A gaming-industry analyst has questioned whether the bill authorizing more casinos in the state would help Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, the southeastern Connecticut behemoths bracing for competition from Massachusetts and New York.

Senate Bill 1090 would enable the Mashantucket and Mohegan tribes, owners of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, respectively, to operate up to three "satellite" casinos in strategic locations.

"The bill is in its early stages and falls short of providing a broader solution that would help the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos," Keith Foley, a senior vice president with Moody's Investors Service, wrote in a report released Monday. "... On a more positive note, the bill demonstrates a willingness on the part of casino competitors and legislators to work together. And if that is truly the case, we expect other proposals will begin to appear that are designed to protect the statewide gaming industry, and by extension, MTGA's and Mashantucket's long-term viability."

MTGA is the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority.

Foley noted that the amount of tax revenue the satellite casinos would generate for the state is unclear and that the governor and the tribes would have to negotiate the tax levy for the new casinos.

Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun pay 25 percent of their slot-machine winnings to the state, contributing $279.9 million in the 2014 fiscal year, the seventh consecutive year of decline, Foley wrote. The state's budgetmakers have projected that the payments would dwindle to $190.8 million in fiscal 2018, the first year of operation for MGM Springfield, the $800 million resort casino being developed in Massachusetts a few miles from Connecticut's northern border. When MGM opens, Twin River in Lincoln, R.I., will be the only casino closer to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.

If Connecticut takes no action, the consequences for the tribes could be severe, Foley wrote, citing a Pyramid Associates study showing that Massachusetts residents account for nearly a third of Foxwoods' customers and nearly a fifth of Mohegan Sun's. "By definition," Foley wrote, "that puts Mashantucket at a higher level of risk than MTGA."

He also noted that both tribes face financial challenges.

Moody's believes Foxwoods, operating under a forbearance agreement with its senior lenders since September, "will ultimately go through a debt restructuring that will involve impairment to creditors." MTGA, though in a stronger position, could be hurt by the fact MGM is scheduled to open about 12 months before MTGA's "credit facility," a major loan, matures in June 2018.

"... We expect the threat posed by MGM Springfield could have an impact on MTGA's ability to refinance its maturing bank debt with a rate and terms that provide it with the long-term financial flexibility needed to compete," Foley wrote.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com

Twitter: @bjhalleneck