每一个州在准备首次冒险涉足赌场和博彩行业时，都要经过几个阶段，在马萨诸塞州，议员们在今年早些时候通过了博彩业扩张的法律，现在监管机构就在忙于准备应对可能发生的问题赌博激增问题。
监管机构已经开始把他们的注意力放在如何遏制问题赌博，基本可以确定问题赌博将随着合法赌博的增长而增长，议员们已经拨出的大笔的费用以便监管机构完成这项工作。
“最主要的优势是立法机构给了我们很大权限正面应对这个问题” 马萨诸塞州的博彩委员会主席斯蒂芬。克罗斯比表示“而且他们还给了我们去实施这项工作的资源”
克罗斯比一直积极应对抑制问题赌博的挑战，并且他认为委员会是对确保马萨诸塞州居民在染上毒瘾后能找到解决办法负有责任的。
“这个问题应该在立法机构设置的区域得到正确的解决” 克罗斯比负责任的说“这将是一个挑战，是一个严重的问题，不过我们有对策有办法，我们有时间和资源去努力尝试并解决它”
自从州长德瓦尔。帕特里克就任后，马萨诸塞州的议员们就在争论关于赌场度假村的问题，帕特里克致力于推动赌场度假村的规范立法，经过多年的努力，州长终于看到了他的努力结果，议员们在今年早些时候通过了一项庞大的博彩业扩张法案。
该法案的部分条款明确要求设置一个为新赌场制定规章制度的委员会，委员会的主要工作任务包括设置投注限制、赌场度假村的规章以及解决问题赌博。
马萨诸塞州是在效法东北地区其他的州，例如特拉华、迈阿密、马里兰和宾夕法尼亚，这些州在遭遇经济衰退后，纷纷在今年上马了新赌场项目。马萨诸塞州同样希望新赌场带来的收入和就业机会能够加速摆脱经济衰退的过程。
译文：
Massachusetts Preparing For Problem Gambling Spike
Every state goes through several stages when preparing for their first venture into casino gambling. In Massachusetts, lawmakers passed gambling expansion legislation earlier this year, and now regulators are scrambling to prepare for a possible increase in problem gambling.
Regulators have started to wrap their minds around how to help curb the problem gambling that is almost assured to come from the increase in legal gaming options. Lawmakers have set aside a large portion of money to help the regulators with their cause.
”The bottom line is that it is very good that the Legislature gave us a big mandate to take this on head-on,” said Stephen Crosby, Chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, “and they gave us the resources to do it.”
Crosby welcomed the challenge of curbing problem gambling, and he believes that the Commission is the group that should be responsible for ensuring that Massachusetts residents have outlets should they develop gambling addictions.
”It ought to be right smack in our wheelhouse where the Legislature put it,” said Crosby, of the responsibility. “It’s going to be a challenge. It’s a serious problem, but there are strategies, there are tactics. We’ve got the time and the resources to try and address it right.”
Massachusetts lawmakers had been debating the casino resort issue since Governor Deval Patrick took office. Patrick has been pushing for legislation regulating casino resorts, and after years of struggles, the governor finally saw his campaign initiative come to fruition. Lawmakers agreed on a massive gaming expansion bill earlier this year.
Part of the bill called for a gaming commission to set up the regulations for the new casinos. The commission has tasks such as setting betting limits, rules for the resorts, and tackling problem gambling.
Massachusetts is following in the footsteps of other Northeastern states. Delaware, Maine, Maryland, and Pennsylvania have all added new casinos in the years since the economic recession. Massachusetts is hoping that the revenue and job creation from the new casinos could help speed up the process of recovering from the economic recession.