Prevention in Progress: The FSRG Initiative at Mid-Year

It’s been a full first half of 2026 for the Financial Stability and Responsible (FSRG) Initiative and we wanted to take a moment to share what we’ve been building and where we are headed.

The FSRG Initiative is the first coordinated U.S. effort to confront gambling-related financial harm as a public health and financial stability issue. Launched by Kindbridge Research Institute and in partnership with UCLA in early 2025, we are bringing together cross-sector stakeholders to develop practical strategies that reduce preventable harm and strengthen early prevention and intervention.

What We’ve Done

• Off the Launch Pad
  March was a busy and significant month for the FSRG Initiative. We launched our website, creating a central hub for the initiative’s background, goals, findings, educational content, and the Insights Report. Released in March 2026, the Insights Report draws on learnings from the FSRG Initiative’s cross-sector working group and explores the United States’ shift from largely cash-based gambling to a normalized digital experience embedded in everyday financial life. It highlights emerging risks, identifies opportunities for earlier harm detection, and makes the case for a public health-informed approach to understanding and addressing gambling-related financial harm through collaborative action.
• Staying Connected
  Early in 2026, we established the communications infrastructure to keep our community informed and engaged through social channels, monthly blogs, monthly newsletters, and a recurring webinar and expert discussion series. These channels have helped translate the initiative’s core mission into ongoing conversations with stakeholders across sectors, extending the initiative’s efforts beyond the working group and creating more ways for people to engage. Through this work, we’ve explored how financial literacy supports prevention, how financial strain affects mental health, and how emerging gambling trends intersect with well-being. Recent highlights include our June webinar with the American Institute for Boys and Men’s Jonathan Cohen and UCLA’s Dr. Timothy Fong, which examined why young men may be especially vulnerable to gambling-related harm.
• Out and About
  The FSRG Initiative also presented its findings to broader responsible gambling audiences throughout the first half of the year, helping connect financial stability more directly to conversations about gambling harm and mental health. Dr. Timothy Fong shared the findings from the Insights Report to highlight financial stability (or instability) in gambling and its impact on mental health at the 19th Annual Nevada State Conference on Problem Gambling in Reno, NV. Dr. Fong also presented at the 19th International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking in Las Vegas, where he shared emerging evidence linking financial stress, psychological distress, and risky gambling behaviors and made the case for a financial-wellness lens in responsible gambling.

Together, these efforts have moved the initiative from early cross-sector convening to a new phase of education and engagement. Through the Insights Report, webinars, newsletters, and conference presentations, the FSRG Initiative is helping more stakeholders recognize gambling-related financial harm as a public health and financial stability issue that requires coordinated action across sectors.

Why This Work Matters Right Now

FSRG’s progress this year comes at a moment when the need for coordinated action is becoming increasingly clear. Gambling in the United States looks fundamentally different from what it did 25 years ago. Digital access and instant funding have reshaped spending behavior, but financial literacy has not kept pace with the complexity, speed, or integration of today’s financial and gambling-adjacent products.

At the same time, the systems that could help identify and prevent harm remain fragmented. Banks, payment processors, gambling operators, healthcare providers, and regulators see different parts of the problem, yet no shared framework exists to support coordinated prevention or early intervention.

FSRG is working to address that gap by bringing sectors into conversation and translating shared understanding into practical education, resources, and prevention strategies.

What We’re Doing Next

As we look to the rest of 2026, the FSRG Initiative is focused on deepening this work and bringing more voices into the conversation.

This summer, we will launch a new monthly podcast hosted by Dr. Timothy Fong. Each episode will focus on identifying emerging financial and behavioral signals before gambling-related harm escalates, featuring guests from the FSRG working group and additional experts in mental health, finance, advocacy, and research.

We will also continue hosting webinars that bring together voices from across sectors to share knowledge and practical insights on reducing gambling-related financial harm.

This fall, the FSRG Initiative will attend the International Center for Responsible Gaming Conference and G2E, September 27 – October 1, in Las Vegas, NV. We would love to connect with attendees and share more about the initiative. We will be hosting an FSRG Initiative reception during G2E. If you’re interested in attending or learning more, please reach out to kary.carbone@kindbridgeinstitute.org.

Looking ahead, financial literacy will remain a central area of focus, particularly as it continues to lag among younger populations. We also recognize that military service members and veterans face distinct financial and psychosocial stressors that increase vulnerability to gambling-related financial harm. These priorities will guide FSRG and other Kindbridge Research Institute programs as we work collaboratively to develop practical, evidence-informed resources.

From Signals to Action

The work of the FSRG Initiative is grounded in the idea that gambling-related financial harm is preventable, but only if the right people are working together before a crisis sets in. The progress of this first half of 2026 reflects that idea in action, and we’re just getting started.

None of this happens without the financial professionals, clinicians, researchers, and advocates who have contributed to our initiative thus far. If you’ve been a part of our working group, attended a webinar, read the Insights Report, or simply followed along, thank you. Your engagement is what makes cross-sector collaboration more than just a concept.

We’d love for you to stay connected and get involved. Subscribe to our newsletter, tune into the podcast launching this summer, or join us in Las Vegas this fall. And if you see an opportunity for your organization to contribute to this work, we’d welcome the conversation.

There is still so much to do, and the FSRG Initiative is committed to turning early signals into the coordinated action that prevents harm before it starts.