Study: Gambling Harm on the Rise in Massachusetts
UMass Amherst research shows growing sports betting harm in Massachusetts, with rising problem gambling rates and shifting public perception.
A new UMass Amherst study reveals increased gambling-related harm in Massachusetts, with more residents viewing betting as harmful and problem gambling rates continuing to rise.
Charlotte Capewell • Contributor Aug 10, 2025 • 09:00 ET • 3 min read- New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggests increasing harm from sports betting.
- The percentage of gamblers who believe gambling causes more harm than benefit increased to 56% by fall 2024.
- Participation in illegal gambling has dropped from 13.5% of respondents in 2022 to 8.3% in fall 2024.
The findings are based on two online surveys conducted by the Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts (SEIGMA) team. They build on annual surveys from 2022 and 2023, offering an early look at how legalized Massachusetts sports betting, introduced in early 2023, affects frequent gamblers.
“Between 2022 and 2023, we saw a decline in the proportion of monthly gamblers who believed that all types of gambling should be legal and a small increase in the proportion who believed that all types of gambling should be illegal,” said Rachel Volberg, an epidemiology researcher and principal investigator for SEIGMA.
The percentage of monthly gamblers who believe gambling causes more harm than benefit increased from 48% in 2022 to 56% by fall 2024.
Participation in legal sports betting also increased, from 16.7% in 2022 to 32.6% in 2024. The use of illegal platforms dropped from 2022 to 2024, from 13.5% to 8.3%. However, the 2024 figure increased from the low of 6.8% hit in 2023.
Problem gambling rates rose from 20.9% in 2022 to 28% in 2024, with financial issues related to gambling climbing from 18% to 25% and family-related harms increasing from 13.9% to 27.2%.
“These indicators from the monthly gamblers in the online panels are not going in the right direction, which is definitely a concern when considering the impacts of legalized sports betting on the population at large,” Volberg commented.
Massachusetts fines DraftKings $450,000 for credit card betting violations
The report follows the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) fining DraftKings $450,000 for allowing customers to fund sports betting accounts with credit cards, violating the state’s 2022 sports betting law.
According to the decision, DraftKings accepted over $83,000 in prohibited deposits across three incidents in 2023 and 2024. The company self-reported each violation, initially blaming an internal miscommunication before discovering that a software fix intended to prevent the issue had failed to do so.
The commission ordered DraftKings to refund the $83,000 to 218 affected customers and hire an independent auditor to review all transactions between February 2023 and its March 2023 market launch.
Massachusetts reports lowest sports betting handle of year in June
As problem gambling is seemingly on the rise in Massachusetts, the state also reported $525.5 million in sports betting handle for June, the state’s lowest monthly total since August 2024 and down from $645.7 million in May.
Revenue also fell from $79.9 million to $61.6 million, remaining well above the $41.1 million reported in June 2024. DraftKings maintained its dominant position, accounting for $266.1 million in handle, more than 50% of the market, whereas FanDuel followed with $139 million.
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