Study Shows Massachusetts Gamblers Lack Knowledge

According to a research carried out by a Canadian psychologist specializing in gaming habits, Massachusetts gamblers don’t actually know the foundations of the video games they’re enjoying.

Dr. Richard Wood carried out a research with 1,500 gamblers which have performed at a on line casino within the final 12 months. He used a web-based survey and their solutions to formulate “positive play scores” from questions on private duty, playing literacy, honesty and management and pre-commitment. He offered the outcomes to state regulators, based on a report from local media.

His outcomes revealed that Massachusetts gamblers scored comparatively common on the non-public duty metric, in addition to honesty and management and pre-commitment, which is a optimistic signal because it means drawback gamblers are a rarity within the group.

But when it got here to playing literacy, solely 37.5% of the group had excessive scores in that space. 34.4% scored within the medium vary, whereas 28.1 % a low playing literacy.

Wood stated that whereas the numbers have been comparatively near its American counterparts, the Canadian physician claimed that gamblers in his residence nation sometimes scored greater on the take a look at. He stated that “Canada and Scandinavia are really the kind of leaders in terms of responsible gambling.”

Wood advisable that regulators take into consideration altering the verbiage utilized in accountable playing adverts and literature. Instead of utilizing the phrase “responsible gambling,” use a phrase like “saving your bankroll” as a substitute. The former phrase provides drawback gamblers a false sense of safety as a result of they suppose it doesn’t apply to them and that they gamble responsibly.

He stated that you simply need to make everybody conform to at least one thought, as a substitute of separating the inhabitants into classes of gamblers.

“When you communicate to people what the majority of other people are doing, they can be very persuaded,” stated Wood. “People… don’t want to stand out too much. They want to conform… so this can be a very powerful, persuasive way to get players to change their attitudes and behaviors.”

Massachusetts was one of many states that started easing restrictions on brick-and-mortar casinos after Gov. Charlie Baker allowed the state’s three casinos return to 24-hour operations on the finish of January. It was additionally one of many slew of states that filed a invoice to legalize sports activities betting within the 2021 legislative session.