April 17, 2024 -- Los Angeles, CA
The recent gambling scandal involving baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani's interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has sent shockwaves across the country. Nonetheless, many problem gamblers could empathize with the pattern of behavior. Various voices, including SEIGMA principal researcher, Rachel Volberg, help understand what happened in this article in "The Athletic." [The article may be behind a paywall.]
April 5, 2024 -- Albany, NY
WAMC reported on the release of SEIGMA's FGPS report highlighting how gambling attitudes, gambling behavior, and problem gambling prevalence changed in Massachusetts following the introduction of casinos since the first population survey was conducted in 2013. You can read the full story and listen to the news report here.
April 4, 2024 -- Amherst, MA
MassLive has reported on a newly released SEIGMA team report "Gambling and Problem Gambling in Massachusetts: Results of a Follow-up Population Survey" available on our Reports tab. The main purpose of this report is to determine whether and how gambling attitudes, gambling behavior, and problem gambling prevalence changed in Massachusetts following the introduction of casinos. Results from the Follow-up General Population Survey (FGPS) are directly comparable to survey data collected in Massachusetts in 2013 and 2014, before any of the casinos had opened. In addition to these overall assessments, the report addresses the question of whether the demographic and behavioral patterns of gambling and problem gambling prevalence changed in Massachusetts between 2013 and 2021. Read the UMass press release and MassLive story.
Louisville, KY -- March 29, 2024
Dr Volberg was interviewed by Louisville Public Media around the introduction of sports betting in Kentucky last September and the potential for increased gambling problems in the state. “Gambling regulation is increasingly being viewed as not just about making sure the operators follow the rules to offer a product in a fair and transparent way,” Volberg said, “but also preventing those operators from behaving in ways that are going to cause harm to residents.” Read the full story here.
November 10, 2023 -- Massachusetts
Gambling legislation in Massachusetts requires a portion of revenues to be used to reduce the damage caused by expanded gambling. In a new series of three reports, NEPM reporter Karen Brown takes a closer look at where that money is going. Part one examines GameSense and the secondary and tertiary prevention done at casinos to try to identify and help people who are experiencing gambling harms. Part two takes a closer look at the state's Department of Public Health and how they are spending money for prevention and treatment. Part three focuses on the state's research agenda on legalized gambling, and features conversations with our team's principal investigator, Dr. Rachel Volberg.
Find the full coverage here.
Lagos, Nigeria -- November 1, 2023
Dr. Rachel Volberg gave a presentation at the 2023 National Lottery Regulatory Commission's (NLRC) International Gaming Conference in Lagos, Nigeria. The conference examined the sports betting sector and the legal framework regulating gambling. Here is an overview of what was discussed at the conference, and here is another on discussions about how to curb money laundering and terrorist financing. Dr. Volberg's presentation can be found here.
September 07, 2023 -- Washington, DC
September 07, 2023 -- Washington, DC
Gambling in the United States has been fast expanding in terms of the modalities permitted (sports gambling, online gambling), the number of places where it's permitted and practiced (>1,000 casinos in >40 states), and the acceptability of the practice among the general public (it wasn't long ago that gambling was associated with the mafia and corrupt practices). In "The NFL season opener is also the kickoff for the biggest gambling season ever", journalist Dylan Scott dives into the history and changes in gambling, the risks involved, and its possible future. The article makes good use of our recent report on legalized sports betting, as well as other research sources.
August 10, 2023 -- London, UK
Across the United States, sports betting / gambling has exploded in terms of availability, accessibility and marketing. Regulations vary significantly across states, where a handful of companies dominate the national market. This explosion has brought increases in tax revenues for states, and also increases in problem gambling.
In the Financial Times, Oliver Barnes takes a deep dive (interviewing Rachel Volberg among others) into what is going on with sports betting, nationally: "The dark side of the US sports betting boom"
June 12, 2023 -- Providence, RI
Rachel Volberg was interviewed by the Rhode Island Current about sports betting and problem gambling for the news story "R.I. fears missing out on sports betting revenue. Is it prepared to address problem gambling?". SEIGMA research has found that the rate of problem gambling is higher among sports betters than among the general population. “Sports betters tend to be pretty enthusiastic gamblers,” she said. “And they’re often involved in a broad range of gambling."
