Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation
Improving People's Lives With Compassion and Fairness
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
A nation of small earners, who could be small savers, has been turned into a nation of habitual gamblers on course to lose more than $1 trillion of personal wealth to state-sanctioned lotteries and casinos over the next eight years. It’s America’s biggest most-neglected problem today. Tens of millions of Americans are broke and countless are addicted to commercialized gambling. Reducing citizen gambling losses by 50% over the next eight years would put $500 billion back into the hands of the people and our communities. Reducing the amount of gambling losses will also lessen the major social costs that commercialized gambling leaves in its wake like addiction, divorce, domestic violence, child neglect, and crime. There is no dignity in losing your housing payment, food money, paycheck, or Social Security payment out of desperation at your local state-sanctioned gambling outlet
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
#KnowOurNames
#KnowOurNames is a campaign to to help and support those citizens with the lived experience of commercialized gambling. We will stand alongside them as they emerge from the shadows of society where they have been left behind and put them at the front.
Relying on the relationships of our partner groups in our national network, Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation will capture the personal testimonies of victims of commercialized gambling in each state. Their stories will be videotaped, edited and catalogued. Once this has been accomplished, a promotional campaign will be developed to take the #KnowOurNames campaign to the mass public so they can put human faces on this issue.
Safeguard Our Kids
One in four teenagers have a gambling problem. Suicide attempts are higher for people who gamble excessively, and for their family members. Gambling is a growing health concern for children and college students through online and sports betting, family anxiety and stress, disruption of work or study, and relationship conflict and breakdown.
Stop Predatory Gambling is working to safeguard the health and well-being of minors against predatory gambling. No kids under 18 should be exposed to gambling ads and marketing on TV, radio, at point-of-sale, or on the internet. There should be a ban on “Loot boxes” and other elements of commercialized gambling that are currently being engineered into video games that kids under 18 are playing.
Take a Break From Gambling and Bank Your Money Day
This program is scheduled for September 29, 2020. The purpose of this day has three goals:
1) To educate people on the truth that financial security occurs most often from the act of regularly saving small sums of money over the long-term.
2) Offer an opportunity for gambling operators to acknowledge they have a duty of care to citizens. We do this by inviting any store, restaurant or casino operator across the US that sells lottery tickets or offers electronic gambling machines to stop doing it for one day on Sept. 29th. Turn off the gambling machines just for one day. Stop selling scratch tickets for one day.
3) To offer family members and friends a way to start a conversation about gambling with the people they love. We do this by inviting any citizen who participates in state-sponsored gambling to stop gambling for one day on Sept. 29th. If you have a loved one or a good friend who is an active gambler, urge them to participate and be their sponsor for Sept. 29th. As a sponsor, your role is to help the person stay away from gambling, be supportive and help them pursue other activities.
The event has grown out of the work of SPG members Ronda Hatefi and her organization Oregonians for Problem Gambling Awareness. Ronda's brother Bobby Hafemann took his life because he became addicted to electronic gambling machines pushed by his own state government.
Reduce America's Gambling Losses by 50% Action #1
EDUCATE
Working through partner groups involved with improving mobility out of poverty, child welfare, public health, domestic violence, the well-being of senior citizens, homelessness, and communities of faith, Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation will provide information to citizen leaders and opinion leaders on topics such as:
Release a state-by-state report of how much personal wealth citizens lost on state-sanctioned gambling schemes;
Illustrate the connection between the spread of commercialized gambling and the amount of debt that plagues millions of Americans;
Spotlight how citizens would have moved a lot closer to financial security by saving and investing their money rather than by participating in state-run gambling schemes
Demonstrate how scaling back citizen financial losses to state-sanctioned gambling would be a net gain to the state and all of its citizens rather than a perceived loss of government revenues;
Issue a state-by-state breakdown on how states promote gambling “on credit,” using credit cards, debit cards, etc.;
Stop Predatory Gambling will organize a national convention or an online event in 2021 on commercialized gambling to elevate the voices of citizens with the lived experience of commercialized gambling and to provide a stage for opinion leaders, public officials, and partner organizations to learn about the problems of commercialized gambling to families and children. They will be encouraged to return to their respective communities and states to take collective action. We will use the 2021 convention to announce ten specific reforms that will cut citizen gambling losses by half over the next eight years, building upon the bottom heavy network we established to move them forward.
Reduce America's Gambling Losses by 50% Action #2
ADVOCATE
With the intent to cut gambling losses by 50% over the next eight years, Stop Predatory Gambling will coordinate and support the efforts of a wide spectrum of partner organizations and individuals to help them engage in coordinated work at local, state, and national levels.
Our collective work will include a spotlight upon an initial list of twelve reform proposals.
Online Educational Initiative
Stop Predatory Gambling has become the go-to organization for all things related to predatory gambling. SPG makes white papers available on all significant gambling issues. We work diligently to provide up-to-date information through online communications such as a dynamic and content-rich SPG website and by sharing the latest information via email, Facebook, Twitter and other media.
Faith in Action Initiative
We are working to better develop the large and diverse communities of faith who already oppose predatory gambling by establishing study groups in hundreds, and ultimately thousands, of churches, temples and mosques all over the nation.
Where we work
External reviews

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Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Who We Are
- A 501c3 non-profit based in Washington, DC, we are a national government reform network of individuals and organizations from across the U.S.
- We believe in improving the lives of the American people, freeing us from the lower standard of living, exploitation, and fraud that commercialized gambling spreads.
- We are the most diverse organization in the United States, one in which progressives work side-by-side with conservatives to improve the common good.
What We Stand For
- We believe everyone in America should have a fair opportunity to get ahead and improve their economic standing.
- We believe every person has intrinsic value and no one is expendable.
- We believe that a good society depends on the values of honesty, concern for others, mutual trust, self-discipline, sacrifice, and a work ethic that connects effort and reward.
- We believe no agency or entity of government should depend on predatory gambling to fund its activities.
- If you believe what we believe, sign An American Declaration on Government and Gambling today.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We continue to grow a national movement that educates the general public and holds leaders accountable to the realities of economics and the principles of justice. Specific programs and plans are explained in a previous section.
ACTION #1
Become a bottom heavy network by strengthening existing grassroots individuals and organizations and engaging more people with the lived experience of the problem to be at the front. This will be accomplished through the #KnowOurNames campaign, the 2021 national convention, and personalized meetings with key leaders in battleground d states.
ACTION #2
Provide persuasive, news-worthy, up-to-date information to the grassroots, opinion leaders, and media about the scale of the harm that commercialized gambling has inflicted upon citizens, their families, and society as a whole.
We will distribute the information by working through social media as well as working with partner groups such as those involved with child welfare, improving mobility out of poverty, public health, domestic violence, the well-being of senior citizens, homelessness, and communities of faith.
ACTION #3
Coordinate and support the efforts of a wide spectrum of partner organizations and individuals to help them engage in coordinated work at local, state, and national levels, all with the intent to cut gambling losses by 50% over the next eight years. There will be a focus on over a dozen reform proposals, beginning with safeguards for children from advertising, video games, and online marketing.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
SPG is a national, transpartisan, government reform network of individuals, family members and organizations from diverse backgrounds, political convictions and religious faiths. We are America's only national organization with a mission dedicated to predatory gambling.
Our network of individuals and organizations includes more than one million Americans nationwide. We have established a powerful, effective message that resonates with citizens from all areas of society. We have also demonstrated the kind of resilient, "burn the boats" attitude that underlies all successful social reform movements.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have become the leading voice against expanded gambling in the United States with a powerful, effective message. We are known as the go-to-guide for public education, expert testimony, and personal stories on gambling. We have developed a network of state chapters, built relationships with leaders in all 50 states, and recruited a steady organizational base of dedicated volunteers. We are passionate advocates for the health and well-being of individuals, families, communities and our nation so will continue to stand against the exploits of commercialized gambling.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Community meetings/Town halls, Constituent (client or resident, etc.) advisory committees,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve,
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
Our staff, Our board,
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time,
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation
Board of directorsas of 5/20/2020
Dr. Guy Clark
Stop Predatory Gambling New Mexico
Guy Clark
Stop Predatory Gambling New Mexico
Jonathan Krutz
Stop Predatory Gambling Idaho
Paul Boni
Pennsylvania
Tom Coates
Iowa
Barrett Duke
Montana Southern Baptist Convention
William Evans
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Joseph Godfrey
Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP)
JoDean Joy
Stop Predatory Gambling South Dakota
Pat Loontjer
Gambling with the Good Life in Nebraska
Carey Theil
Grey2K
Weston Ware
Stop Predatory Gambling Texas
Joseph Rust
Utah
Tom Grey
Washington
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes