Continued from page 21 ATHLETE EDUCATION “Just because a sport is at lower risk [of match manipulation] doesn’t mean the athletes should not be educated on this subject. I’m confident that a vast majority of athletes know the sanctions associated with doping control, because, in Canada, we have to go through [doping] training modules on a yearly basis. So why don’t we help our athletes become more informed [about match manipulation and gambling]? They may get a lifetime ban from their sport. [Match manipulation] is considered a criminal offence in a growing number of countries. This is something athletes should be aware of as they travel the world to represent our country.” — Jacqueline Simoneau, two-time Olympian and member of the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission COMBINED RISKS “Gambling doesn’t occur in a silo. Sports and gambling are highly normalized in our society. There is a higher risk when individuals are gambling and using alcohol or cannabis, for entering into high-risk activity. We’ve developed specific education campaigns and programs for youth at high schools, colleges and universities, to get that message through. It’s absolutely essential, as we embark upon this kind of education, to take a culturally sensitive approach to understanding the values, beliefs and culture of the people we’re speaking to and developing education and information that is relevant and meaningful.” — Shelley White, CEO, Responsible Gambling Council PLAYER PROTECTION “We had this one case, Benjamin Tucker Patz, who would spend large amounts of money on 10-game parlays, usually with heavy favourites. Well, he would try to influence the game by essentially sending threatening messages to players right before game time. There were extreme threats of violence. [It takes] a large amount of time and effort to investigate a case and even in this case, the individual was sentenced to 36 months of probation. I believe the industry will have to come up with protections because you are going to have people sending horrible messages to players and law enforcement does not have the resources to investigate every single threat.” — Special Agent David White, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Chicago OUT OF THE SHADOWS “We always saw a regulated, competitive market as an opportunity to combat competition manipulation and other threats to sports integrity. One reason is that it gets sports betting out of the shadows. Before legalization, there was a thriving gray market in Ontario. One of our primary objectives was to get players into the regulated space. I’m happy to say that we’re at an 85.3% channelization rate of players that have played in the regulated market, after just one year of legalization. It means we’ve got intelligence about the operators and the industry, we know who’s coming into the market and that they have to meet extensive standards in Ontario, not just limited to sports betting. It also includes responsible gambling, cybersecurity and anti money laundering.” — Doug Hood, project director, gaming modernization, Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario BEHIND THE SCENES INVESTMENT “We’re in the trust industry. Consumers will only spend their time, their entertainment experience with us because they trust the outcome. So much of what we do as an operator is really about building and securing that trust and ensuring it’s even stronger and more resilient. That’s why integrity monitors are a part of our ecosystem. Live gambling is the fastest growing category in sports betting today and represents about half of all bets we take on our platform. If it wasn’t for the types of investments we’re making in the platform—the AI and the ability to spot discrepancies—we’d never keep up.” — Scott Vanderwel, CEO, PointsBet Canada ADRENALIN REPORTS SPORT COMPETITION CANADIAN BETTING TURNOVER, 2022 Basketball NBA $1.16 billion Ice hockey NHL $912.6 million Football NFL $875.2 million Baseball MLB $665.9 million Soccer WORLD CUP $518.2 million TOP 5 BETTING COMPETITIONS OFFERED IN CANADA Source: Sportradar 23 ADRENALINMAG.CA FALL 2023 | ADRENALIN
