The head of a gambling-addiction charity quit after it took $2 million from Kalshi

The executive director of what Fortune calls the nation's largest nonprofit dedicated to combating gambling addiction has resigned after a dispute over a $2 million agreement with Kalshi, the prediction-market company, according to Fortune, citing Barron's. The board of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) announced Heather Maurer's resignation on September 26. Fortune reported the details on Friday, October 9, drawing on an earlier Barron's report.

Maurer will stay on through October 16 to help with the transition, the board said, and a national search for her successor has begun. "The need for NCPG's work to prevent and reduce gambling-related harm has never been greater, and we will continue to build on the strength of our partnerships with Affiliates, members, and stakeholders to meet the challenges ahead," said Derek Longmeier, president of the NCPG board, in the announcement.

What the reports say happened

The Barron's report that Fortune drew on sits behind a paywall, and the board's announcement gives no reason for the resignation. The account here is as Fortune and Crypto Briefing describe it.

Maurer took over in January. According to Fortune, citing Barron's, she finalized the Kalshi agreement without prior approval from the board and required directors to sign nondisclosure agreements before they learned of the donation, which was disclosed at an April conference. When directors asked whether Kalshi had agreed to fund safety guardrails or promote addiction helplines, she acknowledged that it had not, Fortune reported. The months of internal conflict that followed ended with her departure less than 10 months into the job.

A few days before Maurer left, the council's director of programs, Jaime Costello, also resigned. "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 on LinkedIn, as quoted by Fortune. Fortune's account does not include comment from Maurer.

The agreement itself

In May, Kalshi agreed to a two-year, $2 million investment in what the council calls its Financial Trader Health and Safety Initiative, CDC Gaming reported. The council created a new membership category, Financial Services & Trading, and made Kalshi its first Platinum-level member.

The category mattered because of how Kalshi describes itself. Fortune reported that the donation drew backlash because the platform rejected the idea that its business was gambling, so the council set it apart from sportsbooks such as DraftKings and FanDuel.

The council has said it does not endorse its donors. In a September 22 statement, Longmeier wrote: "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." The same statement said the council believes prediction markets are "functionally gambling" and cited a Harris Poll it commissioned, in which 85% of Americans agreed that people can develop unhealthy or addictive behaviors related to prediction market platforms. It also said: "Donor engagement does not mean endorsement."

Partners walk away

Fortune reported that four state-level partners have ended ties with the national group, and that all four said they disagreed with its decision to accept the Kalshi money. The Michigan Gaming Control Board withdrew in July. The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling reportedly cut ties in August. In September, the Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling in Washington ended a 35-year affiliation, concluding that the two organizations were "no longer sufficiently aligned," and the Ohio Casino Control Commission withdrew.

On Wednesday, October 7, the Nevada Gaming Control Board gave initial approval to a change in Regulation 5.170(2) that would point people seeking help to a Nevada nonprofit instead of the national council, CDC Gaming reported. "We believe the updated reference will initially direct those who need help to receive Nevada-specific information for referral sources," said Chan Lengsavath, chief of the board's Tax & License Division. Board Chair Mike Dreitzer said it was "perfectly appropriate to remove the reference to the NCPG." The Nevada Gaming Commission will consider the proposal on October 22.

Gambling money is not new

Donations from betting companies to problem-gambling groups are common. Fortune noted that DraftKings had given more than $2 million to state problem-gambling councils and NCPG affiliates since 2022, according to a March 2025 company announcement, and that FanDuel gave the council $100,000 in March 2023. The council's own September statement says many of its members and donors are gambling operators.

What other nonprofits can take from it

In our view, the questions the directors reportedly asked are the ones a gift-acceptance policy should answer in writing before an organization signs. Who has to approve a gift of this size? What exactly will the donor's money pay for, and does the donor owe the charity any commitments in return? Which of the charity's partners would object, and have they been asked? A restricted gift is a promise, and an unrestricted one carries a different promise: that the charity's judgment, not the donor's, will keep steering the work.

Boards have a role here that cannot be handed off. The reporting describes directors learning of the donation only after signing nondisclosure agreements, which is a hard way to exercise oversight. Our piece on what a board is for describes the duties that sit with directors, and the county that dropped a nonprofit after a self-dealing finding is a reminder of how quickly partners act when trust breaks.

We have not seen the agreement between the council and Kalshi, and its terms beyond those reported are not public in the sources we reviewed. The board has said the council's advocacy, programs and services will carry on during the search for a new director.