Worcester plays host to gambling conference Tuesday

Whether it’s on a website or a billboard during your commute, it feels like we’re always seeing ads for a sports wagering platform.

“It’s ubiquitous,” said Marlene Warner, CEO of the state’s Council on Gaming and Health. “It’s everywhere.”

The incredibly easy access has experts in healthcare, government, and gaming looking for ways to keep players safe.

“I think what’s interesting is we’re able to say ‘OK, we know all this data but what does it actually mean,'” Warner asked. “How do we actually provide services for the 10% of people who we know have a gambling problem or are at risk for a gambling problem?'”

Worcester played host to “Using Research to Rewrite the Playbook” Tuesday. The conference was a discussion on all things gambling, with a special focus on sports wagering. 

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission reported that in March bettors in the state wagered more than $650 million. Numbers as high as those are why a meeting like this is of high importance.

“We have an obligation as regulators to ensure that people are aware of the risks, right,” said the commission’s interim chair, Jordan Maynard. “We did not pass the legislation, right? What we do is implement the legislation, and so the way we look at it is you have to maximize the benefits and minimize the harms to the commonwealth, right?”

The National Council on Problem Gaming says roughly 2.5 million Americans have a severe gaming problem, with another five to eight million having mild problems. A problem gambler whose behavior is damaging to their daily life or career in a number of ways, mild problems are defined by having issues in one way as opposed to a full criteria.

One of the benefits of legalized sports betting thus far has been getting it away from illegal, underground situations.

“Regulated industry allows for protections to be in place that didn’t exist before,” said Maynard. “Let me give you an example: we make sure that credit cards aren’t used to sports wagering in the commonwealth, right? No one is getting harassed or chased down by someone they owe money to.”

With the skyrocketing popularity of sports betting, experts say communication is the key to helping those who may have an addiction. So, the hope is to meet on this issue annually. 

“We’re again trying to be innovative and thoughtful about how we approach people through new messaging through digital marketing, through tools and resources that they’re finding in places they would go anyway online,” Warner said. “And, that they can connect back to the resources we need them to avail themselves of.”

Maynard also said he believes the rollout has been great thus far, saying Massachusetts has had the benefit of watching other states do this. But, a study completed by the University of Massachusetts Public Health and Sciences shows in 2021, nearly 68% of respondents believed gambling was too widely available. The commission says this is something they hope to work on moving forward.