A University of Massachusetts Amherst research team has been awarded a multi-million contract to continue investigating the impact of gambling in Massachusetts as casinos such as MGM Springfield take hold.

The contract, granted by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, will provide the team with $1 million per year for three years, with the possibility of two annual renewals, to contribute to a 12-year investigation.

Lead investigator Rachel Volberg, a research professor and epidemiologist in the UMass School of Public Health & Health Sciences, said that the study will aim to identify both the positive and negative influences that gambling has on the state as new forms of gambling are introduced.