting measures.

But Democrats, who hold a 35-5 majority, have prevented those votes by rewording Republican amendments. For example, an amendment that would have used the estimated $300 million in yearly revenue from casino gambling on property tax relief was reworded by Fargo to devote about $3 million a year to tax relief for needy senior citizens, and it passed.

“Peanuts, peanuts,’’ said minority leader Richard R. Tisei, a Republican from Wakefield who is running for lieutenant governor. Murray told reporters that Republicans were playing election-year politics.

Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.