Problem gambling counselor FaNeisha Yavette Mosley recently filed a lawsuit against the Arkansas Racing Commission and the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, claiming they have not fulfilled their constitutional duty to establish compulsive gambling disorder treatment and educational programs.
Under Amendment 100, which voters approved in November 2018, the Racing Commission must provide at least $200,000 a year for the programs, but that hasn’t been done, Mosley’s lawsuit states. Amendment 100 authorized the Racing Commission to license four casinos, in Hot Springs, Pine Bluff and West Memphis; the Russellville location has not been built yet due to legal issues.
Mosley’s lawsuit stated, “Defendants have failed to promulgate any rules or provide any funding for compulsive gambling disorder treatment or compulsive gambling disorder educational programs misapplying, at a minimum, hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money.”
The lawsuit requests that the court direct the Racing Commission and Finance Department to account for, reimburse, compensate, reward and repay all the money that was authorized to be spent on gambling disorder programs for 2019-22, and to deposit those funds in an account to be used exclusively for those programs in the future.
Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration spokesman Scott Hardin said Governor Asa Hutchinson had authorized the use of $200,000 from the state’s rainy-day fund for the problem-gambling programs. That would require approval from the Legislative Council, which will meet later this month.
Hardin said, “The need to meet the Amendment 100 requirement has been a priority for us this year. The funding was simply not available within the Racing Commission’s budget. While the money could easily be directed to support a hotline, our concern was whether that would meet the ‘treatment’ intention. While addiction treatment is certainly accessible within the state, we learned there are very few resources dedicated specifically to problem gambling treatment.” Hardin added, due to the situation, the $200,000 has not been dedicated “as we work to get this right.”
