TLDR
- CASPR launched “Life Savings,” a new initiative targeting online gambling addiction with model legislation, 50-state scorecards, and revenue outflow calculations
- Co-founder Nicholas Reville argues the gambling industry pushes only post-addiction policies like hotlines, while blocking reforms that would actually prevent addiction
- CASPR’s model legislation proposes a duty to intervene, a credit card ban, raising the gambling age to 25, and automatic timeouts for problem behavior
- Anecdotal evidence suggests GLP-1 drugs (like Ozempic) may reduce gambling cravings, though formal trials for gambling disorder haven’t started yet
- Reville says prediction markets like Kalshi are exploiting a loophole to offer sports betting without state gambling regulations, and 36 state attorneys general have joined a coalition to close it
The Center for Addiction Science, Policy, and Research, known as CASPR, launched a new program on March 4 called Life Savings. The initiative is focused on online gambling addiction across the United States.
CASPR co-founder Nicholas Reville told Gambling Insider that public policy on gambling is broken. He said the industry only supports measures that kick in after someone is already addicted.
“No one calls a gambling hotline before they’ve lost a catastrophic amount of money,” Reville said. “No one goes to counseling for gambling addiction before they’ve destroyed their credit and lost their life savings.”
The Life Savings program includes model legislation, a 50-state report card on gambling protections, and an estimate of how much money online gambling drains from state economies.
Among CASPR’s proposed reforms are a duty for gambling apps to intervene when users show signs of addiction. The group also wants to ban credit card use for gambling, raise the gambling age to 25, and require automatic timeouts when losses reach a certain level.
Reville compared the approach to existing alcohol laws. “If someone is drunk at a bar, it’s actually illegal to continue to serve them,” he said. “We should have the same rule for online gambling.”
He said these reforms would especially help young men, who he described as being at high risk of destroying their financial futures through gambling apps.
CASPR Challenges the Gambling Industry’s Pitch to State Lawmakers
Reville argued that online gambling companies have misled state legislatures. He said operators told lawmakers that legalizing gambling would shrink the black market. Instead, he said, total gambling activity has gone up in every state that has legalized it.
He also challenged the idea that tax revenue from online gambling is “free money” for states. Reville said the money spent on gambling apps is money that would have gone to local restaurants, services, and other businesses.
“Online gambling is just a vacuum,” he said. “It takes money away from your citizens without generating any meaningful jobs.”
CASPR’s 50-state scorecard evaluates how well each state’s policies protect consumers from gambling harm. The rankings focus only on legal offerings, not the offshore or unregulated market.
Reville said the offshore market has actually grown alongside legalization. He called the industry’s claim that regulation would reduce illegal gambling a “false narrative.”
GLP-1 Drugs and Prediction Market Loopholes Draw Attention
CASPR is also involved in research around GLP-1 drugs, the class of medications that includes Ozempic. The organization funds the only two pilot programs in the world providing GLP-1s off-label for people in addiction treatment.
Reville said there is no formal evidence yet on whether GLP-1s work for gambling disorder. But he said the anecdotal reports are compelling.
“People report that their cravings to gamble often drop dramatically or disappear completely,” he said.
On prediction markets, Reville took aim at Kalshi, which he said presents itself as an investment platform while primarily offering sports betting. He said the company is integrated into Robinhood and uses its federal classification to avoid state gambling laws.
Thirty-six state attorneys general have joined a coalition to close this loophole. Multiple bills have been introduced in Congress to address the issue.
Reville said every state has a reason to act. States with legal gambling want Kalshi to pay taxes. States without legal gambling want to enforce their own laws.
CASPR’s model legislation includes a provision to close what it calls the “investment contract sports gambling loophole.” As of late March 2026, congressional action on the issue remains pending.
