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Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling serves as a leader in providing problem gambling education, trainings, and events. The council was founded in 1983 by Thomas N. Cummings and a small group of others affected by gambling problems who identified a need for statewide problem-gambling services. It is a private, non-profit health agency dedicated to reducing the social, financial and emotional costs of problem gambling. It is a neutral party, so it is neither for nor against gambling.

History
The Council was founded in 1983 by Thomas N. Cummings and a small group of others affected by gambling problems who identified a need for statewide problem-gambling services. Tom served as Executive Director until January of 1998. Due to Tom’s leadership, vision, and perseverance, the Council has been helping compulsive gamblers and their families since 1987 when the Council gained funding from the state gambling revenue. In that year the Council also set up a helpline for callers with gambling problems.

The Council has continued to hit major milestones since then:

(Insert timeline from website here, including 2012 funding)

Services and Programs
The Council provides a variety of informative material free to the public. (insert citation linking to information page of website)

Education & Training
Representatives from the Council make presentations at schools, businesses, non-profits, and consult on problem gambling policy development and review. They also lead an annual conference, regional trainings, and online trainings. Trainings increase current substance abuse and mental health clinicians’ skills in clinical interventions, addictions treatment, and case management for people experiencing gambling disorders.

Advocacy
The Council works towards responsible public policy guidelines for responsible state supported gambling. It advocates for services for problem gamblers, their families, and the greater community.

It has already successfully achieved many goals towards this purpose, starting with the 1987 legislation that provided funding for the Council. In 1987 there was only 1 treatment site available for those affected by problem gambling, but as of 2009 there were 10 sites. The Council formed the Massachusetts Partnership for Responsible Gambling. It also worked with the National council on Problem Gambling to advocate for the Comprehensive Problem Gambling Act of 2009 with federal legislative offices and key Massachusetts stakeholders.

Referral/Helpline
Set up 1987, the helpline provides live confidential and anonymous caller responses 24/7. Council staff members are equipped to respond empathetically and offer information and referrals for self-help, treatment providers and other community resources to people experiencing problems with gambling. They are completely free and are offered in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Khmer, and Spanish.

Prevention
The Council started really focusing on prevention initiatives in 2007. It focuses on raising awareness and building the capacity of already existing prevention infrastructure. It also brings together community, faith, and educational institutions to strengthen the prevention effort. There are six main areas that the Council focuses on:

• Information Dissemination - Creates materials for the purpose of informing and raising awareness about problem gambling; such as posters, brochures and public service announcements. • Prevention Education - Teaches prevention professionals, educators and others so that they are able to add the prevention of problem gambling to their toolboxes. • Supporting Alternative Activities - Challenges community event organizers to choose social activities and fundraisers that do not promote problematic or illegal gambling. • Supporting Community-Based Processes - Utilizes multi-agency activities & inter-agency coordination to incorporate problem gambling prevention in the development of healthy communities. • Environmental Approaches - Supports and encourages community-wide approaches such as gambling policy development in schools and universities, as well as compliance with laws regarding legalized gambling. • Problem Identification and Referral - Creates protocols and procedures that assist individuals involved in problematic gambling to seek appropriate help. The Council has further identified a number of special populations: African American and Latino Populations - While more research is needed in this area, it is believed that African Americans and Latinos are at higher risk of having issues with problem gambling. One way the Council is helping these populations is through a Spanish language option for Gamblers Anonymous meetings. Asian Americans -Research has conclusively shown that Asian Americans have a higher rate of problem gambling than the general population, especially recent immigrants. As such, they have an Asian Community Program Specialist to reach out to the Asian communities, as well as translating their website into Chinese. Older Adults -Older adults are one of the fastest growing populations participating in gambling activities. The Council has developed a set of materials and programs specifically targeted at older populations. It has also worked with the Massachusetts Councils on Aging. Corrections -As gambling can act as a trigger for crime, the Council has developed a brochure for those being released from county corrections facilities in Massachusetts, as well as probation and parole offices. Youth -The youth population has one of the highest prevalence rates of problem gambling. The Council has the “Gambling Is Not Magic Show” to educate children on the issues surrounding gambling and to teach them that they should not treat gambling as a game through which you magically gain money. It is geared specifically to be effective for 3rd-12th grades. They have also developed the program “Creative Activities for Probability and Statistics (CAPS) in conjunction with the North Brookfield Youth Center. College Students - The Council partners with a number of colleges and universities through Massachusetts to help develop gambling procedures, policies, and prevention. They also have materials for college Resident Assistants and radio Public Service Announcements.