Lia Nower

The Center for Gambling Studies (CGS) conducts analyses on all online casino bets and sports wagers placed in the State of New Jersey, to date, about 22 billion bets. Our team evaluates patterns, trends, and sociodemographic factors associated with higher levels of problem gambling patterns to inform policymaking, prevention, and education efforts.

We have recently launched a number of projects, using machine learning to identify behavioral risk factors that predict movement from recreational to higher levels of at-risk gambling.  The purpose of these projects is to correlate risk markers with a ladder of interventions that gaming operators can initiate or regulators could require to reduce problem gambling. These projects also inform related data science projects that evaluate, using geographic information system (GIS) mapping, zip code areas with the highest levels of gambling involvement, at-risk populations, and self-help and treatment resources to inform state and community-level harm-reduction efforts, particularly in light of escalations in sports wagering.