Florida set to bring Kindbridge as operator of state gambling hotline

• Kindbridge Research Institute set to take over Florida's gambling helpline
• The nonprofit succeeds the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling
• The FGPG argued the regulator refused to negotiate a renewal contract

Florida is in all likelihood settled on a new supplier of its gambling hotline, with the Florida Gaming Control Commission providing documentation on its website last week, a report by Fox 29 said on Wednesday, March 26.

Florida may have picked a new operator for its helpline

The outlet dug into the available documentation and found out that the Kindbridge Research Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on developing high-impact solutions for addictive behaviors and disorders, as well as advancing research in the field, will be in charge of the toll-free helpline.

The new state operator will also seek to offer training services to employees of venues with slot machines, helping them identify the signs of addiction and step in early, and intervene in cases where consumers are clearly exhibiting symptoms of the behavior.

Previously, the helpline was managed by the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, but the regulator and the organization could not agree on the specifics of renewing the contract past its 2024 expiration date.

The Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling Executive Director Jennifer Kruse cited financial reasons and the regulator’s refusal to negotiate for the nonprofit’s decision to withdraw as well, arguing that it was understaffed and did not have enough funding to carry on, not least caused by caused by the lack of renewed contract with the state.

"We have less staff. We aren’t able to fill vacant positions. We aren’t able to provide hard copy literature because we don’t have the budget to reproduce some of that stuff," Kruse said, cited by Fox 29.

While the Kindbridge Research Institute focuses on advancing research and providing advisory services, its counterpart, Kindbridge Behavioral Health, is responsible for delivering clinical services and applying cutting-edge research on addiction and problem gambling to treatment programs.

Florida’s gambling regulator and outgoing operator can’t agree on the details

A separate report by Casino Reports said that Ross Marshman, the Acting Executive Director of the Florida Gaming Control Commission, had indeed offered a renewed contract to the Council but it was turned down and thus the contract lapsed on July 1, 2024, which then led to the increasing financial difficulty on the Council to run the service.

However, the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling argued that this was not true and that they had declined the contract offer.

A lawyer who wrote on behalf of the Council to lawmakers who heard Marshman testify to the House State Administration Budget Subcommittee and explained that the organization was offered a "take-it-or-leave-it" deal without the option to negotiate "an acceptable renewal contract."

The issue had to do with the way the regulator wanted the Council to report its operations, with Kruse arguing that the new reporting conditions demanded by the watchdog would have been impossible to implement because of how small the staff was, and how onerous those requirements were.

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