MoneyStack, a financial counselling platform designed for behavioural healthcare, has secured $1m in fresh investment to embed financial crisis support within treatment programmes, beginning with gambling addiction.
Cistern Capital led the round. The American Heart Association’s Social Impact Funds, O’Shaughnessy Ventures, Sidecut Ventures, Gaingels and a group of angel investors also took part. The latest capital lifts the total amount MoneyStack has raised so far to almost $2m.
MoneyStack plans to put the money towards further development of technology built specifically for financial counselling in behavioural healthcare settings. This includes GamFin, its offering for people dealing with gambling addiction. The firm also aims to turn its years of direct counselling work and client data into tools that can help its model grow. One example is analysing financial transaction data to spot early warning signs of financial harm, so that counsellors and clients can prepare in advance instead of reacting once a crisis has already hit.
According to the company, money problems and mental health often make each other worse. It said 86% of people who have lived with mental health problems reported that their finances had harmed their mental health, and 72% said their mental health problems had damaged their finances.
MoneyStack argues that financial support is largely absent from behavioural health treatment. Clinical teams may treat the condition itself, but patients and their families are often left to deal with the financial fallout without help. The company added that this need applies across behavioural health, including mental health conditions, substance use, addictions and impulse-control disorders.
The firm also pointed to wider health effects. It cited a 2025 study of more than 280,000 adults, which linked financial strain and food insecurity to faster cardiac ageing. The same study associated financial strain with a higher risk of death.
Gambling disorder is a particular focus because money is built into the behaviour itself. In 2025, financial difficulties came up in 73% of conversations with the National Problem Gambling Helpline, which made money problems the most common reason people called. An estimated 2.5 million adults in the US have a severe gambling problem, and a further 5 to 8 million have mild or moderate problems. A 2024 study found that people with gambling disorder died by suicide at roughly five times the rate of the general population.
MoneyStack works under contract with behavioural health providers, state agencies and other third-party payers to add specialised financial counselling to existing care programmes.
MoneyStack founder and CEO Alex De Marco said, “MoneyStack started with a gap I experienced firsthand between the financial support people need and what they’re often offered.
“That gap becomes even more consequential when a financial crisis is tied to a behavioral health condition like gambling addiction. Clinical teams treat the disorder. Nobody addresses the debt, the tax issues, and a broken relationship with money — the factors that pull people back to gambling and sports betting. This funding lets us put financial counselors inside more programs.”
American Heart Association Ventures managing partner Lisa Suennen said, “Rates of gambling are increasing rapidly, driven by widespread legalization and mobile betting. The resulting financial stress can lead to depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions, all of which increase risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
“MoneyStack’s approach to addressing financial health alongside behavioral health strongly aligns with the Social Impact Funds focus on moving upstream to improve health and opportunity.”
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