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WHEN: Thursday, October 2, 6:30pm central - Saturday, October 4, 1:30pm central
WHERE: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Austin, 6506 N Interstate 35, Austin, TX (there are two DoubleTree hotels in Austin- make sure you travel to 6505 N Interstate 35)
Top 5 Reasons to Attend the 2025 National Conference:
1) You'll learn the best and most up-to-date information about the major problem of predatory gambling in America as well as what we and others from around the world are doing to stop it. Topic areas to be discussed include:
- Regional casinos and the reality about the impacts they have left in their wake
- Online gambling and its addictive design features
- The national scandals engulfing state lotteries and how lotteries are now moving into online casino-like gambling schemes
- Commercialized sports gambling and the societal impacts it has inflicted, especially upon young men and boys
- Other forms of commercialized gambling being pushed by gambling corporations in partnership with states and local governments.
2) You get an opportunity to plan strategy, share stories, and build new friendships (while renewing old ones) with other leaders and concerned citizens from across the nation fighting against predatory gambling in their communities and states.
3) If you or someone you love has the lived experience of predatory gambling, you can help work to protect others from going through the same kind of human suffering in the future.
4) You'll sharpen your skills to become a more influential and effective advocate to stop predatory gambling in your community and state.
5) You'll meet and talk with some of the nation’s and world's leading voices against predatory gambling.
Who Should Attend:
The list includes:
- Concerned citizens opposing predatory gambling in their state or community;
- Federal, state, and local elected officials;
- Congressional and state legislative staff members;
- Citizens with the lived experience of gambling and their families;
- Faith community leaders;
- Members of the media;
- Anti-poverty advocates;
- Addiction treatment counselors;
- Public health officials and researchers;
- Attorneys who represent those who've been harmed by predatory gambling operators;
- Non-profit leaders and their colleagues
Registration, Lodging, and Food Details:
We have worked very hard to keep the cost as inexpensive as possible. Space is limited so don't wait to register. You can register for the event by clicking the red button below and you can reserve a hotel room at a special discounted rate down below. Members of the media are eligible for free admission to the conference by emailing us at mail@stoppredatorygambling.org
Your registration fee of $249 includes access to all events as well as four meals including dinner on Thursday night, Oct. 2, lunch and dinner on Friday, Oct. 3rd, lunch on Saturday Oct. 4th, and refreshments in the morning and afternoon during the event. A breakfast buffet for one person is included with all hotel stays so all meals are covered for conference attendees.
We received a special discount lodging rate at the DoubleTree By Hilton Hotel Austin for $179 plus taxes and includes buffet breakfast if you book a room by Monday, September 1st. After that date, the hotel releases our block of rooms and attendees will have to pay the market rate which is considerably higher at that time of year. If you share a room, and only if that additional person wants the buffet, the cost of one additional breakfast will be added to the room bill.
To book your hotel room at the group rate, you must use this DoubleTree By Hilton Hotel Austin booking link. Once clicked, the group code will already be applied. Just enter the dates of your stay and the discounted price will appear.
Also, for those attendees seeking another lodging option, we also reserved a block of rooms at the nearby Drury Inn & Suites Austin North which is a 5 minute walk from the DoubleTree By Hilton Hotel Austin. That rate is $127 per night plus taxes and includes a breakfast. To book your hotel room at the group rate, you must use this Drury Inn & Suites Austin North booking link.
Confirmed speakers include: (in mostly alphabetical order. Names of additional speakers will be added as confirmed)
- Dr. Lucy Dadayan, a principal research associate with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute, where she is leading the State Tax and Economic Review project. Her primary research focuses on state and local government fiscal issues, including state government tax revenue trends, personal income taxes, tax revenue forecasts, property taxes, gambling tax revenue, government employment, spending on social services, education spending, and state spending on children’s programs. She was a principal author behind the major national report on government revenues from gambling "State Revenues From Gambling: Short-Term Relief, Long-Term Disappointment" published by The Nelson Rockefeller Institute of Government, the public policy research arm of the State University of New York. Lucy holds an MA in public policy and affairs and a PhD in informatics, both from the State University of New York at Albany.
- Matt Zarb-Cousin, one of the world's most influential and effective gambling reformers and leader of the United Kingdom's Clean Up Gambling, a not for profit pressure group campaigning for reform of online gambling in Britain. In addition to his work as director of Clean Up Gambling in the UK, Matt is a co-founder of Gamban, device level blocking software for gambling sites and apps. Previously he was spokesperson for the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, which lobbied successfully for a reduction in the maximum stake on ‘Fixed Odds Betting Terminals’ (betting shop gambling machines) from £100 to £2 a spin. Matt was also spokesperson for the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, the popularly elected legislative body of the bicameral British Parliament, in 2016-2017.
- Martin Thomas, CEO of The Alliance for Gambling Reform, a national advocacy organization working to reduce gambling harm in Australia. He has extensive experience in the media and in the non-profit sector. He has held senior media, advocacy and policy roles with World Vision Australia/International, Mission Australia and UNICEF Australia. He was also CEO of Habitat for Humanity Australia. Earlier he worked as a senior editor and writer with The Australian newspaper and The Courier-Mail. When he is not working with the Alliance, Martin is running his own consultancy, Salt and Light Consulting, that offers strategic communications, advocacy, policy and campaigning support to for-purpose agencies.
- Dr. Kavita Fischer, a Pennsylvania psychiatrist who is board certified in both general psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry. She has worked in multiple psychiatric settings including outpatient community mental health, private practice, emergency psychiatry, and managed care. She is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and is currently the president-elect of her district branch, the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society. She has given talks nationally about her own experience with the harms of predatory gambling and her expertise in gambling disorder and recovery. She also has appeared in several major national media outlets including The Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio.
- Dr. Noah Goodall, who directs Open Book Research, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conducting public interest research on gambling, gun violence, junk science in courts, and autonomous vehicle safety. Since 2024, he has focused on analyzing state-run online casino applications, particularly the Virginia Lottery's $2.9B annual internet gambling platform. Professionally, Goodall serves as a transportation researcher, holds a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, and is a licensed engineer in Virginia.
- Rob Kohler, one of the nation’s top experts on state lotteries and other forms of commercialized gambling who has appeared in national and state media across the United States. He’s been a lobbyist against predatory gambling for the Texas Baptists' Christian Life Commission for almost 20 years. Before becoming an opponent of predatory gambling, he worked for the Texas State Lottery for 12 years in his early professional life.
- Professor Dr. John Kindt, Professor Emeritus of Business and Legal Policy at the University of Illinois and one of America’s most distinguished and respected scholars on the economic consequences of commercialized gambling. He recently led the University of Illinois Law Review symposium on commercialized gambling which published nine must-read articles by some of the nation's best legal scholars and attorneys.
- Dr. Jonathan Krutz, Emeritus Professor of the College of Business and Economics at Boise State University. He has studied gambling policy issues extensively, especially the economic impacts of commercialized gambling, and provided expert testimony for policy makers for more than 25 years. His most recent research is titled "Do Casinos Create Economic Development? A 15-Year National Analysis of Local Retail Sales and Employment Growth" and you can read it here. Jonathan is also the Chairman of the National Board for Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation.
- Rob Minnick, a gambling addiction recovery content creator who made his last bet on November 12, 2022 and now reaches an average of 15 million people monthly across all platforms sharing the story of his addiction and subsequent recovery in an effort to help others avoid making the same mistakes that he did. He graduated from Georgetown University in 2021 with an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and has now become a full time content creator with intentions of continuing to help those going down the same path that he did. His target audience is made up of young men and women between the ages of 18-30 and he shares his story with them on a daily basis. Follow him on Tiktok (tiktok.com/@ (http://tiktok.com/@rob_odaat)
- Isaac Rose-Berman, a fellow at The American Institute for Boys and Men focused on gambling research and policy. He is also a professional sports bettor and writes about the gambling industry at his website howgamblingworks.com. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal and other national media.
- Les Bernal, the National Director of Stop Predatory Gambling. Les has spoken and written extensively about commercialized gambling operators and their business practices, including regional casinos, state lotteries, online gambling, and commercialized sports betting.
TRIP PLANNING DETAILS
DATE, LOCATION AND TRAVEL LOGISTICS
DoubleTree By Hilton Hotel Austin, 6505 N Interstate 35. Austin, TX 78752. (There are two DoubleTree hotels in Austin- make sure you travel to 6505 N Interstate 35.) Phone: (512) 454-3737. The conference begins with a welcome dinner on Thursday night, Oct. 2nd at 6:30pm central time. Conference sessions will begin Friday morning, Oct. 3rd at 8:30am central and through Saturday, Oct. 4th at 1:30pm.
Best Travel Options to Austin, TX:
By Air:
The closest airport is Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. It's about a 17-minute Uber or cab ride from the airport to the hotel. As we get closer to the date of the event and you're interested in sharing an Uber with other attendees arriving by air, we can connect you with each other and you can try to coordinate. There is also a city bus that runs from the airport which will involve a couple of transfers. If you want to investigate it, visit here. There is no free hotel shuttle to and from the airport.
By Car:
If you plan to drive to the hotel, attendees receive discounted self-parking at $10 per day for daily or overnight attendees.
Questions? Need More Info?
If you have any questions about registration, making travel arrangements, or anything else please email mai@stoppredatorygambling.org or call (202) 567-6996. As we get closer to the event in the weeks ahead, please check the conference landing page for updates on the schedule and speakers. We will also be emailing all those who register with updated details.
LODGING and MEALS
We received a special discount lodging rate at the DoubleTree By Hilton Hotel Austin for $179 plus taxes and includes buffet breakfast if you book a room by Monday, September 1st. After that date, the hotel releases our block of rooms and attendees will have to pay the market rate which is considerably higher at that time of year. If you share a room, and only if that additional person wants the buffet, the cost of one additional breakfast will be added to the room bill.
To book your hotel room at the group rate, you must use this DoubleTree By Hilton Hotel Austin booking link. Once clicked, the group code will already be applied. Just enter the dates of your stay and the discounted price will appear. (There are two DoubleTree hotels in Austin- make sure you travel to 6505 N Interstate 35.)
Also, for those attendees seeking another lodging option, we also reserved a block of rooms at the nearby Drury Inn & Suites Austin North which is a 5 minute walk from the DoubleTree By Hilton Hotel Austin. That rate is $127 per night plus taxes and includes a breakfast. To book your hotel room at the group rate, you must use this Drury Inn & Suites Austin North booking link.
Your registration fee of $249 includes includes access to all events as well as four meals including dinner on lunch and dinner on Friday, Oct. 3rd, lunch on Saturday Oct. 4th, and refreshments in the morning and afternoon during the event. A breakfast buffet for one person is included with all hotel stays so all meals are covered for conference attendees.
MAKE A GIFT TO SUPPORT THE 2025 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
By choosing to support Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation with your tax-deductible donation today, you’re taking an active role to help the 40 million Americans experiencing harm caused by the greed of big gambling operators.