The Select Committee on Gaming received multiple briefings on prevention, treatment and industry efforts to promote responsible gaming and address problem gambling in Wyoming.

Stefan Johansen, director of the Wyoming Department of Health, told the task force the department distributes prevention appropriations largely through county governments and noted the department receives about $300,000 per year from the gaming commission for prevention activities. Johansen said statewide data collection is challenging but under way; he reported that, in the most recent year, about 22 clients at state-funded behavioral health centers indicated problem gaming as part of their treatment profile out of roughly 10,000–11,000 clients overall. “The raw numbers are pretty low, but we have seen some growth in this area,” Johansen said, and he recommended waiting for broader environmental-scan results and enhanced statewide survey items before launching new statewide programs.

Local findings were presented by Susan Janke of the Laramie County Gambling Prevention and Treatment Collaborative. Using a county online survey launched in January, Janke said approximately 43% of Laramie County adults gambled in the last year—about 32,000 people—and that roughly 5% of adults who gambled (about 1,600 people) would meet screening criteria for problem gambling. The study estimated that each problem gambler affects six to eight other people, increasing the number of residents experiencing harm. Janke urged state-supported, Wyoming-specific prevention infrastructure, a statewide responsible-gaming website, targeted media campaigns and expanded telehealth access for treatment and financial counseling.

Industry and operator groups described prevention tools and voluntary programs. Dr. Jennifer Shatley, representing the Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA), described ROGA’s work to produce evidence-based best practices, an independent certification program and a data-clearing house intended to enable a national cross-operator self-exclusion database. “We’re developing evidence based best practices that we can apply to…help raise standards,” Dr. Shatley said.

Chrissy Thurmond, head of responsible-gaming relations at DraftKings, outlined player-facing tools the company offers, including a “my stat sheet” feature that provides a single view of a player’s deposits, wins and losses and which the company reported has received more than 20 million visits. DraftKings also described a new “budget builder” limit-setting tool and a linkage to Cambridge Behavioral Health telehealth support for self-excluded players.

Other presenters noted available resources: the Wyoming Council on Problem Gambling has a Kindbridge/Cambridge Behavioral Health partnership, a national 1-800 gambler hotline has recorded 6,519 calls from Wyoming since 2016 and state councils receive funding from some operators (DraftKings said it provides $15,000 annually to participating state councils and reported more than $2 million donated overall).

Committee members emphasized continuing this topic in future meetings. Members asked the Department of Health and other stakeholders to share forthcoming environmental-scan results, to consider more specific statewide survey questions and to coordinate on prevention funding and telehealth options. The committee directed staff to carry the responsible-gaming and problem-gambling discussion to the next meeting and requested updated materials from agencies and presenters.