"At the MGM Springfield in western Massachusetts, these workers, wearing green polos, stand outside their small office, right off the casino floor. Above them the sign reads, "GameSense," the state's signature program to curb problem gambling. A mounted screen cycles through messages such as "Keep sports betting fun. Set a budget and stick to it." The workers hand out free luggage tags and travel-size tissues in an effort to get people to stop and chat."
"If they succeed, they give customers brochures with the state's gambling helpline number and website. They can even enroll them in a program, called Play My Way, that allows customers to set monthly spending limits on how much they gamble. Outside the casinos, GameSense is marketed on social media and on sportsbook apps and websites. Meanwhile, the state's Department of Public Health puts its own moderation messages on buses and billboards."
State workers staff GameSense booths on casino floors and near sportsbooks to promote moderation and financial discipline amid slot machines and betting areas. They distribute small items, brochures with a gambling helpline and enrollment in the Play My Way program, which lets customers set monthly spending limits. GameSense messaging runs on social media, sportsbook apps and websites, and state Department of Public Health ads appear on buses and billboards. The program is funded by a surtax on gambling industry profits and evolved from basic odds brochures after Massachusetts opened its first casino in 2015 and expanded regulations as sports betting became widespread.
Read at www.npr.org
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