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