Massachusetts’ lead gaming regulator is stepping down subsequent month after a decade-long profession that included authorized tussles with disgraced on line casino magnate Steve Wynn, the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the launch of sports activities wagering within the commonwealth.
Karen Wells, the chief director of the Massachusetts Gaming Fee, speaks on underage violations at MGM Springfield on line casino throughout a gaming fee assembly in Springfield, Mass., in 2019. Wells might be leaving her place subsequent month. (Picture: Boston Herald)
Karen Wells, the Massachusetts Gaming Fee government director, will depart the company efficient July 14, the fee introduced Thursday.
Wells joined the fee in 2013 because the director of its Investigations and Enforcement Bureau, and he or she served a number of stints as interim government director earlier than assuming the position full-time in September 2020.
The departure seems to be amicable, with Wells and Chair Cathy Judd-Stein providing effusive reward for one another in an announcement from the fee.
“Karen is the mannequin of a frontrunner, and her affect will be seen in all the things the MGC does … Her strategic talents and regular presence enabled the MGC to face up a sports activities wagering trade dedicated to client protections in a well timed vogue,” Judd-Stein mentioned in an announcement. “We want her the easiest sooner or later.”
Pandemic, Sports activities Betting Regulation
As government director, Wells is the chief and administrative head of the MGC, and is chargeable for administering and implementing related gaming regulation provisions. The governor or different elected officers politically appoint the MGC’s 5 commissioners.
Wells was interim government director in the summertime of 2020 when Massachusetts regulators and on line casino operators labored to reopen within the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. She additionally oversaw the implementation of latest sports activities betting laws after wagering was legalized in 2022.
“Collectively, this crew created the infrastructure for a brand new state company, opened three casinos, weathered a pandemic, and launched the brand new authorized sports activities wagering trade,” Wells mentioned within the assertion. “Immediately, the company’s core obligations are working easily, and I’ve each confidence our crew will proceed the good work we now have completed collectively through the years.”
Wells didn’t disclose her subsequent steps and declined a request for an interview by means of an MGC spokesman.
Wynn investigation
Whereas Wells was working the investigations unit, it uncovered proof that Wynn Resorts did not disclose sexual assault allegations towards its then-CEO when it utilized for its Massachusetts on line casino license.
In 2018, Wynn sued Wells together with the Fee itself and his former firm in an effort to dam the investigation. The lawsuit slowed the investigation however did not derail it altogether.
Because of the investigation, the fee levied a file $35 million nice towards Wynn Resorts in 2019, however commissioners stopped in need of blocking the corporate’s Encore Boston Harbor from opening that yr.
That wasn’t the primary time Wells discovered herself the goal of on line casino litigation. She additionally was named as a defendant in a 2015 lawsuit from Caesars Leisure Company that was dismissed by a federal choose.
