Problem gambling grows along with revenue in Massachusetts

Neha Soni October 21, 2024

Online gambling revenue continues to grow around the country as more states legalise it, along with it grows problem gambling. A Massachusetts study conducted on people who gamble monthly or more frequently often finds that people are increasingly experiencing harm from gambling.

The study was the latest of three conducted and cannot be applied to the overall population but finds that over the years that people are gambling on more things including playing the lottery, betting on sports and gambling online. They do so while worrying that gambling is harmful and can be addictive. The latest survey was carried out shortly after sports betting began in Massachusetts.

This increase among monthly gamblers in the online panels in lottery games, sports betting, private wagering, horse racing, bingo and online gambling suggests the impact of the pandemic. The effect of the pandemic, which deterred gambling behavior, may be diminishing. Rachel Volberg, the principal investigator for the study said that the pandemic “probably suppressed the gambling behavior of people who were gambling recreationally more than the behavior of people who were at risk for a gambling problem.” Apart from this, there was a decline in the proportion of population who believe that employment is the most positive impact of casinos and that all types of gambling should be illegal. “Based on the general population survey that was done in 2021, I didn’t expect that we would see a big change in attitudes toward gambling, but we do seem to be seeing that, especially among the people betting on sports,” Volberg said. Moreover, while the online panels on whom the survey is conducted are not representative of the popluation, Volberg said it is reasonable to assume that the changes in behaviour and attitude of those surveyed are likely to reflect changes in how monthly gamblers in the general population might behave.

Gambling problems escalate post-pandemic

The researchers believe that the increase in gambling problems can be attributed to the pandemic ending and sports betting becoming legal in the state in 2023. They further see an uptrend in the problem, with more people having gambling problems in the future. Those surveyed experiencing gambling problems jumped from 12.7 percent in 2014 to 20.9 percent in 2022. The numbers further hiked to 25.6 percent in 2023. The numbers compare to a two percent of general population experiencing problem gambling before and after casinos were introduced in Massachusetts. “It’s pretty startling, to be honest,” said Volberg. “While the online panels were not representative of the population, they were very informative in regard to people with gambling difficulties. It’s very helpful from a surveillance and monitoring perspective.”

Commission’s September report

This comes after the Massachusetts Gaming Commission registered approximately $92.06 million in gross revenue for the month of September. Moreover, about $73 million was generated in taxable sports wagering revenue across the eight mobile/online sports wagering licensees and the three in-person licensees for the month. Online sports betting has continued its upward trend in the recent years as it grows in popularity and became legal in 38 states across the United States, Puerto Rico and Washington D.C.