In October, the NHL suspended one player for violating the league’s betting policy. Ottawa Senators forward Shane Pinto was the guilty player and he was banned for 41 games for proxy betting. The exact details surrounding Pinto’s case were not clear until recently. Shane Pinto went on the Empty Netters podcast and explained the details of his proxy betting ban by the NHL. At the time when Pinto’s account was first flagged for unusual activity, the NHL found no evidence that Pinto was betting on games in their league. Pinto had this to say to explain what happened.
“I had buddies, because I was in Canada, just place bets for me in America,” Pinto said. “I wasn’t a Canadian citizen, so I really couldn’t use a Canadian sportsbook. … That’s proxy betting, so that’s obviously a big no-no. It was an illegal act. It was a pretty big deal, so that’s why we didn’t want to fight it and just accepted it.”
Pinto explained how many people speculated that he bet on NHL games when that was not the case. It took months for the details to finally come out. The Senators forward was not betting on the NHL, but he was proxy betting. That is still against the league’s gambling policy. Shane Pinto is happy he could clear his name and say he was not betting on any games in the NHL. That could have led to a lifetime ban.
What was Shane Pinto doing before the proxy betting caught up to him?
Last August or early September, Shane Pinto received a phone call from his agent. It was to let Pinto know that the NHL revived a call from its partners and they wanted to bring him in for questioning. Shane Pinto spoke to officials twice in three weeks and said he was transparent. Officials notified Pinto of his punishment two days before the announcement on October 26, 2023. Pinto knew he was guilty in this case and he had to accept his punishment. On the Empty Netters podcast, Pinto said he’s ready to put this all behind him and move forward with his career. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly is happy with the league’s current betting policy. Last fall, they had a tour where they highlighted the education of gambling. Several professional sports leagues in North America are acting quickly when it comes to players, coaches, or staff being caught in a betting scandal. Ottawa’s Shane Pinto was the latest case of that happening.
