Massachusetts launched GameSense at the state’s first slots parlor, Plainridge Park Casino, in 2015. Vander Linden brought GameSense to Massachusetts from Canada, where it had been developed by the British Columbia Lottery Commission. “There’s a lot of uncharted territory here,” said Mark Vander Linden, who runs the state Gaming Commission's responsible gaming and research division. Research shows that 2% of the population in Massachusetts has serious gambling addiction - interfering with finances, relationships, mental health - and another 8% is at high risk.Īnd there’s no national office designated to address those problems the way there is for other addictions, which means every state has to figure out a plan on its own. As a GameSense advisor, she’s charged with helping people to play “responsibly.” That means not judging people for their gambling habits but rather teaching them the real (and low) odds of winning a jackpot - and “meeting people where they’re at.” “And I knew - I knew - I just took her Social Security. “This lady must have been 80-something years old,” Gabrila said.

That happened in Gabrila’s first week, when an elderly woman lost her money at one of the tables. She enjoyed the work, but occasionally felt guilty for persuading customers to keep gambling. Like many of her colleagues, Gabrila came from the casino industry she spent about 20 years as a dealer for table games like blackjack and roulette, and later a floor manager. You know, I spent more than I meant to.’ ‘Oh, yeah? Do you normally try to set a budget?’ And we'll go from there.” “Then I might come up and say, ‘Hey, how are you doing today? Doing good today?’ ‘Oh, no. “If I'm walking by and somebody makes eye contact, actually looks up from the machine, we say, ‘Hi.’” Gabrila said. The state’s regulatory body, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, funds the program’s $3 million annual budget as part of its mandate to help problem gamblers.Įvery day, one or two GameSense advisors, as they’re called, are meant to cruise the casino floor and look out for people in trouble. Gabrila, 47, works for a program called GameSense, run by the nonprofit Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health. NEPM Amy Gabrila works as an advisor for the state-funded GameSense program at MGM Springfield.

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