National Council on Problem Gambling Seeing Turnover as Executive Director Resigns

• National Council on Problem Gambling Executive Director Heather Maurer recently announced her resignation
• Maurer resigned from the board after less than a year on the job
• The decision came a week after Director of Programs Jaime Costello announcing her resignation as well

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The National Council on Problem Gambling will have to search for a new executive director, as Heather Maurer recently announced her resignation from the council.

Maurer’s decision came less than a year on the job after she took over in November 2025 for former executive director Keith Whyte. Whyte left the National Council on Problem Gaming (NCPG) in January 2025.

Mauer will continue in the position through Oct. 16 to assist with the leadership transition, the NCPG noted in a release.

One Week, Two Resignations

No reason for Mauer’s resignation has yet to be publicly released. The NCPG reported it has immediately started its search for a new director.

“With the dedicated commitment and depth of experience of the NCPG staff, we are assured all of our advocacy, programs and services will carry on seamlessly during the search process,” Derek Longmeier, president of the NCPG Board of Directors, said in a press release. “The need for NCPG’s work to prevent and reduce gambling-related harm has never been greater, and we will continue to build on the strength of our partnerships with Affiliates, members, and donors to meet the challenges ahead.”

Maurer’s resignation came less than a week after the NCPG Director of Programs Jaime Costello announced her own resignation from the council. In a LinkedIn post, Costello reported she initially set her final day with the council for Friday, Oct. 9, but her “last day came sooner than I had planned, not by my choice”.

“I made this decision because, over the past year, the environment shifted in ways I could no longer reconcile with how I believe this work should be done. Leaving is how I stay true to the reasons I got into it: doing good, building something alongside people I trust, and ending the day knowing I contributed to something that matters,” she wrote.

Prediction Market Criticisms

Maurer’s decision to leave the NCPG also comes during a time of flux for the non-profit organization, as it has been receiving criticisms from state gaming regulators (and withdrawals of membership) due to its decision to accept an investment from Kalshi and allowance of the prediction market operator into its ranks.

Kalshi joined the NCPG in May 2026 after a $2 million, two-year investment to the council. The NCPG established a new membership subcategory, the Financial Services & Trading Subcategory, allowing the company to join as a platinum member.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) and the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling both left the NCPG during the summer over its decision to accept Kalshi’s investment. The Ohio Casino Control Commission also quietly withdrew its membership in June, the commission confirmed to Sports Betting Dime, which came to light during a recent Massachusetts Gaming Commission meeting in which the commission evaluated its own membership status.

Washington’s Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling also cut ties with the NCPG on Sept. 17, citing their concerns with the NCPG’s decision to allow Kalshi’s membership into the council.

Throughout the strife, the NCPG has maintained its position of neutrality on whether prediction markets should be legal. Longmeier published a statement on the rapid growth of prediction markets and the council’s approach to gambling-related harm associated with them.

“Regardless of how prediction markets are currently legally defined, NCPG believes it is functionally gambling and can expose consumers to many of the same risks and harms associated with traditional gambling. We’ve been clear about this well before we launched our Financial Trader Health and Safety Initiative earlier this year. And the exposure today — in scale, in speed, and in reach to new and often young users — is unprecedented. NCPG is neutral on whether prediction markets should be legal. We are not neutral on the need to prevent and reduce gambling-related harm wherever it occurs,” he reported.

The NCPG is a donor-supported organization. Donor engagement does not mean endorsement, Longmeier stressed.