A Wyoming judge will soon rule whether the Wyoming Lottery Corporation can move forward with a lawsuit against a critic of the lottery, a Cheyenne man, Edward Atchison, who is the director of the Wyoming Council n Problem Gambling.
Judge Thomas Campbell last week heard arguments for attorneys for the lottery and Atchison. The lottery accused Atchison of harming its relationships with other lottery organizations through his claims that the lottery isn’t doing as much as it could to combat problem gambling.
Atchison is seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed. His attorney characterizes the legal action as a SLAPP suit (strategic lawsuit against public participation), a type of suit intended to quell public criticism. He claims that as an arm of the state government that the lottery would in effect be the government trying to crush criticism of itself.
Atchison’s attorney told the judge, “The corporation is obviously unhappy with any criticism against it by anyone, including Mr. Atchison.”
The lottery filed suit in February. Atchison has written many letters to organizations in Wyoming and elsewhere saying that the lottery is inadequately addressing problem gambling.
The lottery maintains that he has accused it of not operating according to law. This threatens its relationships with national organizations such as Powerball and Mega Millions, it claims.
Atchison’s attorney claims that the lottery has failed to specify what false statements Atchison has made.
The lottery has asked the judge to allow the case to go forward.
