Moreover, there’s a long list of MLB players who have made the news for gambling scandals over the years, while some of the NBA’s most prolific players have lost millions to the house. The NFL has had it’s fair share of gambling related suspensions of late.
How is it that the NHL has been relatively removed from gambling scandals compared to the other big leagues around America? You certainly don’t see the league in the news that much, aside from Evander Kane’s publicized gambling problems. But there’s a more pressing question that we’d like to pose in light of this recent event. So why the ban? Initial reports infer that it has something to do with a third-party being permitted access to Pinto’s personal online sports betting account to make wagers.
Oddly, the league admitted that Pinto had not bet on the NHL. The league’s collective bargaining agreement states that gambling on any NHL game is prohibited, but players are permitted to gamble on other sports if they choose to do so.
The Ottawa Senators’ Shane Pinto will serve a 41-game ban after investigation (and subsequent admission) revealed a violation of policy. Last week, the National Hockey League (NHL) handed out its first ever suspension for player involvement in sports betting since the proliferation of online gambling.
