SEIGMA News

UMass team lands millions for gambling research

February 11, 2020 — A University of Massachusetts Amherst research team has been awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to continue investigating the impact of gambling in Massachusetts as casinos such as MGM Springfield take hold.

The contract, granted by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, will provide the team with about $1 million a year for three years, given the possibility of two annual renewals, to contribute to a 12-year investigation.

Lead investigator Rachel Volberg, a research professor and epidemiologist in the UMass School of Public Health & Health Sciences, said the study will aim to identify both the positive and negative influences that gambling has on the state as new forms of gambling are introduced.

Read the Daily Hampshire Gazette article here.

MGC renews SEIGMA contract

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has awarded a renewable contract to a University of Massachusetts Amherst team to continue groundbreaking research into the socioeconomic impacts of introducing casino gambling in the state.

The new funding – about $1 million a year for three years, with two annual options to renew – will enable researchers with the Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts (SEIGMA) study, based at the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences, to complete an unprecedented, comprehensive, 12-year investigation.

https://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/umass-amherst-awarded-multiyear-contract

UMass gambling study turns focus to Springfield

February 04, 2020 - With the impact of casino gambling still a source of conjecture, the University of Massachusetts will continue its research into its impact in the state - and in upcoming months, in Springfield. Read the MassLive story here.

UMass researchers provide update of Plainridge Park Casino’s social and economic impacts on the Commonwealth

Researchers from UMass Amherst and the UMass Donahue Institute, as part of the Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts (SEIGMA) research team, released three reports detailing findings of the social and economic impacts of the state’s only slot parlor, Plainridge Park Casino (PPC), to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) at an open meeting in Plainville, Massachusetts. Read more here.

Freakonomics Radio covers the history and legalization of sports betting in the US

"What happens when tens of millions of fantasy-sports players are suddenly able to bet real money on real games? We’re about to find out. A recent Supreme Court decision has cleared the way to bring an estimated $300 billion in black-market sports betting into the light. We sort out the winners and losers." Listen here.

NEPR covers findings from SEIGMA report of economic impacts of constructing MGM Springfield

NEPR covers SEIGMA report on the economic impacts of constructing MGM Springfield. Read more here.

UMass Amherst researchers release findings on the economic impacts of MGM Springfield construction

Researchers from the UMass Donahue Institute, as part of the Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts (SEIGMA) research study at UMass Amherst, have released findings on the economic impacts of constructing MGM Springfield. Specifically, these findings detail: 1) where the construction dollars were spent (regionally and statewide), 2) where the construction workers resided and whether it was a diverse workforce, and 3) what were the total statewide economic impacts of constructing MGM Springfield. The findings were released today after the Massachusetts Gaming Commission open meeting in Springfield.

UMass Amherst researchers assess the early impacts of MGM Springfield on real estate conditions in Springfield

The Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts (SEIGMA) research team at UMass Amherst examined the initial impacts of announcing the MGM Springfield casino license in February 2014 and its subsequent construction on housing and real estate conditions in Springfield, Massachusetts and its surrounding communities. This report was recently released at an open public meeting of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. These findings follow the baseline report that examined housing and real estate conditions in Springfield prior to the announcement of the MGM Springfield license.

Prof. Volberg speaks to WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Prof. Rachel Volberg and SEIGMA principal investigator speaks to WAMC Northeast Public Radio about SEIGMA's research in Massachusetts, public health implications, and responsible gambling initiatives.

Listen to it here.

UMass Amherst research team (SEIGMA) releases findings on the First-Ever Major Cohort Study of Gambling in the U.S.

The Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts (SEIGMA) research team at UMass Amherst has released a report on the first major adult cohort study of gambling conducted in the United States—the Massachusetts Gambling Impact Cohort (MAGIC). By surveying the same individuals over time, cohort studies provide information on how gambling and problem gambling develops, progresses, and remits. The goals of the MAGIC study are to 1) uncover and understand populations in Massachusetts who are at a higher risk of experiencing gambling harm and problem gambling and 2) inform the development of effective and efficient prevention and treatment programming in the Commonwealth.

Research professor Dr. Rachel Volberg in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at UMass Amherst and Principal Investigator of the MAGIC study comments on the importance of the cohort study to assess gambling behaviors in Massachusetts:

“Although this report focuses on results from before the opening of MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor, we have already learned a great deal about how gambling problems among Massachusetts adults develop, progress, and remit—information that will assist the Gaming Commission and the Department of Public Health in crafting the right mix of prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery services to effectively minimize and mitigate gambling harm in the Commonwealth.”

Continue reading here.

Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts (SEIGMA)