Head of prominent gambling addiction nonprofit resigns after backlash to $2 million Kalshi donation
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October 9, 2026, 2:46 PM ET
National Council on Problem Gambling executive director Heather Maurer required board members to sign NDAs before revealing the donation.GETTY IMAGES
A decision by a gambling addiction nonprofit to accept a donation from Kalshi has sparked internal turmoil. In late September, the executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling—the nation’s largest nonprofit dedicated to combating gambling addiction—resigned after facing backlash over taking $2 million from the prediction market platform, according to a recent Barron’s report.
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Heather Maurer, who took the helm in January, finalized the Kalshi agreement without prior board approval and required directors to sign unprecedented nondisclosure agreements before revealing the donation at an April conference, according to the report. When directors pressed her on whether Kalshi had agreed to fund safety guardrails or promote addiction helplines, she acknowledged it had not, triggering months of internal revolt that ended with her departure less than 10 months into the job.
Maurer’s resignation came just days after Jaime Costello, the NCPG’s director of programs, resigned over differences with the organization’s leadership.
“I made this decision because, over the past year, the environment shifted in ways I could no longer reconcile with how I believe this work should be done,” Costello wrote in a LinkedIn post.
The upheaval comes as betting on prediction markets has become increasingly pervasive in the U.S. Prominent platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket let users as young as 18 trade contracts on virtually anything, though most activity centers on sports wagers. Both have grown rapidly, each reaching valuations above $20 billion. That growth has fueled disputes with states and Native American tribes over regulatory authority, while drawing scrutiny from sports leagues over game integrity and from advocates who say the platforms’ accessibility increases the risk of addiction.
The NCPG has also faced fallout from state problem-gambling organizations and regulators. Washington’s Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling ended its 35-year affiliation with the national group in September, concluding that the two organizations were “no longer sufficiently aligned.” The Ohio Casino Control Commission also withdrew that month. The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling reportedly cut ties in August, as did the Michigan Gaming Control Board in July. All four said they disagreed with the NCPG’s decision to accept a donation from Kalshi.
Donations from gambling platforms to nonprofits like the NCPG are not unusual. DraftKings had provided more than $2 million to state problem-gambling councils and NCPG affiliates since 2022, according to a March 2025 company announcement. FanDuel also donated $100,000 directly to the NCPG during Problem Gambling Awareness Month in March 2023.
But Kalshi’s $2 million deal sparked backlash because the platform rejected the idea that its business was gambling. To accommodate that position, the NCPG created a separate “financial services and trading” donor category, setting Kalshi apart from sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel, according to Barron’s.
Clarification October 9, 2026: This article has been updated to clarify that state and federal regulators determine members’ consumer-protection requirements.
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