SEIGMA Concludes its Groundbreaking Research into Impacts of Gambling

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Rachel Volberg

The UMass Amherst research known as the Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts (SEIGMA) is coming to an end after more than a decade of unprecedented studies, amassing a deep well of data that will inform the field in perpetuity.

In 2013, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) first awarded the SEIGMA team a contract to carry out comprehensive, first-of-its-kind research on the social and economic impacts of introducing casino gambling in Massachusetts. The robust research agenda was mandated by the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act passed by the Massachusetts Legislature. 

The SEIGMA contract was renewed by the MGC in 2019 and expires at the end of this year. The total value of the contract over the 12-year period was $17.6 million.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to lead this research team for 12 years,” says Rachel Volberg, research professor of epidemiology and a world-renowned gambling harms expert. “Over that time, the team has remained astonishingly stable and cohesive, which enabled us to produce an impressive amount of research.” 

In addition to SPHHS, the SEIGMA team included UMass Donahue Institute, where Mark Melnik, director of economic and public policy research, led the economic and fiscal impact research; Rob Williams, a leading authority in the prevention of problem gambling and professor of health sciences at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada; Laurie Salame at UMass Isenberg Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management; and NORC at the University of Chicago, which led the collection of general population data.

Over the past 12 years, the team published 11 peer-reviewed papers, authored more than 50 reports for the MGC, gave 48 presentations at conferences and public events, and produced 18 fact sheets. 

“The Gaming Commission’s mandate to conduct research on the social and economic impacts of gambling has allowed Massachusetts to establish itself as a leader in the gambling studies field and, more broadly, to balance the benefits and harms of gambling in the commonwealth,” Volberg noted.

Anna Maria Siega-Riz, dean of SPHHS, expressed “deep appreciation for the impactful work of Dr. Rachel Volberg in the field of gambling research. Her contributions have significantly advanced our understanding of gambling behaviors and the social and public health implications associated with gambling.

“Even though the dedicated funding for her recent projects has concluded, the importance of her research remains undiminished,” Siega-Riz added. “Her dedication to rigorous, evidence-based research serves as a foundation for ongoing efforts to mitigate the harms of gambling, and her leadership in this area underscores the lasting value and relevance of her scholarship to the field.”

The MGC thanked the SEIGMA team “for their seminal work in building the research to understand the social and economic impacts of gambling in Massachusetts. Their deeply meaningful contributions to the field have included, but are in no way limited to, the Massachusetts Gambling Impact Cohort (MAGIC) study to understand changes in gambling behavior over time, a study to understand the distribution of gambling-related harms in the Massachusetts population, and prevalence studies to determine whether and how gambling attitudes, gambling behavior and problem gambling prevalence changed in Massachusetts following the introduction of casinos.”

Volberg said the research was filled with significant and interesting findings, “but perhaps most surprising was that, in contrast to many other jurisdictions, Massachusetts did not see an increase in the prevalence of problem gambling following the introduction of casino gambling.” 

Volberg has been studying gambling behaviors and gambling harm for more than 40 years. In 1988, she was the first investigator to receive funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to examine the prevalence of problem gambling in the U.S.

She has received the highest honors in her field, including the 2021 Lifetime Research Award from the National Council on Problem Gambling. 

Volberg is looking forward to pursuing new research endeavors through her long-established consulting business, focusing on the impacts of the recent expansion of sports betting in the U.S., as well as online gambling.