Milestones

• Secured legislation to provide funding from state gambling revenue to address problem gambling
• Established Helpline for callers seeking help with gambling problems

• Secured legislation requiring posting of notices at all state gambling sites with the Council Helpline number

• Designed and implemented an annual professional education course, Understanding, Assessing and Treating Compulsive Gambling, offering 60 continuing education units (CEUs) toward certification as a compulsive gambling counselor

• Established and implemented a regional New England Conference on Problem Gambling – ongoing for eight years
  
• Together with the Minnesota Council on Compulsive Gambling, Inc. and Harvard Medical School, Division on Addictions, the Mass. Council sponsored a Think Tank on compulsive gambling entitled, North American Think Tank of Youth Gambling Issues: A Blueprint for Responsible Public Policy in the Management of Compulsive Gambling

• Developed The WAGER, a weekly gambling research publication in conjunction with Harvard Medical School / Division on Addictions

• Together with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Harvard Medical School, Division on Addictions, the Mass. Council sponsored a Think Tank on compulsive gambling entitled, State-Funded Gambling Treatment Programs

• Created guidebook, Your First Step to Change, for callers unable to utilize traditional self-help or treatment resources

• Developed evidence-based practice guidelines for clinicians treating compulsive gambling

• Held the 2004 Massachusetts Conference on Gambling Problems: Towards Evidence-Based Treatment
  
• Revamped Council Website
• Developed Council’s first Annual Report
• Governor Romney proclaimed Problem Gambling Awareness Week in Massachusetts

2005

• Held the 2005 Massachusetts Conference on Gambling Problems: Gambling,Addiction and Society: Exploring the Relationships
• Launched premier electronic newsletter, which was sent to 1,500 people
  
• Conducted a statewide survey to measure public awareness and attitudes toward gambling disorders.

2006

• Held the 2006 Massachusetts Conference on Gambling Problems: Community, Clinical and Personal Approaches
• Recordednearly 100,000 visits to its website~an average of 265 visits per day
• Introduced online registration forthe conference and trainings

2007

• Held the 2007 Massachusetts Conference on Gambling Problems: Fueling the Fire: Using Passion to Ignite Change in Gambling Behavior
• Launched its Prevention Initiative
• Participated in the Congressional Forum on Gambling: Critical Issues in Prevention and Public Awareness, which took place in Washington D.C.
• Began offering the Massachusetts Problem Gambling Specialist (MA-PGS) Certificate
• Launched a new website for parents of young adultswww.financialfirststeps.org
• Introduced its Asian Initiative and formedthe Asian OutreachCommittee

2008

• Developed and launched a Prevention Resource Library online
• Unveiled a comprehensive prevention of problem gambling plan
• Initiated an older adult peer-to-peer training
• Translated the "Your First Step to Change" self-help guidebook into Chinese, Vietnamese and Khmer
• Produced an informational video about problem gambling with subtitles in Chinese, Vietnamese and Khmer, to air on Sunshine Travel buses en route to Mohegan Sun Casino from 10 Massachusetts locations
• Held the 2008 Conference on Gambling Problems entitled, “Gambling Disorders in the Commonwealth: Honoring Past Achievements, Recognizing Present Accomplishments, and Looking to the Future”
• Hosted in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Abuse Services (DPH/BSAS), the Council conducted a series of Listening Sessions to help guide problem gambling services in Mass. Representatives from the problem gambling field met to gather feedback and data on best practices. Areas discussed included problem gambling treatment, prevention, and systems of care.
• The first Thomas N. Cummings research fellowship was awarded in 2008 in conjunction with the Division on Addictions Cambridge Health Alliance, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School.
  
  

Other Mass. Council Milestones

• The Mass. Council has advocated for treatment for problem gamblers that has resulted in a progression of treatment availability in Massachusetts from one site in 1987 to three sites in 1995 to 17 sites in 1998 to the development of a plan in 2003 that will lead to the integration of gambling treatment throughout the substance abuse delivery system.
  
  
• Since 1987, the Council has answered 36,305 calls and referred more than 28,490 people to treatment services.
  
  
• Over the years, the Massachusetts council on Compulsive Gambling has produced and distributed materials targeted to special populations including youth, elderly and minority communities.
  
  
• Over the past 26 years, the Mass. Council has generated and contributed to more than 1,700 media stories on problem gambling.