The Kindbridge Research Institute on Tuesday launched the Financial Stability and Responsible Gambling Initiative, calling it the first coordinated effort in the U.S. confronting gambling-related financial harm as a public health and financial stability issue.
Kindbridge is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing research and solutions in behavioral addiction and mental health challenges.
The multi-year national initiative brings together experts in finance, healthcare, and research to develop practical strategies for reducing the financial harm that can result from gambling, including mounting debt, missed payments, and money stress that affects stability or health. These financial problems are often the first sign of deeper struggles.
In clinical settings, many of those who seek help for gambling later learn they’ve also been dealing with mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, or trauma, making this a critical point for early intervention.
“Financial stress connected to gambling is often one of the earliest signs that a person is under serious strain — whether it’s emotional, psychological, or financial,” Kindbridge Research Institute Director of Financial Stability and Responsible Gambling Initiative Daniel Umfleet said in a statement. “By bringing together sectors that haven’t traditionally worked in partnership, we have a real chance to step in earlier, coordinate care, and build practical responses that stabilize lives and strengthen systems of support.”
In a column published by CDC Gaming, Umfleet wrote that this kind of financial distress may include a “paycheck that no longer covers essentials, a credit card that’s maxed out faster than expected, a loan taken out quietly and repaid with difficulty. These aren’t just money problems. In many cases, they’re early symptoms of deeper financial instability and emotional strain.”
The Financial Stability and Responsible Gambling Initiative will be guided by a national working group bringing together leaders across sectors to share insights and explore upstream solutions such as financial education to strengthen prevention and care. As part of the initiative, researchers at UCLA will conduct research to understand how gambling and financial instability intersect, what patterns may signal early risk, and which interventions are most effective at preventing more serious financial and health consequences.
“Financial stress is one of the most common and damaging consequences of harmful gambling,” said UCLA Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program Dr. Timothy Fong. “As clinicians, we see how financial harm often drives people to seek help, but by the time they do, much of the damage has already been done. This initiative allows us to intervene earlier in that trajectory. Just as important, it gives us the opportunity to collect new data that can directly inform how we design support systems that work.”
