Opening new casinos does not cause problem gambling, research says

Research conducted over five years on three major casinos shows no direct relation between the launch of new venues and the growth of problem gambling.

US.- The Massachusetts Gambling Impact Cohort Study (MAGIC) has found that the opening of new casinos does not automatically lead to more problem gambling.

The five-year study was conducted by a five-member research team that included four academics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a professor of health sciences at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada.

Cathy Judd-Stein, the chair of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC), called the study the most comprehensive of its kind in the United States.

The study traced thousands of participants in five “waves”, or periods of research, and researched on gambling trends during the development of casino gambling in the Bay State.

Since 2013 the area has gained three new casinos: Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor. Four of the five waves were completed before MGM Springfield opened on August 24, 2018.

That allowed researchers to understand how the openings affected trends. Between 2,300 and 3,200 participants responded to each of the waves.