U.S. SENATOR RICHARD BLUMENTHAL JOINS STELLAR LINEUP AT PUBLIC HEALTH ADVOCACY INSTITUTE'S INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON ONLINE GAMBLING AND PUBLIC HEALTH

Blumenthal joins Congressman Paul Tonko and Australia's Dr. Charles Livingstone as keynote speakers at the April 24^th event; Symposium speakers include some of the leading worldwide voices leading the fight against online gambling addiction

BOSTON, April 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) announced today that U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal will join Congressman Paul Tonko and Dr. Charles Livingstone to deliver keynote speeches at the International Symposium on Online Gambling and Public Health, to be held on Friday, April 24, 2026, at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston.

The symposium—the first of its kind in the United States—is devoted to advancing a comprehensive public health response to the unprecedented rise in online gambling. With a focus on advocacy, action and results, the event will offer key solutions to address the gambling industry's scientifically flawed, ethically compromised, and objectively failed "responsible gaming" model.

Participants will explore the ways the gambling industry, along with its sports and technology partners, continues to develop and target the public with faster and more addictive forms of online gambling, all supported by advanced artificial intelligence (AI). New online gambling platforms are designed to stimulate users with constant action as they become increasingly dependent on a known addictive product.

Critics of the responsible gaming framework argue that it places the burden on individuals while allowing the gambling industry to avoid meaningful oversight. Fortunately, the effort to replace failed RG policies with comprehensive public health regulation is now an unstoppable international movement.

Friday's in-person symposium will also feature additional elected leaders at the federal and state levels, along with members of the recently launched Families and Friends of Gamblers (FFOG) advocacy organization.

"The public's voice is loud, clear, and powerful. They are demanding change, and public health regulation is the answer," said PHAI Founder Professor Richard Daynard, a driving force behind the increased focus on online gambling as a public health issue in the United States, as well as the launch of FFOG.

PHAI Executive Director Mark Gottlieb said: "The gambling industry and its sports and technology partners must be prevented from misleading the public and state governments. The gambling industry's so-called 'responsible gambling' model eerily mimics the failed strategy employed for decades by the tobacco industry."

Dr. Harry Levant, PHAI Director of Gambling Policy, said: "The movement to expose the dangerous business partnerships between the gambling industry, professional and collegiate sports, and technology companies is truly an international effort. The gambling industry must not be permitted to continue acting in conscious disregard of public health."

U.K.'s Dr. Matt Gaskell to Join Panel of International Experts

Dr. Matt Gaskell, MBE, a world-renowned psychologist and recognized leader in the prevention and treatment of gambling disorder, will lead a group of international experts discussing public health impacts worldwide. Included among the panelists is Dr. Darragh McGee of the University of Bath, one of the world's preeminent experts on the public health impacts of online sports gambling among youth in the U.K. and other regions.

Dr. Gaskell noted that the collaboration with PHAI marks a powerful moment and represents another major step forward in the movement to replace failed regulatory policies with meaningful public health regulation. He joins with Daynard, Gottlieb, and Levant in the belief that prevention is the best form of treatment. The symposium further highlights the rise of an international public health movement designed to keep people safe from the irresponsible conduct of the gambling industry.

The public is welcome to attend this symposium in Boston by registering 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.

SOURCE Public Health Advocacy Institute