The Michigan Gaming Control Board said it is withdrawing from the National Council on Problem Gambling, ending its staff’s service on the council’s boards and committees and cancelling its paid sponsorship of the group’s conference at the end of July.
In a letter signed by Executive Director Henry Williams, the board said it objected to NCPG’s recently announced membership and investment partnership with Kalshi. NCPG had said Kalshi would contribute $2 million over two years, become its first member in a new Financial Services & Trading Subcategory, and join as a Platinum-level member.
The council said the Kalshi money would support a strategic initiative focused on trader health and safety. It also said the new effort would expand education and awareness of responsible trading through practical, evidence-informed and data-driven resources.
MGCB took the opposite view. The board said Kalshi was, and may still be, actively involved in offering unlicensed sports gambling in Michigan until Michigan obtained a temporary restraining order against the company on June 29.
It said Kalshi is also still offering unlicensed sports gambling in numerous other states and is involved in countless lawsuits around the country. The board described those efforts as part of a broader strategy to remake the gambling industry by bulldozing regulations and consumer-protection safeguards enacted by Michigan and other states.
The letter said NCPG’s partnership with Kalshi undermines a foundational responsible-gaming message by blurring the distinction between sports-event contracts and other forms of sports betting through claims that Kalshi’s offerings are like investment or insurance products. MGCB said that framing can increase the risk of irresponsible and problem gambling behaviour.
The board also argued that the affiliation could mislead the public into thinking Kalshi is subject to the same consumer protections, licensing requirements and regulatory oversight as licensed sports betting operators. It said Kalshi is not subject to the same rules, and that the confusion jeopardises the regulatory framework MGCB enforces.
After considering the matter, the board said continuing membership in NCPG is inconsistent with its mission, statutory responsibilities and commitment to responsible gaming and protecting the public from the risks of problem gambling in Michigan. It instructed the council to remove all references to MGCB’s membership or affiliation immediately.
MGCB said its employees will no longer serve on any NCPG board or committee, and will no longer attend NCPG events. It also said it will follow up separately to make sure all references to its sponsorship are removed.
The board’s own responsible-gaming page says Michigan’s gaming industry has expanded over the years with additional forms of legalised gaming, and that MGCB regulates internet sports betting and other legalised gaming. It also says gambling can lead to serious problems and points people to its Don’tRegretTheBet.org site for tips and information.
NCPG’s Kalshi announcement framed the tie-up differently, saying the council maintains a neutral position on the legality of specific gambling, wagering or prediction products. It said the Kalshi contribution would help expand consumer education campaigns, increase awareness of warning signs of problematic behaviour and promote responsible trading and healthy decision-making.
That release said Kalshi operates a federally regulated exchange where users trade on future event outcomes, with safeguards including trading breaks, self-limits, self-exclusion and mental-health resources. Kalshi’s chief executive, Tarek Mansour, said prediction markets carry risks and that the company wants to set a new standard for responsible trading.
The dispute lands in a wider debate over prediction markets and consumer protection. A separate Ave Maria School of Law article said such platforms have rebranded products as derivatives rather than wagers and described their activity as risk management instead of gambling.
For now, MGCB says it is severing its ties with NCPG and ending its paid conference sponsorship, with separate follow-up to remove the remaining references.
