The casino compact between the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and the state of Massachusetts has now taken effect, tribal leadership said Friday.
“This is a very exciting day for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, the city of Taunton and the commonwealth of Massachusetts,” tribal chairman Cedric Cromwell said Friday.
The tribe, he said, received confirmation Friday from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs that the compact is deemed approved.
The development comes more than a year after the BIA rejected a previous compact. If the tribe is able to meet the other requirements to build a Taunton casino under federal law, the facility’s operation would be governed by the compact.