NCPG Warns US Problem Gambling System Faces Capacity Crisis

Key Highlights

NCPG Flags a Capacity Crisis

The National Council on Problem Gambling has raised concerns about a serious issue in the United States, describing the situation as a capacity crisis. Its warning centers on the country’s ability to address problem gambling, even as money is being set aside to support prevention, treatment, and consumer safety efforts.

The organization made those remarks in a report from the National Association of Administrators for Disordered Gambling Services (NAADGS). That report found that less than half of states said they spent at least five percent below their budgets. The numbers pointed to a mismatch between allocations and actual use of funds.

NCPG said the problem is not that states have too much money for gambling harm programs. Instead, the group argued that many jurisdictions do not have the systems needed to put those dollars to work. In its view, the shortfall is tied to capacity, not to a lack of need.

Underspending Exposes Missing Systems

Derek Longmeier, the NCPG’s board president, said the budget data can hide what is really happening. He argued that underspending should not be treated as proof of success. In his view, it shows that states have not yet built the structure required to turn approved funding into meaningful support services.

Longmeier said the states that are not using their full problem gambling budgets are signaling something important. They are not saying the money is unnecessary. They are saying the system to use it does not exist yet, and he warned against cutting future allocations because the need was doubted mistakenly.

He also said there is no simple way for states to pour more money into today’s problem and expect results. The current system lacks trained cadres and even a clear blueprint for using safer gambling spending in ways that improve safeguards. Without that foundation, extra funding cannot solve everything alone.

Unified Screening & Support Urged

The lack of infrastructure creates another problem as well. When states spend less than expected, that can trigger scrutiny, which NCPG sees as counterproductive. The group said that kind of response does not move player protections forward, and it does not address the deeper issues connected to problem gambling either.

NCPG said problem gambling should not be handled as a single item. Longmeier described it as a behavioral health condition that deserves the same integrated response built, however imperfectly, for substance use disorders. That framing reflects the group’s call for a unified, structured approach instead of a fragmented response system.

Longmeier also urged frequent and routine screening for problem gambling in primary care and behavioral health settings. He pushed for a more organized public-sector response, rather than one that reacts after harm appears. The message from the council was clear: building capacity must come before any pullback in support levels.