*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***

DATE:           Thursday, Nov. 4

TIME:            Approximately 10:30 a.m.

WHAT:          Presentation of research report, “Gambling Harms and the Prevention Paradox in Massachusetts,”
                      to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission

WHERE:       Virtual

LINK:            Live stream open public meeting

CONTACT:    Rachel Volberg, [email protected]
                      Patty Shillington, [email protected], 305-606-9909
 

EMBARGOED FACT SHEET: (embargo lifts Thursday, Nov. 4, after the presentation to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission)

Rachel Volberg, lead investigator for the University of Massachusetts Amherst research team known as SEIGMA (Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts), will present her research about gambling harms in Massachusetts to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

Volberg, research professor in the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences, will answer commissioners’ questions following her presentation and will be available to the media after the meeting.

The report examines whether the “prevention paradox” is active in Massachusetts. The prevention paradox occurs when the majority of impacts of a disease happen among people at low or moderate risk rather than among those diagnosed with the disease. From a public health perspective, the prevention paradox refocuses efforts away from individuals with the highest risk and toward prevention strategies for the population as a whole.