PUBLIC HEALTH ADVOCACY INSTITUTE (PHAI) TO HOST THE UNITED STATES’ FIRST-EVER INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM FOCUSED ON BRINGING COMPREHENSIVE PUBLIC HEALTH REGULATION TO THE ONLINE GAMBLING INDUSTRY

Top experts from around the world will gather in Boston on April 24, 2026, to examine the rise of online sports gambling, prediction markets, and online casino gambling platforms, offering practical solutions to combat what has become a global threat to public health.

BOSTON, April 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On the heels of its landmark product liability lawsuits against the online gambling industry, the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), a premier non-profit legal research center focused on public health law and advocacy, will host a landmark international symposium: “Online Gambling and the Public Health Movement” on April 24, 2026.

This full-day, in-person event taking place at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, will bring together scholars, researchers, public health professionals, and policymakers to examine the growing public health threat caused by online gambling.

Since the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned the federal ban on sports betting, online sports gambling has become widely accessible through mobile apps and digital platforms, both in the United States and globally. As newer features like micro betting and AI-driven betting systems emerge, public health experts are growing increasingly concerned about the lack of consumer protections and the addictive nature of these products.

According to a recent Ipsos study, 56% of Americans agree that sports betting undermines the integrity of sports, and 47% believe it is wrong because it promotes activities that can lead to addiction.

On both the federal level and in numerous states, legislation has been introduced—including the federal SAFE Bet Act, the Bettor Health Act in Massachusetts, and similar initiatives in Colorado, New York, New Jersey, and Ohio to ban microbetting and other forms of dangerous online gambling.

The symposium will highlight these regulatory opportunities, the challenges such legislation faces, the predatory gambling industry practices that promote addiction, and how to coordinate an effective public health response.

The event’s current speaker roster includes:

• Professor Charles Livingstone, among the world’s foremost experts on gambling and public health and Associate Professor in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University in Melbourne, Australia; United States;
• United States Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY);
• Massachusetts State Senator John Keenan;
• Assemblyman Dan Hutchison (D-NJ);
• Dr. Matt Gaskell, MBE, the Clinical Lead and Consultant Psychologist at the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) Northern Gambling Service;
• Professor Darragh McGee of the University of Bath (UK);
• Dr. Deborah Haskins, President Emerita, MD Council on Problem Gambling, Gambling Disorders Leader, Johns Hopkins University;
• Professor Natasha Dow Schüll, Associate Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University, and author of Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas (Princeton University Press, 2012);
• Professor Richard Daynard, Founder of the Public Health Advocacy Institute;
• Professor Mark Gottlieb, Executive Director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute; and
• Dr. Harry Levant, Director of Gambling Policy, Public Health Advocacy Institute.

Additional speakers will be added to the program in the coming weeks.

PHAI Executive Director Mark Gottlieb said: “Over the past twenty years, online gambling has come to dominate American sports, and particularly the world of sports. We firmly believe gambling should be regulated like any other addictive product. By convening international researchers and U.S. leaders, this symposium will highlight how evidence-based policies can reduce harm and protect public health.”

Dr. Harry Levant, PHAI’s Director of Gambling Policy, said: “The rapid expansion of online gambling demands a public health response. This landmark event will bring together the world’s leading voices in the public health movement to confront the state of online gambling and the urgent need for comprehensive regulation to protect individuals and families from an industry that continues to prioritize profits over public health.”

Panel discussions will cover a range of topics, including the shortcomings of the industry’s “responsible gaming” model, the need for federal safety standards, and policy approaches aimed at reducing harm and protecting the overall public health.

For more information and registration, visit the PHAI website here.

About The Public Health Advocacy Institute

Founded in 1979, the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) is a nonprofit legal research center focused on public health law located at Northeastern University School of Law. In 2014, PHAI formed the Center for Public Health Litigation, a nonprofit law firm that uses the civil justice system to improve public health by using litigation targeting tobacco industry products, unhealthy foods, deceptive health marketing, and deceptive gambling practices as part of a public health strategy.

PHAI continues to be at the forefront of legal efforts to address harmful gambling practices. Just last month, PHAI filed a groundbreaking sports gambling lawsuit against DraftKings, FanDuel, Genius Sports, and the National Football League (NFL), claiming the companies created, distributed, and profited from an inherently dangerous product that encourages betting behaviors resulting in addiction.

In December 2023, PHAI and its Center for Public Health Litigation filed a class action suit against DraftKings in Massachusetts that garnered nationwide headlines. In February, a Massachusetts judge rejected most of DraftKings’ Motion for Summary Judgment (MSJ) in the case, which will allow the case to proceed toward class certification, class-wide discovery and trial.

To learn more about PHAI, visit phai.org.

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SOURCE Public Health Advocacy Institute

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