NCPG board defends Kalshi partnership as state members withdraw

The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) has moved to defend its relationship with prediction market operator Kalshi after a string of member organisations cut ties with the non-profit, according to SBC Americas.

Board President Derek Longmeier issued a public statement on Tuesday, 22 September, saying NCPG remains "neutral" on whether prediction markets should be classed as legal gambling, but stressed the organisation is "not neutral on the need to prevent and reduce gambling-related harm wherever it occurs."

Longmeier argued that the council's mission, which he said has run for more than 50 years, "has never depended on a regulatory ruling or a legal label," and that NCPG exists to address gambling-related harm rather than adjudicate the legal status of emerging products.

The statement followed the resignation of NCPG Director of Programs Jaime Costello, who said the environment at the organisation had shifted over the past year "in ways I could no longer reconcile with how I believe this work should be done."

NCPG announced its multi-year tie-up with Kalshi in May, under which the trading platform committed $2m over two years and NCPG created a new Financial Services & Trading Subcategory of membership. Kalshi became a platinum member, a tier also held by DraftKings, FanDuel, the NFL and MLB, and joined NCPG's Leadership Circle.

The partnership covers educational resources on responsible trading, cryptocurrency and futures products, and an expansion of NCPG's consumer education campaigns.

Several state bodies currently engaged in litigation against Kalshi have since severed their NCPG affiliation, including regulators or councils in Michigan, Nevada, Ohio and Washington.

Ohio Casino Control Commission Interim Executive Director Andromeda Morrison confirmed to SBC Americas that the commission left NCPG in June, a departure first disclosed publicly at a Massachusetts Gaming Commission meeting on 10 September. Ohio is pursuing a $5m fine against Kalshi through active litigation.

Morrison told NCPG Executive Director Heather Maurer in a letter dated 26 June that "NCPG's actions are not neutral," adding that the partnership "seeks to legitimize an illegal sportsbook operating in Ohio and undercut the Commission's efforts to eliminate this source of unlicensed gambling." She said the arrangement risks confusing consumers about whether Kalshi's platform carries the same protections as a licensed sportsbook, stating plainly, "It does not."

The Michigan Gaming Control Board followed in early July, with Executive Director Henry Williams writing to Maurer to withdraw the state regulator's membership. Williams said the Kalshi partnership "directly undermines state enforcement actions and risks weakening the positions of state regulatory bodies nationwide," and warned it could suggest to the public that Kalshi is subject to the same licensing and oversight as regulated sports betting operators.

The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling's Executive Director, Trey Delap, told the Nevada Current in August that his organisation was leaving over concerns about the risks posed by Kalshi's products and what he described as a fundamental disagreement over how a problem gambling body should respond to emerging gambling risks.

Washington's Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling also withdrew last week, according to SBC Americas, with board president Ty W. Lostutter citing similar concerns in a letter to the council.

NCPG did not provide a comment on Ohio's departure when SBC Americas asked before Longmeier's statement was issued.