The Maryland legislature has commissioned a study to determine the impact of the state’s rapidly expanding casino industry on problem gambling among Marylanders.
The survey will take place next year, after the $1.3 billion MGM National Harbor, which is slated to open in December as the state’s sixth casino, has been operating for six months.
The survey, conducted by the Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling, will update research released in 2011 by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County that was designed to establish a baseline. That data was compiled from telephone surveys around the time the Hollywood Casino Perryville became Maryland’s first casino in 2010.
That study estimated that about 150,000 adult residents of the state—3.4 percent of those who had ever gambled—experienced moderate to severe difficulties stemming from their gambling. The number of “at-risk” gamblers was estimated at 397,900, or about 9 percent.
The casinos say they support the state’s efforts to encourage responsible gambling with programs that include a confidential phone line for referrals to local help groups or counselors. Also, under a voluntary exclusion program established in 2011, gamblers can ban themselves from casinos. The program has 1,207 participants.
The results of the new study are expected to be released by early 2018.
