NCPG Leadership Splinters as New Responsible Gaming Coalition Emerges

The National Council on Problem Gambling has led the field of addiction resources for over 50 years, but a recent $2 million deal with prediction market operators has heightened concerns over industry influence.

Amid mounting questions surrounding the group’s neutrality, a new reform coalition is launching with a pledge to remain free from commercial funding.

The Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), a Boston-based nonprofit dedicated to using the law and policy to reduce addiction, death, and disease caused by for-profit products and industries like tobacco, alcohol, and obesogenic foods, is adding gambling to its list of targets.

Since October 2025, the PHAI has supported Families and Friends of Gamblers (FFOG), a nonprofit membership organization representing those impacted by gambling addiction. On Oct. 6, in an effort to bolster its presence on the national gambling addiction scene, FFOG announced its inaugural board of directors.

The announcement comes only days after the resignation of Heather Maurer, executive director of the NCPG, and amid growing questions about the influence of NCPG funding from gambling companies, sports leagues, and prediction markets.

FFOG says its goal is to bring researchers, public-health professionals, advocates, and families together to drive “meaningful change in the industry.”

Corporate Funding vs. Strict Independence

The NCPG is primarily funded through corporate donations, along with its membership dues. The legal gaming industry and, since May, prediction markets, account for the bulk of the NCPG revenue.

The NCPG has always maintained that its members and donors have no control over its research, grants, advocacy, or public positions. The NCPG claims not to be for or against gambling.

FFOG is taking a different approach, saying it will not accept contributions or memberships from gambling companies. Its board includes professionals “with no connection to gambling interests or the sports betting industry.”

“We are inviting people to join something new,” said FFOG Board Chairman Richard Daynard, a professor at Northeastern University who is described as a “trailblazer” in public health law. “FFOG is independent, family-first, and focused on reform.”

Levant said the NCPG has not opposed any position taken by the gaming industry since the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in May 2018. Levant, a former attorney and gambling addict who stole almost $2 million from his clients to fuel his gambling addiction, says the gambling reform movement needs leaders with “lived experiences.”

Along with Daynard and Levant, the FFOG board includes:

• Mark Gottlieb: executive director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute
• W. Gordon Douglas: former tax partner with a large national accounting firm with 40 years of experience
• Fannie Maguire Glomb: activist, advocate, executive, and philanthropist
• John Hanamirian: tax attorney with extensive experience in tax law, business transactions, litigation, and financial matters
• Dr. Deborah Haskins: recognized advocate for problem gambling and mental health
• Michelle McIver: behavioral healthcare executive with more than 18 years of experience
• Dr. Thomas Powell: financier, entrepreneur, and scholar with more than 30 years of experience in banking, private equity, securities law, and financial strategy
• Brian Quinn: Pennsylvania attorney, advocate, and keynote speaker with five decades of legal experience

Federal Policy Goals & Reform Movement

FFOG welcomes families, advocates, and members of the public to join the organization and its initial campaign “Truth and Integrity: The Movement for Gambling Reform.”

Announced in September in Washington, DC, with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) in attendance, the campaign’s goal is to overhaul the federal and state regulation of gambling products.