Rachel Volberg, a research professor of epidemiology who is the principal investigator for the Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts (SEIGMA) has been invited to serve on the Lancet Public Health Commission on Gambling for an 18-month term.
The international, multidisciplinary group was launched this year because of the need perceived by its organizers for “scientific inquiry and response to an urgent, neglected, understudied, and worsening public health predicament” created by the rapid development of the commercial gaming industry. The group is especially alarmed by the rapid development of online gaming, “due to a lack of support mechanisms for those most impacted by gambling harms.”
Volberg commented, “I am honored to have been invited to join the Lancet Public Health Commission on Gambling which represents a significant milestone in the recognition of gambling as a risk-based and health harming product.”
She added, “Our goal is to thoroughly consider the global issues related to gambling and to set forth internationally relevant recommendations that governments can adopt to protect populations from public health harms of gambling.”
