MGC posts Request for Information for Casino Player Data Anonymization and Linkage
- September 26, 2024
- by Connor Donahue
- 0 comments
The Expanded Gaming Act was passed with a provision requiring licensed casino operators to supply the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) with anonymized customer tracking data from loyalty programs for research purposes. In turn, the MGC must contract with a research entity to further anonymize this data and make it available to qualified researchers. This data will be used to improve the understanding of gambling addiction development and progression, develop evidence-based harm minimization strategies, and create evidence-based systems to monitor, detect, and intervene in high-risk gambling.
Building a system to anonymize, transmit, and link casino player data and make it accessible to qualified researchers requires thoughtful consideration of ethics, law, privacy, security, and technical considerations. This also includes ensuring an open, equitable, and transparent process for identifying partners with whom to engage in this work.
As part of this initiative, the commission has posted a Request for Information (RFI) for Casino Player Data Anonymization and Linkage on COMMBUYS. This RFI aims to gather information on existing software that allows for on-site data anonymization, secure transmission, and linkage of casino player data across operators in a way that enables qualified researchers to analyze this data. Eligible respondents include nonprofit, local, state, or federal government organizations (or those able to partner with such entities) located or headquartered in the United States. They must have experience with software solutions for data anonymization, secure transmission, and linkage of casino/gaming player data across operators for research analysis. Additionally, they should have experience working with gaming regulators and operators on anonymizing and linking casino player data and must have servers located in the United States.