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Massachusetts gaming regulators are finally making progress on a long-delayed data collection initiative addressing problem gambling. Commissioners have described the advancements on this plan, which has been stalled for nearly a decade due to political and pandemic-related obstacles, as "miraculous."
The effort to move forward with the data collection project has faced numerous challenges over the past 13 years, dating back to the legalization of casino gambling in Massachusetts in 2011. The enabling legislation mandated that casinos provide the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) with data gathered from player loyalty programs.
This law allows the commission's team to utilize the data to formulate strategies aimed at minimizing high-risk gambling behavior. However, before applying the data, regulators must engage researchers to analyze and anonymize the information.
A report from UMass Amherst’s School of Public Health and Health Sciences reviewed problem gambling rates since the introduction of casinos in 2015 and found that the prevalence of problem and at-risk gambling has not changed significantly. This report relied on player surveys conducted by the gaming commission. Nevertheless, regulators believe that player loyalty data sets could provide a much more nuanced understanding of gambling behavior in Massachusetts.
“It will help us to understand better problem gambling – how it progresses, how it remits – it will allow us to create evidence-informed policies and regulations," stated Mark Vander Linden, the MassGaming director of research and responsible gaming, as reported by CommonWealth Beacon.
“None of that escapes us. We take that very seriously. But this is a very complex project, and we want to make sure that we do this right. And so we are moving this project forward. There’s a lot of work that has been done, and certainly there’s more work to be done, but we’re confident that this is on track and moving forward.”
Three years after the statute—Section 97 of Chapter 194 of the Acts of 2011—became effective, the MGC decided to postpone the project. Regulators chose to delay implementation until all Massachusetts casinos were operational, citing concerns about competitive disadvantages among the casinos, according to Vander Linden.
Since the project's suspension in 2014, the entire gaming commission has undergone changes. Some groundwork began after the opening of the Plainridge Park casino but was halted prior to the launch of MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor. Vander Linden noted that serious efforts resumed in mid-2023.
In addition to the initial delays to allow the emerging casino industry to stabilize, commissioners acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic further impeded progress. “I think people sometimes forget that COVID-19 was a very harsh reality to the world that changed things and was a roadblock to many things moving forward for two to three years,” Commissioner Brad Hill remarked.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Eileen O’Brien highlighted the complexities involved in housing the data and the challenges that lie ahead, but she expressed optimism about the project's future. The research division has issued a request for information (RFI) for potential vendors, coinciding with the MGC's latest open meeting.
“Building a system to anonymize, transmit, and link casino player data and make it accessible to qualified researchers requires thoughtful consideration of ethics, law, privacy, security, and technical considerations,” the commission noted in the RFI announcement, as reported by the Beacon. “This also includes ensuring an open, equitable, and transparent process for identifying partners with whom to engage in this work.”
By fLEXI tEAM
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