The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling is formally cutting ties with the National Council on Problem Gambling over its new relationship with Kalshi, according to the Nevada Current.
The NCPG partnered with Kalshi back in May, which has caused an uproar in the regulated gambling market. One of the largest domino effects of the partnership was the Michigan Gaming Control Board leaving the NCPG last month.
NCVPG Executive Director Trey Delap confirmed the decision to the Current. The NVCPG tried to pause its membership in June, but the NCPG refused, Delap added.
The NCPG did not immediately respond to Legal Sports Report‘s request for comment.
Why Nevada is walking away
The Nevada Gaming Control Board has been at legal odds against Kalshi for months. On Feb. 17, the NGCB filed a civil enforcement action against Kalshi in the District Court of Carson City.
In June, the NGCB wanted Kalshi held in contempt for violating a preliminary injunction. Last month, the two sides came to an agreement, which resulted in Kalshi using a geofence to prevent individuals in Nevada from accessing the platform.
The NVCPG has supported the regulator’s legal efforts, filing amici, or friend-of-the-court-briefs, against Kalshi in March.
Delap does not believe his organization and the NCPG are aligned.
“After months of discussion, we’ve concluded that this is not simply a disagreement about one company,” Delap told the Nevada Current. “It reflects a fundamental difference in how we believe a problem gambling organization should respond to emerging gambling risks.”
Michigan set the precedent
Michigan has also been at legal odds against prediction markets. That has led to the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) ending its membership with the NCPG.
MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams also found fundamental differences with the NCPG.
“I regret that this action is necessary but trust you understand the MGCB’s need to ensure that it is not associated with organizations that are affiliated with companies engaged in illegal gambling,” Williams said in a letter to the NCPG last month.
Williams also took exception to Kalshi’s view that sports contracts are investment products. Delap made a similar argument.
“‘Positions’ and ‘trades’ are euphemisms – the effect is the same as gambling, and carries the same risk of harm and suicide consistent with any other form of gambling,” Delap added.
Could more leave NCPG?
The NVCPG and MGCB are examples of prominent gambling organizations to cut ties with the NCPG. Delap hinted at more withdrawals in the near future.
“Stakeholders including gaming, treatment, regulators, and other state councils are all having serious conversations about withdrawing or redirecting their support,” he added.
Other regulators have been skeptical of Kalshi and similar platforms. Attorneys general from 44 states sent a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission last month, arguing the federal agency does not have jurisdiction over sports-related prediction contracts.
For now, the Michigan and Nevada exits stand as the most visible defections. Whether other state affiliates follow could determine how much pressure the NCPG faces to reconsider its Kalshi relationship, which also included a $2 million donation to create the Financial Trader Health and Safety Initiative.
