The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies has been asked to participate in a peer review and advisory capacity to assist with a comprehensive economic and social impact study on the introduction of casino gambling in Massachusetts (USA).

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) recently commissioned a $3.65 million 3 to 6 year study that will investigate the social and economic impacts of introducing expanded gambling to a new governmental jurisdiction. The research is being performed by an interdisciplinary team led by world leading researcher Professor Rachel Volberg and co-principal investigators Professor Edward Stanek of the University of Massachusetts, Department of Public Health and Professor Robert Williams of the University of Lethbridge, Alberta.

The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies has been invited to assist the review team in study design, methodology, analytic approach adopted and the reporting of the results.  SACES was invited to participate on the basis that:

“as lead author of two of the very few gambling impact studies deemed to be ‘excellent’, we believe that you could provide the Commission with the best possible advice about the proposed study in Massachusetts”.

The work officially started towards the end of 2013 and is planned as a three-year project with three one-year extensions.  We are excited to be working with Rachel Volberg (who has researched gambling internationally for nearly thirty years) and her principal investigators given their extensive research history and the fact that this kind of study has never been done before in the history of legalized gambling.