According to a study by Amherst researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, without an increase in problem gambling, Plainidge Park Casino created job opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed, among other economic benefits.

Three new reports were filed Thursday with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in Plainville, part of the most in-depth and comprehensive investigation ever conducted into the impact of casino gambling introductions. The first report on social and economic impacts from 2013 to 2018 found positive effects, primarily from the only slot-holer in the state. The SEIGMA team summarized some of the findings in two fact sheets on traffic and public health impacts.

No change was detected in the rate of problem gambling, most likely due to the high rate of gambling among residents in the Plainville area at nearby casinos in Rhode Island and Connecticut, which have operated since the early 1990s.

The researchers also discussed the results of a 2017-2018 survey of slot holes' new employees and published an economic impact report covering the first four years of slot holes' operations.

With the opening of two large resort casinos, MGM Springfield in August 2018 and Encore Boston Harbor in June 2019, understanding the dynamic nature of the casino industry's economic impact is particularly important, says Tom Peak, senior research analyst at the UMass Donahue Institute, part of SEIGMA.

"When the Commonwealth decided to award casino operators gaming licenses, projections for employment, vendor spending, and state and local revenues were important considerations. So it's very important for the SEIGMA project to study this information and make it available to the public. Given the dynamic gaming market in the Northeast, how is the casino actually performing?"

Revenue at Plainidge Park rose 6.25% over the three-year run as the only casino in the state to $170 million in fiscal 2018, up from about $160 million in fiscal 2016. In fiscal 2019, revenue fell slightly to $169 million after the opening of MGM Springfield.

Although the number of visitors to Flanridge Park Casino has been decreasing every fiscal year, the average gaming gross revenue per sponsor has increased by 27%, driving the revenue increase. "While the economic impact of Flanridge Park Casino to date is clearly positive, the increase in spending per sponsor is somewhat concerning because it suggests that fewer individuals are spending more," says Rachel Volberg, senior investigator at SEIGMA Research and a research professor at the UMass Amherst School of Public Health Sciences.  슬롯