NCPG warns of 'capacity crisis' as US states struggle to spend problem gambling budgets

The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) has warned of a "capacity crisis" in US gambling harm support, arguing that the funds earmarked for treatment and prevention are not being matched by the systems needed to spend them. The organization made its remarks in response to a report from the National Association of Administrators for Disordered Gambling Services (NAADGS).

According to the report, fewer than half of states reported spending at least five percent below their budgets. The NCPG says that while money is being allocated to problem gambling programs and consumer safety measures, the underlying infrastructure is missing, leaving states with little to spend it on.

NCPG board president Derek Longmeier said the situation should not be read as a sign of success. "That is not a funding success story. That is a capacity crisis hiding behind a budget line," he said. In his view, states that underspend are not signalling that they have too much money, but that they do not yet have the systems to use it. He said states, providers and the federal government share responsibility for building that system before allocations are cut on the theory that the need was not real.

Longmeier pointed to a shortage of trained personnel and the absence of a clear blueprint showing how safer gambling funding can be used to strengthen safeguards and deliver results. He noted that simply adding more money to the existing system would not resolve these constraints.

The NCPG also warned that underspending can in turn attract scrutiny, which it described as counterproductive because it does nothing to advance player protections or tackle the root causes of gambling harm.

The council argued that problem gambling should not be treated as a single budget item but as a challenge requiring a unified and structured response. Longmeier described it as "a behavioural health condition that deserves the same integrated response we've built, however imperfectly, for substance use disorders." He also called for frequent, routine screening for problem gambling in primary care and behavioral health settings, and for a more structured approach in the public sector rather than a reactive one.