Nevada Problem Gambling Council Cuts Ties With NCPG Over Kalshi Partnership

Nevada’s statewide problem gambling organization has formally cut ties with the National Council on Problem Gambling, and its executive director says the trigger was NCPG’s financial partnership with prediction market operator Kalshi. Trey Delap, executive director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, confirmed the split was rooted in concerns over institutional independence rather than a dispute with any single company.

“Kalshi was the catalyst for that review, but the decision itself was about the broader principle of institutional independence,” Delap said. He added that continuing the affiliation was “no longer consistent with our responsibility as Nevada’s statewide problem gambling organization.” The Nevada Council’s departure was first reported by the Nevada Current, and Nevada is not the only state affiliate to walk away this year — the Michigan Gaming Control Board formally withdrew its NCPG membership in July.

How the Kalshi Partnership Sparked the Split

The rift traces back to May, when NCPG created a new Financial Services & Trading Subcategory after Kalshi committed $2 million over two years to the Washington, D.C.-based organization, earmarked to support “trader health and safety.” Kalshi has consistently maintained that its event contracts constitute trading rather than gambling, a distinction central to its ongoing legal battles with state regulators, including Nevada’s. Bettors weighing whether to use the platform can find current offers in our Kalshi Promo Code guide.

According to the Nevada Current’s reporting, the Nevada Council attempted to simply pause its relationship with NCPG back in June rather than exit entirely, but NCPG did not offer that option. Delap declined to speculate on whether additional state affiliates might follow Nevada and Michigan out the door, noting that each affiliate operates under its own board and governance structure. “Our responsibility remains to Nevada,” he said.

Independence, Not Product Judgment

Delap was careful to frame the exit as a governance issue rather than a verdict on prediction markets themselves. “When an independent problem gambling organization enters partnerships with companies whose business interests it may one day be called in to evaluate, preserving public confidence in its institutional independence becomes increasingly important,” he said. NCPG has also drawn funding in the past from the NFL, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Las Vegas Sands, though Delap’s comments centered specifically on the Kalshi relationship and the broader principle it raised.

The Nevada Council has already staked out a formal position in the legal fight over Kalshi’s presence in the state, filing a friend of the court brief that characterized Kalshi’s operation there as a public health crisis waiting to happen. Delap pointed to Nevada’s problem gambling rate of 6%, well above the roughly 2% national average, and noted that 10% to 15% of people with substance use disorders may also struggle with gambling. He also flagged that Kalshi allows users as young as 18 to trade event contracts, while the Nevada Council supports a minimum gambling age of 21.

“We have seen an increase in requests for help over the past several years coinciding with the expansion of online sports wagering,” Delap said, though he acknowledged the council cannot isolate how much of that increase is tied specifically to prediction markets versus other forms of wagering. He added that because prediction markets largely sit outside traditional responsible-gambling infrastructure, data on participation patterns and related harm remains limited.

Kalshi’s Legal Fight With Nevada Continues

The timing of Nevada’s exit coincides with a significant development in Kalshi’s ongoing court battle with the state. On August 12, Kalshi stopped writing new contracts tied to sports, politics, and entertainment in Nevada under an agreement with state gaming regulators, a move made to avoid a $120,000-per-day fine for noncompliance. The Nevada Gaming Control Board and Kalshi have been fighting in court since March 2025, when regulators alleged the company was running an unlicensed sports-betting operation.

Kalshi has struck a similar compliance agreement with Michigan regulators while continuing to contest the underlying legal questions in both state and federal court elsewhere. As part of its Nevada settlement, Kalshi has implemented geofencing technology through a partnership with GeoComply designed to block Nevada residents from purchasing event contracts. Whether other state-level problem gambling affiliates follow Nevada and Michigan’s lead in distancing themselves from NCPG could hinge on how that broader legal fight, and prediction markets’ regulatory status generally, continues to unfold.