Nevada Gaming Control Board to Strip National Council on Problem Gambling Statutory References

In the latest blow to the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) is moving to remove licensees’ statutory obligation to reference the nonprofit in programs addressing problem gambling. The emblem of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The gaming regulator has proposed removing mandatory obligations among licensees to reference the National Council on Problem Gambling in their problem gambling materials. (Image: NGCB) This week, the NGCB approved a revision of Regulation 5.170, “Programs to Address Problem Gambling.” The gaming board recommended that references to the NCPG be removed, requiring licensees to list only resources provided by the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling or another NGCB-approved organization. The move comes as the future of the NCPG remains unsettled after the organization accepted a $2 million contribution from a prediction market and created a new membership category to welcome the federally regulated trading exchanges. The legal gaming industry contends that sports event contracts on prediction markets are illegal sports betting that ignore state and tribal laws. The gaming industry criticized the NCPG’s embrace of prediction markets, prompting several bodies, including the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, Michigan Gaming Control Board, and Ohio Casino Control Commission, to rescind their NCPG memberships and NCPG Executive Director Heather Maurer to resign. Nevada’s Responsible Gaming Messaging Nevada Regulation 5 governs the Operation of Gaming Establishments. Regulation 5.170 mandates that licensees post or provide “in conspicuous places,” like cash dispensing machines and cage areas, materials “concerning the nature and symptoms of problem gambling.” Currently, the materials are to include “the toll-free telephone number of the National Council on Problem Gambling or a similar entity approved by the Board Chair that provides information and referral services for problem gamblers.” This week, the NGCB proposed removing the NCPG reference in favor of Nevada-specific problem gambling resources, such as the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling. The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling’s helpline is 1-800-GAMBLER. The 24/7 helpline operates in Nevada through a partnership with the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey (CCGNJ). The 1-800-GAMBLER helpline had previously been leased for $150,000 a year to the NCPG. The arrangement dissolved in September 2025 after the two sides could not come to terms on a new lease, and a state court in New Jersey ordered the NCPG to stop using the number. The NCPG subsequently launched 1-800-MY-RESET. A nationwide toll-free number works by using a central database that routes the caller to a specific call center based on the caller’s location. Commission Must Approve Regulatory Amendment The NGCB’s recommendation that Regulation 5.170 be amended to remove NCPG references must be approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) before the rule would be implemented. The NGCB is tasked with investigating and enforcing state gaming law, as well as making regulatory recommendations to the NGC. The commission acts as the final decision-making and policy-setting body. The post Nevada Gaming Control Board to Strip National Council on Problem Gambling Statutory References appeared first on Casino.org.