The Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) has launched a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Gaming agency, claiming that the agency failed to satisfy a major gaming statistics requirement under the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act. The lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts Superior Court, seeks a Mandamus Order requiring the Commission to gather and disclose behavioral data from state casino operators.
According to the lawsuit, the Gaming Commission failed to meet its obligations under Section 97 of the Expanded Gaming Act, which requires it to collect anonymized consumer data from casino operators. This data is meant to assist academics understand the effects of casino operations, identify at-risk groups, and guide problem gambling prevention strategies.
Richard Daynard, PHAI President and Northeastern University law professor, criticized the Commission’s inaction, saying, “Not only should this casino data have been made available years ago, but this is exactly the kind of data requirement that should be imposed on sports gambling, which has exploded here in the past 20 months.” Daynard also stated that PHAI intends to collaborate with Massachusetts lawmakers to develop comparable regulations for the sports betting industry.
Since 2011, Section 97 has obliged the Commission to gather data on player behavior; however, no data has been collected or shared to academics. The lawsuit claims that after nearly two years of PHAI’s pleading, the Commission has made little headway in achieving this legal need. If the court issues a Mandamus Order, the Commission will be legally obligated to commence data gathering.
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PHAI’s Executive Director, Mark Gottlieb, expressed irritation with the delay: “The requirement for the Gaming Commission to make this important research data available has been in place since the Commission’s inception more than a decade ago.” All of our casinos have been open for half a decade, and only now, after two years of nudges from PHAI, does the Commission claim to be moving closer to achieving its commitments.
Dr. Harry Levant, PHAI’s Director of Gambling Policy, emphasized the public health significance of this information. He noted that the availability of anonymised player data might bring useful insights into minimizing gambling-related damage, as well as assist regulatory policies in Massachusetts and other jurisdictions.
The court petition, coordinated by PHAI attorneys Andrew Rainer and Jacob Wolk, claims that Massachusetts’ data-collection obligation is a ground-breaking strategy to measuring and reducing gambling-related harm. The action claims that the Gaming Commission has failed to meet its clear statutory requirement to gather this data from casinos and offer it to competent academics.
The Commission has 20 days to reply to the case, explaining why a Mandamus Order should not be granted.
This is not the first time the PHAI has pursued public health lawsuits over compulsive gambling. In December 2023, the PHAI Center for Public Health Litigation filed a class-action lawsuit against DraftKings for claimed fraudulent advertising tactics. The case received national attention, with coverage from major media outlets including 60 Minutes. In August, a Massachusetts court dismissed DraftKings’ move to dismiss, letting the lawsuit to continue.
Regarding the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s inactivity in acquiring data from gamblers, it should be noted that the regulator announced earlier this month that it will finally go forward with the long-stalled collection initiative.
Gaming authorities stated that they overcame various obstacles in their efforts to go forward with data gathering over the previous 13 years, including an initial wait until all casinos were operating, structural changes at the Commission, and pandemic-related delays.
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