The booming business of betting across America has led to soaring concerns over problem gambling.

Generally, ads for legitimate, licensed casinos and sportsbooks carry some kind of disclaimer that gambling is supposed to be for entertainment. The small print might offer: "Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER."

That number is about as memorable and sticky as you can get. And it prompted a brief but intense legal battle over who has the right or the moral imperative to operate the closest thing the U.S. has to a national gambling hotline.

The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) has been running the helpline since 2022, leasing it for $150,000 annually from the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey (CCGNJ), which had previously operated it since 1983.

Since the national org

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