Milford Daily News – On the heels of the expanded gambling law’s two-year anniversary, the chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission says it may be three more years before a Bay State casino opens and called online wagering a “major unknown question” on the gambling horizon.

The November 2011 law calls for up to three resort casinos, with one targeted for each of three regions, and one facility with up to 1,250 slot machines anywhere in the state. But voters in several Massachusetts communities – East Boston, Milford, and Palmer this month alone – have already turned down casino proposals, and only a few projects remain in the vetting pipeline with site-specific applications due at the end of December.

The commission was formed 18 months ago and has already spent more than $10 million investigating bidders, costs that were absorbed by casino applicants, Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said during a televised interview that aired Sunday on WCVB’s “On the Record.”

During the interview, Crosby estimated a slots parlor would probably open in late 2014 or early 2015, but cautioned that negotiations with surrounding communities may cause hang-ups. Crosby then estimated a casino may not open its doors in Massachusetts for two-and-a-half to three more years, or until mid- to late-2016.

While he called it “highly unlikely” and “totally speculative,” Crosby acknowledged the possibility of relaunching the application process if gaming regulators do not believe they have a quality bidder. “I see no reason why we wouldn’t open it up and just do this over again,” he said.

Crosby added: “There are plenty of people that want to do business in Massachusetts and there are obviously plenty of towns that want to have a casino. It’s just an issue of matching a quality bidder-applicant-operator with a willing community. They’re out there.”