What is the MAGIC Study?

The Massachusetts Gambling Impact Cohort or MAGIC Study is a multi-year study being carried out by a research team from the University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health & Health Sciences (SPHHS).

A group of people will be contacted once a year and asked about their attitudes about gambling and their gambling behaviors. The study includes people who have never gambled as well as people who gamble regularly. The MAGIC Research Team will use responses from the participants to look at changes in gambling attitudes and behaviors over time, and the factors that influence these changes (including the opening of new casinos in Massachusetts). Using participant responses, the MAGIC Research Team will be able to study gambling problems as they emerge. The research team will also look at factors that may increase a person’s risk or protect a person from experiencing gambling-related problems.

Results from the study will be used by policy makers and regulators to create policies that maximize the possible benefits and minimize the possible harms of expanded gambling in the Commonwealth. Learn more about the MAGIC Study.