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State of Play’s TL;DR
- The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling said it will no longer be affiliated with the National Council on Problem Gambling.
- The group has split with the national organization over the NCPG’s partnership with prediction market firm Kalshi.
The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling plans to sever ties with the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), saying the groups are “no longer mission-aligned” because of the NCPG’s partnership with Kalshi.
The split adds to a widening fight over whether prediction market products should be treated like gambling and how problem gambling groups should engage with them.
Nevada Council Executive Director Trey Delap told the Nevada Current that the state group could not stay affiliated with the NCPG while the national organization partners with Kalshi, which offers event contracts and frames them as trading products. Delap said: “Affiliation means something,” adding that Nevada would not “lend Nevada’s name and credibility to an organization when we no longer believe we’re aligned on a fundamental consumer-protection issue.”
Nevada cites youth-risk concerns
The NCPG announced in May that Kalshi would provide $2 million over two years for an initiative focused on “trader health and safety.” The NCPG also created a Financial Services & Trading membership category, with Kalshi joining at the Platinum level.
Delap said Nevada’s decision was driven by responsible gambling concerns like “the elevated risk of harm to young people.” He argued that Kalshi’s “positions” and “trades” have the same practical effect as gambling and carry similar addiction and suicide risks. Kalshi permits customers as young as 18, while the NCPG supports a minimum gambling age of 21.
The Nevada group first tried to pause its NCPG membership but Delap said it was told that that was not an option.
Split adds pressure on the national group
The fallout appears to extend beyond Nevada. The Michigan Gaming Control Board withdrew its NCPG membership in July over the Kalshi relationship, and Washington state’s Evergreen Council has also criticized the partnership.
Delap said stakeholders across gaming, treatment, regulation, and state councils are having “serious conversations about withdrawing or redirecting their support.”
The dispute lands while Kalshi is already fighting regulators in Nevada. A Nevada court has barred the company from offering sports, election, and entertainment contracts in the state, and Kalshi agreed last month to strengthen geolocation controls after regulators alleged it violated that order.
The GamblingHarm.com report also warns that a weaker NCPG could hurt the chances of the federal POINTS Act, a proposal that would establish federal funding for problem gambling support. If more state affiliates or institutional members pull back, the national debate over gambling-harm policy may get even messier.
Based on reporting by Brian Pempus for GamblingHarm.com.
