In Massachusetts, a Boston television station’s investigation revealed the state receives hundreds of millions of dollars a year in gaming tax revenue, but raised questions about how money targeted for problem gambling services is being spent.
WCVB 5 Investigates’ Mike Beaudet reported that so far in 2023, Massachusetts received more than $350 million from casinos and sports betting. From that amount, the Public Health Trust Fund receives $24 million annually, of which $6 million goes to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to fund its Research and Responsible Gaming division. The remaining $18 million goes to the state Department of Public Health, which has been questioned about how it allocates that money.
Marlene Warner, chief executive at the Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health, a private nonprofit public health agency, told WCVB, “I don’t know that the services are always there that the Department of Public Health needs to be offering.”
Warner said she believes the department harms problem gamblers by focusing on prevention over treatment. “When I think about the fact that we don’t have that many treatment centers, they’re outpatient and you may have to drive a long distance, forget about it. You’ve lost them. I definitely don’t think it’s a money issue. I think that there’s places people decide to put priorities,” she said.
But Department of Public Health Director of Problem Gambling Services Victor Ortiz said, “Prevention is the cornerstone of public health. Our goal in our office is to lead the public health response.” He noted, “Problem gambling has a high level of correlation to other public health issues, like domestic violence, suicide, and it also disproportionately impacts people of color.”
Records obtained by WCVB indicated for fiscal year 2023, the Office of Problem Gambling spent $7,827,072 on prevention-related services−nearly four times the $1,950,000 spent on treatment-related services. Money is not the issue, WCVB said: the office has a surplus of $7 million from last fiscal year plus $18 million for the current fiscal year.
The outlet also noted the council and the state office may not get along because Ortiz previously worked for the council which in 2020 lost its contract to operate the state’s gambling helpline.
