Problem gaming has not increased in the area since the MGM Springfield became the second casino to open in Massachusetts in August 2018.
A report was issued last week by the University of Massachusetts that looks at the impacts of the casino two years after it opened. Called the “Impact of MGM Springfield on Gambling Attitudes, Participation and Problem Gambling,” it reports that the region and city of Springfield realized economic benefits of a casino resort with a concurrent increase in problem gambling.
Rachel Volberg, principal investigator of the SEIGMA study wrote the Daily Hampshire Gazette, “We were somewhat surprised at the lack of change in the rate of problem gambling in the local area, although that finding certainly made sense when we took into account the likely long-term exposure to casino gambling due to the casinos that have been operating in Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York for over 20 years.” She added, “Lengthy exposure means harmful effects may have abated over time, even in a population that has experienced recent local expansion.”
The findings were released during a public webinar titled “Springfield’s Two Years as a Casino Host: Looking Back and Looking Forward.” The executive summary of the report said “there was no change in the prevalence of at-risk and problem gambling between 2015 and 2019 among residents of Springfield and surrounding communities.”
The studies are funded by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, something that was required by the 2011 law that expanded gaming in the Bay State. The MGC has given a grant of $1 million to SEIGMA to continue the student for another three years.
Voberg praised the MGM Springfield for “hiring locally, and they hired quite a diverse workforce with a significant number of people who had been unemployed or underemployed previously.”
The report also noted that the casino created $356.9 million in new personal income and $974.4 million in new output during that first year. Of that, $640.1 million was added to the state’s economy.
In 2019, before the arrival of the pandemic, the casino created 2,538 jobs and paid out $85.2 million in salaries. It also supported a total of 6,287 jobs. It paid $110.1 million to vendors and $101.5 million in taxes.
Nearly two thirds of visitors came from the Bay State, with 41.5 percent coming from the city of Springfield and nearby communities.
All of those figures are somewhat irrelevant in the current climate of the pandemic, where the casino is operating at one-third capacity. Still it managed to accrue $18.46 million in gross revenue in August, compared to $20.97 million the year before.
MGM released a statement after the presentation of the SEIGMA report to the MGC last week. “Today’s SEIGMA presentation reaffirms the significant positive economic impact MGM Springfield has had on the City and region. From day one, we have been focused on repatriating out-of-state gaming revenue, providing good jobs to local residents, and generating new spending and investment beyond our resort. The initial data clearly demonstrates that we have lived up to these commitments and given people another reason to rediscover downtown Springfield. We look forward to reviewing the full study once it is released and future SEIGMA research that reflects our evolving market in the wake of COVID-19.”
