Last month, the Canadian Gaming Summit held a meeting. They met to discuss the importance of regulated sports betting markets in Canada. At the top of their integrity conversations is former Toronto Raptors two-way player, Jontay Porter. The 24-year-old found himself caught red-handed for being involved in an alleged NBA betting scheme. Porter faces criminal charges for his wrongdoings. A panel called “Protecting Sports Betting Integrity: Making A Complex Ecosystem Work” at the Canadian Gaming Summit had this to say.
“I’m not sure that it’s in the news a little more is evidence it’s happening more than it was before,” said PointsBet Canada CEO Scott Vanderwall. “It’s evidence the regulated ecosystems, as complex as they are, are doing more to identify and bring into light situations that might have previously been kept out of the public eye.”
Ontario sports betting system has been thriving since it first launched
In 2021, Ontario opened its commercial sports betting market. One of their main reasons for doing so was to uncover any integrity issues in sports. Doug Hood works with the Alcohol Gaming Commission of Ontario. He noted that they want to uncover anything in the shadows and shine some light on it. Ontario sports betting regulators acted quickly in 2022 when UFC wagers were suspended due to integrity concerns. It’s not something that the Ontario AGC takes lightly. Sportsbooks trust that their bettors are using integrity when they are betting. If they are not, it’s hard for the operators to have any form of trust.
Educating athletes on sports betting is important
According to Jean-Francois Reymond, athletes are anywhere between two to 16 times more likely to be involved in problem gambling. Reymond is an education consultant at the International Betting Integrity Association. PointsBet Canada CEO Scott Vanderwall noted that the athletes are the base level of sports integrity. It’s a complex issue that Ontario is trying to tackle. In some professional leagues, players receive education on the first day of training camp. Scott Grant is the manager of competition manipulation at the Canadian Center for Ethics in Sport. Sports leagues want to protect their players and the major sportsbook operators as well. They never want to see a case like Jontay Porter’s happen again.
