Responsible gaming research costs money, and MGM Resorts International is willing to pay for it.
The gaming giant announced it has donated $360,000 to the International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG), a US-based organization that works toward curbing problem gambling through research and educational programs.
MGM’s donation will help fund a pair of two-year ICRG research projects, a company statement noted.
What is the ICRG?
The ICRG is based in Massachusetts and has received almost $40 million in donations from stakeholders since its inception in 1996.
The ICRG’s top donors are businesses and groups involved in gaming:
- MGM International
- Bally’s Corp.
- Caesars Foundation
- San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
- Sands, Inc.
The organization is led by gambling researchers and gaming stakeholders, including Wynn Resorts’ Phil Satre and Alan M. Feldman, a fellow at the UNLV International Gaming Institute.
Though the ICRG’s leadership and funding have ties to the gaming industry, the group maintains a firewall between its gaming donors and research projects.
The ICRG accepts research proposals only after those proposals go through a six-step vetting process that ensures gaming operators don’t dictate the outcome of research and grand decisions.
ICRG President Artuhur Paikowsky said in an MGM Resorts International news release about the donation:
“We salute MGM Resorts for supporting our research that will answer the many questions we have about the impact of gender on gambling disorder and address the health risks of casino employees. The ICRG is very grateful for the company’s long-standing and continuing support of the ICRG.”
ICRG’s research initiatives
BetMGM and ICRG did not reveal which research projects the gaming operator’s money will fund. That said, most of the ICRG’s recent research projects have involved the practical implications of gambling risks:
- Gambling and drinking patterns among casino employees
- Intervention for college student gambling
- Examining if the genetic propensity for problem gambling has increased
- The rate of pathological gambling in the US
- College alcohol and gambling
- Gambling in youths transitioning from adolescence to adulthood
MGM Resorts Senior Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer Stephen Martin said: “These research projects are critical to the continued success of the industry and are in the best interest of our guests, company, employees, and the communities where we operate.
We’re pleased to continue our financial support of the ICRG and its critical work around responsible gaming best practices.”
The ICRG also runs a researched-backed gambling support website for college students, CollegeGambling.org. The site recently underwent an overhaul that modernized it.