A study just completed by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission show that the introduction of gaming in the Bay State hasn’t led to an increase in gaming addiction or other social ills sometimes associated with casinos.
That’s the conclusion of “Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts” aka SEIGMA, which included data up until July of this year.
“At the state level, there is no compelling evidence that negative impacts related to problem gambling have increased as a result of casino introduction,” lead researcher Rachel Volberg announced.
Although the state’s first casino, Plainridge Park, opened in 2015, admissions for treatment for problem gambling declined during the same period. At the same time there was no increase in crime, divorces, restraining orders, child welfare cases or personal bankruptcy filings in the state.
This ongoing study of the effects of gaming on the social structures of the state was mandated by the legislation that authorized the three casinos and one slots parlor. It is funded from taxes collected from gaming and has been touted as the first of its kind in the world.
It will continue to measure the effects of gaming on the state created by the opening in August of the MGM Springfield and the planned opening of the Encore Boston Harbor next June. Volberg added “This is the type of report we are going to produce over the next several years as we look at the impact of MGM in Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor.”
The just-released SEIGMA report examined socio-economic factors on surrounding areas of the Plainridge Park casino. Volberg’s team found “no evidence that the introduction of casino gambling has had any impact on crime rates.”
There was, however an increase in credit card fraud, lost property, reports of suspicious activity and traffic complaints in the city of Plainville that the report attributed to the casino.
SEIGMA also followed the distribution of the $66.4 million in taxes raised at the Plainville casino in 2017. It uses the same formula as other forms of taxation in the state.
“The economic and fiscal impacts have been positive at the regional level,” added Volberg, noting construction jobs and permanent jobs. For example, Penn National spent $150 million in construction building Plainridge Park, and 86 percent was spent inside the state. In 2017 the casino generated $185 million in revenue, of which 95 percent was from gaming.
The MGM Springfield spent almost $1 billion on construction. When it is completed the Encore Boston Harbor will have spent an estimated $2.5 billion, considered to be the largest non-government building project in the history of the state.
Some patrons were from Plainville itself (11.4 percent) but about two-thirds came from the rest of the state, while 19.2 percent crossed state lines to play. That last statistic accounts for “recaptured revenue,” which is revenue that the state wouldn’t have gotten if patrons were playing slot machines somewhere outside of the Bay State.
Plainridge Park’s work force comes primarily from the region, with 28.7 percent from out of the state.
Mark Melnik, director of economic and public policy research at the UMass Donahue Institute, told the commissioners, “It is the goal of our research to provide a deep analysis of all of the various elements related to expanded gaming and to help inform the public and policy makers on this important and emerging sector in the Massachusetts economy.”
Interim MGC Chairman Gayle Cameron noted that the study is far more than “anecdotal stories” on the impacts. “When we open these casinos and started this process, there were so many anecdotal stories about the impact would be,” she said. “So, to have real-time information, I always think is very positive. Part of our mission is to really minimize the negative impacts here with gaming.”
It is probably inevitable that in a state that is adding casinos that the numbers of non-gamblers would decline, which it did: from 26 percent to 16 percent. At the same time, the percentage of recreational gamers increased from 63 to 71 percent. Persons considered problem gamblers increased from 2 to 3 percent. Those numbers remained unchanged in the area around Plainridge Park itself. The casino itself saw increased numbers of crimes such as fraud and lost property, but the city of Plainville did not. Instead, the number of property crimes declined in 2016-2017, compared to previous years.
Casinos have apparently also made converts among the public at large. For example, the percentages of those who feel that all forms of gaming should be illegal dropped from 12.8 percent to 5.5 percent. Persons supporting legalized gaming overall rose from 55 percent to 70 percent.
