Rachel A. Volberg
Research Professor, School of Public Health & Health Sciences | University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA, UNITED STATES
Rachel Volberg is one of the world's leading experts on the social and economic aspects of gambling and problem gambling.
Expertise (4)
Societal Impacts of Gambling
Problem Gambling
Gambling
Economic Impact of Gambling
Biography
Rachel Volberg is one of the world's leading experts on gambling and problem gambling,. Her expertise has led to invitations to join research teams in New Zealand, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
She is the first researcher to receive funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health to study the prevalence of problem gambling in the general population.
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Education (3)
University of California, San Francisco: Ph.D., Sociology
University of California, San Diego: B.A., Sociology
Aiglon College, Chesières-Villars, Switzerland: B.C.E. (A level), Art History, Literature
Links (2)
Select Media Coverage (6)
Report: Encore Boston Harbor Adds Billions to the economy
Boston Herald online
2023-11-30
Rachel Volberg, research professor at UMass Amherst, says, “Over my 40 years of experience in the gambling research field, this is really the most detailed look that we’ve got of what the economic impacts of a new casino are.”
The state always wins when it comes to gambling, critics say
GBH tv
2023-06-09
“We are in the midst of one of the most explosive expansions of legalized gambling that the United States has seen in many, many years,” said Volberg. “So, you don't often hear about policymakers or anybody else really wanting to eliminate or reduce the number of gambling outlets.”
Since mobile sports betting recently became legal in Mass., advocates worry it could increase problem gambling
The Boston Globe online
2023-04-02
Researchers from UMass Amherst’s School of Public Health and Health Sciences say mobile sports betting, which recently became legal in Massachusetts, could draw in new groups of people who are vulnerable to its allure. “The younger you are when you start gambling, the more likely you are to develop a problem,”says research professor Rachel Volberg, who led a study on gambling for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
The $22 Billion Wager: DraftKings and Others Are Reaching for a Piece of the Sports-Gambling Prize.
Barron's online
2022-02-11
Rachel Volberg comments about the rise of online sports gambling and how difficult it is to find statistics on how many people are betting, and who might be getting into trouble doing it.
Nangle Arrest Highlights A Common Problem In Massachusetts — Compulsive Gambling
WGBH radio
2020-02-23
Dr. Rachel Volberg, a research professor at the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences, comments on the impacts of new casinos in Massachusetts on the prevalence of problem gambling.
Are Massachusetts casinos keeping gambling dollars in the state?
The Boston Globe
2019-09-12
Rachel Volberg, a professor in the UMass School of Public Health and Health Sciences, who is principal investigator of the study, said it’s too early to say whether the state’s full-service casinos will have a similar effect in keeping Massachusetts gambling dollars in-state.
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