National Council on Problem Gambling and Kalshi, The Money, Resonsible Gambling Doesn't Work

A $2 million check lands on the table and suddenly a question gets impossible to ignore: can a problem gambling organization stay credible while taking money tied to the gambling ecosystem? We talk through the National Council on Problem Gambling, the controversy around prediction markets, and why some state councils are walking away. If you care about gambling addiction recovery, this is where the funding conversation gets real, fast.

We also challenge the most common slogan in the space: “responsible gambling.” From our perspective, that phrase doesn’t fit compulsive gambling or gambling disorder, and it can distract from what people actually need once the line is crossed. We connect the dots between brain chemistry, emotional regulation, and why you can’t outthink an emotional issue when the product is designed to keep you playing.

Then we break down how modern sports betting apps have been refined since legalization expanded, moving from basic wagers into prop betting, micro betting, and live betting with cash-out features. More bet types mean more triggers, more decisions, and a shorter path from impulse to action, which fuels chasing losses and deeper harm. We end with what accountability could look like, and where to turn if you want help right now. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find recovery support.

Transcript

Welcome And Recovery Scorecard

SPEAKER_00 0:01

The National Council on Problem Gambling. That's what we're going to be talking about today. Welcome again to another episode of the 1% in Recovery podcast, where we encourage you to laugh every day. Work hard. Work hard in recovery, relationships, your job, business, school, just work. And to put much more love out there unconditionally and watch much more love return to you. Because, like we say, recovery is beautiful. Your EQ is your IQ. And you cannot outthink an emotional issue. Now, what we encourage people to do is to download the free. I repeat, the free recovery growth scorecard on the website lifeiswonderful dot love. There, it's a scorecard where you keep score on how to introduce more natural dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins, how to change the neuroplasticity in your brain, to start healing now, to start your road of recovery now. Download it at the website, lifeiswonderful. Now, let's

The $2 Million Prediction Markets Controversy

SPEAKER_00 1:20

get into this week's episode. There's a lot of talk about the National Council on Problem Gambling. They're having their national conference right now here in Nashville. And the problem is, is this year, a couple months ago, they took a check for $2 million from Callshe, the prediction markets. Now I've taken a lot of money from lotteries, from sports betting apps, from casinos, which gets a lot of people undone. And they created a new category because obviously prediction markets are not lotteries, casinos, or sports, sports gambling, even though 90% of all prediction markets are sports trades. You can change out the words, but call sheep, polymarket, prediction markets are about sports betting. But they took this two million dollars. And now the Michigan Council on Problem Gambling left the National Council because it goes against what they're trying to do. I agree with all this. But first of all, before we talk about the $2 million and allowing Culchie to be a part of the National Council on Problem Gambling, the problem with the National Council and every state council that

Why “Responsible Gambling” Fails Addicts

SPEAKER_00 2:55

I come across is that they push responsible gambling. And that, if you're trying to help a compulsive gambler, there's no such thing as compulsive gambling because, number one, it tells me you do not understand the gambling product that is out there today and then how it has been refined and will continually be refined to get you addicted faster. It is a faster high than fentanyl, uh heroin, any other type of opiate, any other type of drug. It will soothe you much more than even alcohol. You can see a lot of the statistics, usually for adolescents, on drug use, pill use, alcohol use is going down, but alcohol is going up. I mean, gambling is going up, as long as, of course, social media being on your phones is going up, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation is all going up. But here's the thing. So that's what I'm saying is these apps currently, and they keep having their conference, the sports betting conference, usually held

How Sports Betting Got Engineered

SPEAKER_00 4:05

in New Jersey every year, that they keep refining it. Because one thing was you got sports betting allowed in 2018 when New Jersey sued the NCAA. But then you have totally changed what a lot of us used to bet on. We used to bet on the game and bet on the total. And then that would happen only on some, you could bet on some totals in college football on the big games. But now it is beyond just betting on the game and the total. And now it's with then you had all the prop betting. And now people are getting undone about prop betting because of all the harassment from gamblers who lose because they will lose, and now that they're harassing collegiate athletes and pro athletes. And so whether we're talking about the Major League Baseball Player Association on their collective bargaining, when they're talking about how they may want to change how prop betting is allowed. Here's the thing none of these, whether you're talking about the NCAA, unless there's a specific state that disallows collegiate prop betting, the gambling industry will not change. Let me repeat that. The gambling industry will not change. Once they have a product introduced, you're going to have to legislate it out. Now that prop betting has been introduced in all the states that allowed sports betting, each state now has to take that out, but they're going to still allow the mobile betting. They're still going to allow the casino betting for everything else. And now what's even worse is all the micro betting or the live betting. And that can be the micro betting is like on each pitch in a baseball game or a specific play in a football game. The uh live betting is that you can now start betting, you know, for a team win or lose already in the second quarter. You can cash out if you're up and get less than your payout just in case that there is a collapse. That's the difference between micro and live betting. But you have all these different variables, and that's why people are winning and losing, and they're losing more, and they're chasing more much faster because what used to be two variables in a game now becomes a thousand, and that's each game. And now we're not even talking about all the BS games, we're not even talking about the major sports football, basketball, baseball, and then you throw in um hockey with uh soccer, football, world cup, and you throw in tennis, golf. But now you have all those other games with you know other things that are being done in other countries. They just cannot have enough betting opportunities, betting events, betting trades, whatever you want to call it. So it goes back to the National Council. You got to know, understand what you're dealing with. You're dealing with such an addictive product that number one, stop talking about responsible gambling. That's where you need to start. Number two, stop taking money. Now it's difficult because Congress, as usual, did not at federal, we're talking about the federal level, did not take this up. So there is much less money out there for gambling research, for gambling grants, for any other types of gambling help. Unlike with alcohol, drugs, eating disorders. And the other thing is the insurance companies don't help. So it becomes a money issue. So the National Council is strapped. They don't have enough money. And maybe they started off wrong back when they hired someone from the industry, um, Keith Whiteford, to run run an organization for 25 years that was always going to be sympathetic to the gambling industry instead of to the compulsive gambler, since he wasn't a compulsive gambler or understood it, or come from the medical field. And then goes back after 25 years saying that he did so much for the gambler in recovery or the gambler that was suffering. And then he goes back to the gambling industry to collect a paycheck. No different than a lot of politicians which would go work for some lobby after they stop working in Congress. People always will chase either good money or bad money. Uh, and they go after what is out there. And so the National Council is taking $2 million from all these lotteries, all these sports betting app companies, all these casinos, and now all these prediction markets, you got to know what you're trying to do. And maybe if you don't have the money, you gotta scale back and then do less. Uh that's what any business does. Uh, because at least you want to be able to stand up in the mirror and say, I am helping compulsive gamblers, because when me as a compulsive gambler for 20 years, now a grateful compulsive gambler in recovery for over 26 years, also with two different podcasts in English and

Give Back The Money And Reach Out

SPEAKER_00 9:18

Spanish, also a recovery coach, also seeing how I can help people that suffer, but I don't mince words. I don't try to tell them that they can gamble responsibly. You can't. You can't do this once you've crossed that line. And the problem is it's not just crossing the line, is the product is designed for you to lose. It's different than alcohol. Once you get a taste, you could technically stop. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't know how to stop. But gambling, you cannot do gambling a little bit. So when I tell the National Council on Problem Gambling, give back the $2 million, understand your business model, and try to start to raise money from grants and foundations. I know it's difficult because Congress and state legislature, legislators have not made it easy. They're all taking, everyone's taking gambling money and not helping all the people that are suffering. And more and more people are gonna suffer uh at all different levels. Reach me. If you want to talk, you want to talk about recovery, tap into the website, life is wonderful. Tap into the podcast, 1% in recovery. If you speak Spanish, we're putting us you on the OI. Or you can just always call me 713 724 1133. Reach out. I am here, I know what I'm talking about. Till next time, life is wonderful.