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Quick Facts




Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling
  • The Mass. Council was founded in 1983 by the late Thomas N. Cummings.
  • The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling is a private, non-profit health agency dedicated to reducing the social, financial and emotional costs of problem gambling.  The Council provides prevention, information, education, advocacy and referral services for problem gamblers, their loved ones and the greater community.
  • The Mass. Council has been instrumental in bringing the issue of problem gambling to the attention of the public and policymakers, offering resources to problem gamblers, their loved ones and concerned members of the community.
  • Started in 1987, the Mass. Council offers a toll-free Helpline (1-800-426-1234) which provides live confidential caller responses 24-hours a day, 7-days a week.
  • The Mass. Council neither opposes nor supports gambling. It recognizes that most people gamble for entertainment, and do so with minimal interruption to their lives. However, it also recognizes that there are those for whom gambling becomes extremely problematic.
  • The Mass. Council believes that a state, which sponsors, endorses, and promotes gambling needs to take responsibility for the problems related to that gambling.
Problem Gambling Services
  • Since 1987, the Massachusetts Legislature has made a commitment to responsible gambling-related public policy for the Commonwealth and ensured that funding from the Massachusetts State Lottery and the Massachusetts Racing Commission is allocated to provide problem gambling education and treatment services.  These funds are managed by the Department of Public Health / Bureau of Substance Abuse Services.  In addition, the Council accepts private donations and charitable trusts and bequests.
Problem Gambling in Massachusetts
  • Studies indicate that about 6% of Massachusetts’ general adult population has had some significant adverse effect from gambling in their lifetimes.  About 4% (or nearly 250,000 Massachusetts residents) have had a gambling problem within the past year. (Estimating the Prevalence of Disordered Gambling Behavior in the United States and Canada:  A Meta-Analysis (Howard J. Shaffer, Ph.D.; Matthew N. Hall; and Joni Vander Bilt, Harvard Medical School, Division on Addictions, 1997).