Regulators for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission signaled their intention to look into the advertising practices of the gaming industry in the state—as efforts increase to regulate sports betting.
Regulators highlighted a “significant increase” in people with gambling addictions that headed back to the casino following the opening of MGM Springfield in 2018 during a March meeting. Researchers for the Commission noted the publicity surrounding the opening was more harmful to problem gamblers who are more likely to be “influenced by gambling promotions and advertisements,” State House News Service.
“That increased publicity and media attention about gambling aligned with those elevated rates of problem gambling, indicating that those relapses in problem gambling were not likely due to the physical availability to gamble—because the casino was no open—but rather due to the increased publicity and media attention in advance of the opening of the casino,” said Research Manager Marie-Claire Flores Pajot, in reference to a finding in a six-year-long study in Massachusetts on problem gambling, State House News Service reported.
Massachusetts legalized casino gaming in the state in 2011. Prior to the MGM’s new property, the only casino open for gaming was the Plainridge Park Casino slots parlor in Plainridge.
Regulators, though it was only one option, were taken by the notion of adopting regulations for gambling ads similar to those in place for marijuana companies in the state. That move would prohibit gaming operators from advertising on “television, radio, the internet, mobile applications, social media, other electronic communications, billboards, other outdoor advertising, or in print publications,” unless 85 percent of the audience was expected to be 21 years of age or older, State House News Service reported. The assessment of the percentage would be based on audience composition data.
No action was taken by the Commission at the March meeting related to advertising. Next steps likely are a public comment period on the white paper (data) presented at the March meeting as the Commission prepares for the potential for sports betting to be legalized in the state.
