The Massachusetts’, also known as the Bay State, casino industry has been performing well of late. This performance has pleased the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGA).
The Bay State hosts many casinos and slot parlors. Reports state that its casinos generated more than $1 billion gross gaming revenue tax in the past decade. Even so, the MGA has realized that it needs to focus on clients’ safety.
The Commission Believes That Uncontrolled Advertisement Can Promote Problem Gambling
The MGA recently conducted a study about problem gambling’s relationship with casino advertisement. It discovered that problem gambling is a pressing issue in Massachusetts today, but it isn’t mainly because of the state having many gaming options. Instead, it is based on how casino operators advertise their products and services.
Marie-Claire Flores Pajot, a research manager, and several other researchers cited in the six-year problem gambling study. They attributed the increasing media attention and publicity to gambling as a leading reason why problem betting has increased in Massachusetts.
This insight is important to the MGA as some of its members are researching some of the causes of gambling addiction and the rules that they can draft to reduce it. Besides, the commission is currently under a lot of pressure to legalize sports betting in the state.
Still, the MGA’s main interest is protecting people who are susceptible to problem betting and those who are below the legal gaming age. It knows that some men of low social-economic status are more prone to getting addicted to gambling. This is likely to worsen if the state allows sports betting at the same scale that other states have legalized it.
Cathy Judd-Stein, MGA chairwoman, acknowledged that sports gambling is directly linked to the “escalation of betting advertisement” that would need to be addressed in all future betting frameworks. The MGA further added that betting advertisement isn’t the sole problem. Still, many casino operators currently have pervasive practices to push betting messages, and the commission is struggling to regulate them.
Sports Gambling Legalization Needs to Take Notice
Today, various television channels discuss gambling. Also, it is present in physical spaces like billboards. The MGA censured instances in which advertisements don’t point out gambling’s risks.
The MGA published a statement saying that the Bay State’s casino industry looks like it is a free market on the surface. But, betting isn’t a risk-free activity. Thus, commissioners might examine various measures to regulate and contain betting advertisement in Massachusetts by its licenses and parent casino companies to reduce problem gambling.
The Bay State has clear rules that each casino operator needs to follow before they apply for a gaming license. It currently has three popular gambling properties that don’t sign underage players.
Still, casino advertisement is proliferating in the state and raising questions on how it can allow sports gambling for bettors to wager responsibly in a safe environment. Charlie Baker, Massachusetts Governor, has been advocating the legalization of sports betting. Judd-Stein stated that any sports gambling framework’s rollout requires tough rules on how gaming advertisement will take place.
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