SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two months before Californians decide whether to open the nation’s largest state to legalized sports betting, a new audit finds that the agency charged with treating people with gambling addictions may be ill-prepared for such a significant expansion of the market.
A new 55-page report, released by California Acting State Auditor Michael S. Tilden, found that the California Department of Public Health’s Office of Problem Gambling does not have a clear picture of how many residents are suffering or who have recently suffered from gambling addition. The agency, which has an annual budget of about $9 million, has also failed to demonstrate that it is effectively monitoring its prevention and treatment programs, according to the audit.
“The Office of Problem Gambling cannot show that its evaluation of its programs and services has any direct connection to improvements in those programs and services,” the audit states.
