Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) Files Lawsuit to Compel Massachusetts Gaming Commission to Collect Gambling Data, Share with Researchers

Anonymized customer data collection is mandated under Massachusetts law, yet since creation of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission more than a decade ago, no data has been collected or shared

BOSTON, Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) today announced that it has filed a lawsuit asking the Massachusetts Superior Court to issue a Mandamus Order against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission citing the Commission’s failure to meet its obligations under Section 97 of the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act.

Under Section 97 of the Expanded Gaming Act, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is required to collect behavioral data from casino operators and share anonymized customer data with researchers. This data is essential for analyzing what casino practices are causing harm, who is being harmed, and what the casinos and the Commission can do to reduce problem gambling.

The Gaming Commission has been subject to the legal requirement to collect this data since its formation in 2011. Now, more than a decade later, the Commission has yet to collect a single piece of data from any licensee or make any data available to researchers. A Court order would require the Commission to start collecting the data it has been required to collect since 2011.

PHAI President and Northeastern University Distinguished Professor of Law, Richard Daynard, said: “Not only should this casino data have been made available years ago, but this is exactly the kind of data requirement that should be imposed on sports gambling, which has exploded here in the past 20 months. At PHAI, we look forward to working with the Massachusetts legislature to ensure that a similar statutory obligation is imposed on sports gambling operators here in the Commonwealth.”

PHAI Executive Director, Mark Gottlieb: “The requirement for the Gaming Commission to make this important research data available has been in place since the day the Commission was created more than a decade ago. All of our casinos have been operating for half a decade and only now–after two years of nudging from PHAI–the Commission finally claims to be getting closer to meeting its obligations.”

“As a researcher exploring the public health impact of gambling, I know that anonymous player data has the potential to give us ways of reducing the harm that casino products can cause” added Dr. Harry Levant, PHAI Director of Gambling Policy. “The lessons that this data might teach us would be important to better regulate gambling in Massachusetts and wherever these casino games are available.”

The court complaint filed by PHAI attorneys Andrew Rainer and Jacob Wolk points out that Massachusetts’ data-collection requirement “represents a first-in-the-nation commitment to compile critical data about how gambling customers are put at-risk for harm” and charges that the Commission “has failed to comply with its unambiguous statutory obligation to collect this data from the casinos and provide it qualified researchers.”

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission will now have 20 days to file a response to the lawsuit, explaining why a Mandamus Order should not be issued.

PHAI is well known for its work, both nationally and in Massachusetts, in addressing the public health consequences of problem gambling.  In December, 2023, PHAI’s Center for Public Health Litigation filed a class action suit against DraftKings in Massachusetts to curb alleged false advertising and unfair and deceptive marketing practices. The lawsuit received national attention, including on 60 Minutes news program. In August, a judge in Massachusetts denied DraftKings motion to dismiss, allowing the litigation to move forward.

PHAI was also instrumental in the September 2024 introduction of the SAFE Bet Act, the first federal legislative initiative to address the vast public health implications of mobile sports betting since its legalization in 2018.

About The Public Health Advocacy Institute

The Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) is a non-profit legal research center focused on public health law located at Northeastern University School of Law. In 2014, PHAI formed the Center for Public Health Litigation, a nonprofit law firm, which uses the civil justice system to improve public health by focusing on litigation targeting tobacco industry products, unhealthy foods, deceptive health marketing, and deceptive gambling practices.

To learn more about PHAI, visit phai.org.

SOURCE Public Health Advocacy Institute

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