A contentious legal dispute over the 1-800-GAMBLER helpline number appears to be winding down. New reporting has shed more light on what transpired.
According to Barron’s, the National Football League-funded National Council on Problem Gambling allegedly had wanted callers in some cases to answer survey questions prior to receiving assistance, according to advocates in several states.
The survey questions included the caller’s age, gender, race, military service, and so on. The survey also included a question about what form of gambling the person was struggling with.
No one would argue that such data is not useful. However, it allegedly came before the caller received assistance from the call center. That alarmed some advocates, and it played a key role in the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, which created the helpline in 1983 and still owns the number, declining to renew a licensing agreement with NCPG.
CCGNJ’s decision sparked a court fight, and it ultimately prevailed against NCPG. The NFL was not party to the litigation, but it made statements in support of NCPG.
The survey questions coming at the beginning of a call raise questions about why this data was so valuable.
Delaying the survey to the end of the call makes callers less likely to participate. However, it’s better for the gambler in need of help, advocates told Barron’s.
Alarmingly, the survey could cause callers to hang up and avoid getting help.
More Money
According to the report, the NCPG said that survey data was needed for advocating for federal funding to combat gambling addiction. There is currently no federal funding, with the NCPG running on donations.
Notably, the NFL has injected the NCPG with more than $12 million in funding over the past several years, boosting the NCPG’s funding to levels never seen before in its history.
So why was this data so crucial? We don’t have satisfying answers.
Nonetheless, it must be stressed that the NFL profits from gambling and the regulatory status quo.
The NFL’s latest donation to the NCPG occurred the same year as the introduction of the federal SAFE Bet Act, which would establish significant consumer protections against the sports gambling industry.
The legislation is not supported by the leagues, the sports betting industry, or the NCPG. If the bill ever gained momentum, it would likely be fiercely contested by the leagues and their betting partners. The NCPG maintains a “neutral” stance on gambling.
The NFL, Gambling Data & Trust
It’s notable that a survey at the start of an NFL-funded helpline call would ask the caller about the form of gambling they are struggling with, at a time when sports betting specifically is facing great scrutiny.
Sports leagues are profiting immensely from sports betting, but changing public opinion could threaten their cash cow. A recent Pew poll found that 43% of Americans believe legal sports betting is “bad for society.”
The NFL has an infamous history related to player safety and head trauma. It has been widely accused of orchestrating a cover-up of the player health catastrophe.
Why was the NFL anywhere near data on people dealing with sports gambling addiction?
Even if there was nothing improper happening with the data — which again was apparently so valuable as to place collection at the beginning of some crisis calls — the appearance of a conflict of interest is troubling.
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