In conclusion to Responsible Gaming Education Week from August 1^st – August 5^th, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) is pleased announce the latest enrollment numbers for the recently launched ‘PlayMyWay’ program, a responsible gaming initiative that provides casino patrons with a voluntary option to set a budget and track their play.  A first-of its-kind initiative in the United States, MGC launched this responsible gaming program in June 2016. Since that time, ‘PlayMyWay’ has attracted 3,216 enrollees at Plainridge Park Casino, about 7.4% of regular players at the facility. ‘PlayMyWay’ is the latest tool added to MGC’s wide-ranging and unique responsible gaming strategy known as GameSense.

Prior to the program’s launch, MGC designed a comprehensive outreach strategy to increase awareness of the ‘PlayMyWay’ (PMW) program, educate potential participants about the program’s existence and to encourage patrons to take advantage of the newly-offered budgeting tool.  The targeted campaign was developed to provide information to slot machine patrons about how to enroll in the voluntary electronic system that allows players to personalize their play by setting a budget before they begin gambling.

The branded, outreach campaign for PMW features the tag line, “The Smart Way to Track Your Play.” MGC partnered with the advertising firm, MORE Advertising, to develop the full brand concept including program logo and tag line as well as the associated marketing materials. The marketing collateral includes a variety of print elements and digital components including casino signage, brochures, rack cards, employee education documents, and other promotional materials that will be distributed and on display at Plainridge Park Casino. MGC also enlisted the support of the DigitalMass staff from the Massachusetts Office of Information Technology to develop a short animation to be used across social media channels and advertised on Facebook. In addition, GameSense Advisors who staff the GameSense Info Center at Plainridge Park Casino function as program ambassadors on-site. The complete collection of marketing creative is available here.

“It is our priority to ensure that a player always has the necessary information and resources available to make well-informed decisions on when to gamble, when to stop and how much to spend. Providing patrons with this knowledge is critical to advancing responsible gaming,” said Mark Vander Linden, MGC’s Director of Research and Responsible Gaming. “We proudly support innovative programs such as PlayMyWay and other key opportunities to engage in this important discussion such as Responsible Gaming Education Week.”

Responsible Gaming Education Week (RGEW) was developed by the American Gaming Association in 1998 to increase awareness of problem gambling among gaming industry employees and customers, and to promote responsible gaming nationwide.

In an effort to raise awareness for RGEW, MGC has partnered with the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling and Plainridge Park Casino to promote a week-long series of “PlayMyWay” – themed initiatives. These activities are intended to educate the public about responsible gaming and to highlight the resources available. Click here to read more about RGEW events that took place this week.

                            Responsible Gaming by the Numbers in Massachusetts

• 3,216 enrollees in the new PlayMyWay program
• 9,342 patron interactions with GameSense Advisors at Plainridge Park Casino
• 52 on average estimate of interactions between GameSense Advisors and Plainridge patrons each day.
• 1 Massachusetts is the only gaming jurisdiction in the US that requires on-site responsible gaming services
• 135 individuals on the voluntary self-exclusion list.
• The statute provides for a $15- to $20-million When fully endowed, this will be one-third of all the money spent on problem gambling in the entire country.

About GameSense

GameSense is an innovative and comprehensive Responsible Gaming strategy adopted by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission as part of its mission to encourage responsible play and mitigate problem gambling. GameSense combines recommendations on responsible gaming techniques with interactive tools and exhibits meant to engage patrons at Massachusetts casino gaming facilities and online at GameSenseMA.com.

Each gaming establishment is required by statute to provide on-site space (the GameSense Info Center) for player education. There, patrons can learn about myths associated with gambling, the odds of the games they are playing, take a break, and seek support from a GameSense Advisor. The Commission is working with casino operators to ensure that responsible gaming signage and information is available to direct patrons to the GameSense Info Center.

About MassGaming

The mission of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is to create a fair, transparent, and participatory process for implementing the expanded gaming law passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor in November, 2011. In creating that process, the Commission will strive to ensure that its decision-making and regulatory systems engender the confidence of the public and participants, and that they provide the greatest possible economic development benefits and revenues to the people of the Commonwealth, reduce to the maximum extent possible the potentially negative or unintended consequences of the new legislation, and allow an appropriate return on investment for gaming providers that assures the operation of casino-resorts of the highest quality. For more information on MGC, please visit MassGaming.com or connect and share on Twitter (@MassGamingComm) or Facebook www.facebook.com/MAGamingComm.