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Panel backs pooling $300,000 in problem-gambling funds and contracting for treatment
Summary
The committee directed staff to draft language pooling the $300,000 statutorily reserved for gambling-related prevention and treatment into a statewide fund the Gaming Commission may contract out, after testimony that county allocations were often too small to support services.
The Select Committee directed staff to pursue a bill draft that would pool the statutory $300,000 currently tied to online sports-wagering revenue and allow the Gaming Commission to contract for prevention and treatment services statewide.
Tamara summarized the bill background and said the current statutory approach allocates the first $300,000 of monthly sports-wagering-derived funds through the Department of Health for county programs but that distribution by county population can leave very small amounts for some counties. "Each fiscal year, the first $300,000 of revenue is continuously appropriated to the Department of Health to be distributed to counties for the purpose of funding county health programs to prevent and treat problematic gambling behavior," she said.
Gaming Commission staff and members noted the commission already partners with telehealth and counseling providers and recommended pooling the funds to create a statewide intake and contracting model. The director cited an existing partnership with Kindbridge (telehealth counseling) and said the pooled approach could allow quick intake and several clinical hours of counseling for Wyoming residents. "If you pull that money together ... there's opportunities out there," the director said.
Angie Van Houten, Community Health Section Chief at the Wyoming Department of Health, testified that the department had distributed about $298,591 to 17 counties and that national hotline data showed roughly 200–500 calls or chats from Wyoming annually; she offered to check whether contacts were from people with problem gambling or family members.
A motion to add language to the problem-gambling bill draft to pool the funding and grant contracting authority to the commission passed on a voice vote with no recorded opposition. Committee members asked staff to consider retaining a local share or grant process so counties that run effective prevention programs could continue to receive targeted support.
Next steps: staff will incorporate the pool-and-contract language into the committee’s bill draft on problem gambling and return with proposed statutory text and a legal opinion on whether the commission can accomplish any implementation by rule.
The motion to add pooling and contracting language was moved by a committee member and seconded; it passed by voice vote with no recorded opposition.
