NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman addressed concerns that have arisen involving professional athletes and betting scandals in North America by stating the regulated online market is far more equipped to monitor and report suspicious betting activity than the unregulated market.
Integrity Above All Else
Since US states were given the right to determine for themselves whether regulated sports betting would be allowed inside its borders after PASPA was overturned in 2018, there have been reports of professional athletes getting ensnared in sports betting scandals.
However, with the number of athletes playing in all of North America, that number is relatively low, but when something nefarious does occur involving a member of the NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, and NHL it makes headlines.
These transgressions, although not frequent, are antithetical to the leagues’ policies of maintaining the integrity of the game, which is paramount above all else. If fans begin to doubt that the results are authentic and not manipulated, it will be the death knell of professional sports, and commissioners in all five sports are keenly aware of it.
Bettman Speaks
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman understands this as well as anyone and addressed this concern recently when he said, “What’s happened with legalized gambling is that the monitoring of betting, which it was going on illegally (before), is much more rigorous. We’ve had one incident, and it had nothing to do with betting on our games. It had to do with not adhering to the protocols that the online companies want you to adhere to. And we disciplined the player.
“But it’s about education, and we have complete confidence in our personnel, players, officials. … And it really hasn’t been an issue for us, and we’re intent on making sure that it’s not an issue. But the difference between legalized and non-legalized just means we have a better opportunity to supervise and monitor what’s going on.”
Teaming Up
It should be noted that every league and all of its franchises financially benefit from sports betting operators as they are paid handsomely to sponsor the likes of FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, etc. Therefore, commissioners like the NFL’s Roger Goodell no longer have to rail against the evils of sports betting because now they’re getting a piece of the action.
An NHL spokesperson was asked about Commissioner Bettman’s remarks and stated, “Our rules are pretty simple: Players, Coaches, Staff, and anybody employed by our League or Clubs can’t wager on NHL games. Otherwise, they must follow the rules of local authorities and any legal wagering companies. Their respective rules are myriad, such as geographic restrictions, prohibition about sharing account info, etc.”
The NHL Scandal
The most recent and notable NHL betting scandal occurred last year with Ottawa Senators center iceman Shane Pinto, who was given a 41-game suspension for violating the league’s gambling policies. Pinto’s specific infraction has not been divulged but the league has stated its investigation did not find evidence of Pinto betting on NHL games.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the league is vigilant in trying to educate its players about its gambling policies.
“We already have a comprehensive education program,” said Daly. I suppose we will review what we currently do to see if it can be improved (or needs to be), but I’m not overly concerned that players don’t understand what’s permitted and what’s not.”
The NHL Players Association also has its own sports betting education policies in place and its efforts are ongoing to make their members aware of what is and is not permitted under the NHL’s current policies.
