1-800-Gambler Change Leads to Problems With Gaming Operators
A participant puts her First State knowledge to the test in a virtual trivia game during a Statewide Delaware Day Trivia Night at the Autumn Beer Project near Glasgow on Dec. 4, 2025. Participants could join the game from anywhere using a mobile phone, while at home or with friends at one of several community gathering sites across the state.
Last year, the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) lost control of 1-800-Gambler, a national hotline for gambling support. This transition has affected several major gaming operations.
1-800-Gambler: Impact of Number Change
Since the 1980s, the NPCG has owned 1-800-Gambler, a number that people can contact if they experience gambling problems. The main goal of the hotline has always been to help those affected by a gambling problem.
That iconic number changed last year after a license dispute between the NCPG and the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey (CCGNJ).
A New Jersey judge ruled that NCPG had to cede control of the number to CCGNJ as of Sept. 29.
After losing the number, NCPG went back to an older hotline, 1-800-522-4700. Unfortunately, the change has led to confusion because there are two national problem gambling helplines.
Not having a universal gambling problem number has caused problems.
“When I or my family needs help in an emergency situation, we know that in the United States, we can call 9-1-1 and that help will get to us,” BetMGM Director of Responsible Gaming Richard Taylor said per SBC Americas. “When it comes to problem gambling, unfortunately, it isn’t like that. There are multiple numbers in multiple jurisdictions. We all need to work collaboratively to get to a place where we can have one number and one resource for everyone throughout the country. I think that’s the position of most operators.”
Bally’s representative David Sousa explained that remembering the new number for the NCPG will be difficult because it’s not as catchy as 1-800-GAMBLER.
“People understand brand, they understand loyalty, and that was a catchy number, right?” Sousa said about 1-800-GAMBLER. “Boom, it’s in your head that you can easily remember and regurgitate. It’s going to be a challenge only in the sense that it’s something new.”
What about State Hotlines?
1-800-Gambler and 1-800-522-4700 are national numbers. What about state hotlines?
While some states accepted the change, others adjusted by adding a state hotline to gambling marketing materials. Some states even prefer to emphasize their resources over the national number.
Massachusetts is one example of a state that added its hotline to gambling marketing materials.
With multiple numbers, gaming operators have struggled to update the required information and resources in marketing assets.
“It’s not only changing a number in one area,” Caesars Director of Responsible Gaming Program Carolene Layugan said. “We have a constellation of marketing materials that we place the number on, and we’re constantly updating to ensure that we have the regulated and acceptable national helpline number. We operate in nearly 30 jurisdictions, so every time there’s an update, and we have a universal responsible gaming tagline, that tagline has to be updated if a state is telling us there’s a new number.”
Regardless of the phone number, many regulators believe that gambling problem material must be updated to reflect the times. This means that phone numbers should not be the only source of help. Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) is helping gaming companies during this transformative period
“Through ROGA and other organizations, we stand ready to help and do the work,” Taylor added. “But it’s going to take a huge effort and a lot of collaboration across a lot of stakeholders to get to that ultimate solution of having one resource across the country.”
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