NFL continues partnership with National Council on Problem Gambling with new three-year, $6.4 million commitment

Results and Impact of Partnership to Date

National Problem Gambling Helpline Modernization Project: Since the 2021 grant, the National Problem Gambling Helpline has undergone significant modernization. The grant enabled funding for upgraded technology, increased staffing and enhanced data collection efforts from the 28 contact centers that comprise the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network. Data collection efforts are key to providing NCPG with insights into contact trends, allowing the organization to better advocate for federal funding that supports problem gambling prevention, education and treatment efforts.

The grant also enabled US-wide licensing for the 1-800-GAMBLER number, to reduce confusion resulting from multiple state-specific helplines and ensure seamless routing to designated state contact centers. Use of the helpline grew 104% from 2020 to 2023, which NCPG attributes primarily to the increased promotion and awareness of the helpline.

Agility Grants: The Agility Grants fill gaps in problem gambling prevention programming across the United States. They fund projects reaching populations at higher risk of developing a gambling problem, including middle school, high school and college students and communities disproportionately affected by problem gambling. The grants focus on programs that minimize harm on a primary level (those who have not yet gambled) and on a secondary level (those who have limited gambling experience). To date, the program has provided nearly $1 million in grants to 26 innovative problem gambling prevention programs across 17 states, reaching over 40,000 individuals.

Agility Grant funding has supported the following projects and organizations, among others:

• ​The Ohio State University’s “Buckeyes Know the Stakes,” program which seeks to educate students through robust problem gambling prevention events and marketing campaigns.
• Freedom House of Mecklenburg, Inc.’s “Problem Gambling Primary and Secondary Prevention Curriculum Development,” a collaborative school-based project that incorporates an evidence-based problem gambling prevention curriculum across 49 Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) middle schools.
• The Hispanic Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program (UMADAOP) and their education campaign for Hispanic youth in Cleveland, Ohio, to raise awareness of problem gambling behaviors in middle and high school students.

Awareness Efforts: Additionally, NCPG awareness and advocacy efforts have significantly raised public awareness about responsible gambling initiatives and where to get help and access resources for gambling addiction. The most prominent initiative was the launch of the ResponsiblePlay.org website in 2021, which has since reached approximately 750,000 visitors. The website provides a series of tips for visitors to keep gambling fun, offers basic facts about problem gambling and explains where people can get help for problem gambling, whether they are directly or indirectly affected by it.