Second NCPG Executive Steps Down
David Genge Published 16/10/2026
Heather Maurer has resigned as the executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) over issues with Kalshi being granted membership in the organization. The prediction market site also made a $2 million donation to the NCPG. The decision to add Kalshi while state gaming regulators are fighting the site in court over illegal sports betting led to serious unrest. Some state gaming commissions announced that they were stepping away from the NCPG.
Maurer was only named to her position in January. She is the second member of the NCPG board to step down in recent weeks. Previously, Jaime Costello tendered her resignation as the NCGC director of programs.
Gaming Commissions are stepping away from the organization
The decision to accept Kalshi as a member of the NCPG led to significant unrest among the ranks of state gaming commissions. The regulators of gambling in their respective states are battling with prediction market sites that claim what they offer isn't gambling.
Once word got out that Kalshi was being welcomed into the NCPG, state gaming commissions began stepping down from the organization. The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) was the first to publicly acknowledge its departure. Next to leave was the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC). In announcing the departure, OCCC Interim Executive Director Andromeda Morrison indicated that they couldn't be part of an organization that was choosing to associate with illegal gambling operations.
At its most recent meeting, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission was debating its membership in the NCPG. Members of the board were wondering if the two groups still share the same values.
Perhaps the most damning departure came when the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling was ending its membership in the NCPG. The Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling (ECPG) also left the NCPG.
NCPG executive director was also dealing with internal unrest
Costello was the first NCPG executive member to depart. She was also citing a change in the organization's values as the reason for her exit. “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 posted on her LinkedIn page.
There were other internal issues confronting Maurer. Upon announcing the acceptance of the $2 million donation from Kalshi, she revealed the funds would not be earmarked for problem gambling programs. This led to serious concern among both the executive and the rank and file of the organization.
According to the NCPG, prediction markets are gambling
Prediction market sites can call their product derivative swaps that are federally regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. However, this is one issue on which the NCPG and the state gaming commissions are in agreement. It's gambling. Plain and simple.
Derek Longmeier, President, NCPG Board of Directors, said so in a statement posted on the company's website.
“Prediction markets have moved rapidly to a mainstream product used by millions of Americans," Longmeier's statement reads. "Regardless of how prediction markets are currently legally defined, NCPG believes it is functionally gambling and can expose consumers to many of the same risks and harms associated with traditional gambling. And the exposure today — in scale, in speed, and in reach to new and often young users — is unprecedented.
"NCPG is neutral on whether prediction markets should be legal. We are not neutral on the need to prevent and reduce gambling-related harm wherever it occurs. NCPG’s position is that prediction markets carry gambling-related risks."
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