Shifting mores in Mass

Massachusetts used to have a reputation as a haven for blue laws–and bluenoses–but gambling is gaining in popularity. From Boston.com:

Three years ago, you couldn’t even buy a six-pack of beer on Sunday in most Massachusetts cities and towns – and now the governor is proposing not just one but three casinos.

Despite some lingering vestiges of a Puritan blue law culture that brought “banned in Boston” to the nation’s vocabulary, Governor Deval Patrick’s willingness to embrace casinos represents a fundamental shift over the last generation in Bay State residents’ comfort level with the ethics and glitz of gambling.

Massachusetts, in fact, has been wading slowly into gambling for decades. In the 35 years since its founding as an alternative to Mob-run numbers rackets, the aggressively marketed state lottery has exploded into a $4 billion annual enterprise. The Massachusetts State Lottery Commission crossed a key line in 1993 when it began sponsoring electronic Keno games with drawings every five minutes that turned hundreds of bars, restaurants, and convenience stores into Keno parlors.

“You have to look at the state’s responsibility as being a great cheerleader for gambling, encouraging people to play Keno, buy scratch tickets, play Megabucks,” said state Senator Richard R. Tisei, a Wakefield Republican who backs Patrick’s casino plan.

Also, the opening of the Foxwoods Resort and Mohegan Sun Indian tribal casinos in southeastern Connecticut in 1993 and 1996 has allowed hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents to get their first direct taste of casino gambling.
Casino debate cultivates new attitude in Massachusetts – The Boston Globe

The question is: do changing public tastes drive changes in legislation, or does a more permissive gaming regime lead to increased gambling? Either way, it looks like gambling is becoming more popular–and more acceptable–in Massachusetts, along with many other states.

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