Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Gaming News Canada Show

On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, host Steve McAllister welcomed back long-time sports media/business/tech entrepreneur, executive and advisor Eric Herd.

These days the Head of Global Media & Emerging Markets at Yieldmo, Herd talked about his current role and the work his company is doing with professional sports teams. Most of his conversation, however, was focused on the ongoing relationship between sports betting operators and media companies, the For Sale sign being placed on sports betting content company SportsGrid, the shutting down of the FanDuel Sports Network and a recent restructuring of Vegas Sports and Information Network (VSiN).

McAllister also asked Herd for his thoughts on the sports rights landscape that now includes streaming companies (i.e. Netflix), the shifting watching habits of sports fans, and more.

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Given the daily flurry of news, notes and quotes around the Canadian gaming industry, Steve McAllister brought back his media colleagues Geoff Zochodne (Covers) and Tom Nightingale (Canadian Gaming Business/SBC Americas) for an extended episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

Among the stream of topics covered:

• A postmortem on a busy Global Gaming Expo, including the piling on by the American Gaming Association and others against prediction markets over the three days of panels, fireside chats and speeches at the Las Vegas conference.
• The latest on Alberta’s regulated market, including the comments of Service Alberta/Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally on how many operators will be up and running (legally) by October 13, what the province can do when it comes to unlicensed operators moving forward, a federal bill to create guardrails around sports betting advertising, and possibly exploring the use of cryptocurrency in the gaming space.
• Comments by AGCO boss Dr. Karin Schnarr at G2E about Ontario also seeking to deal more harshly with unlicensed operators.
• The results from the Quebec provincial election and what that may mean for regulated gambling in La Belle Province.
• The ongoing discussion around sports betting and igaming advertising by national TV networks and most notably TSN and Sportsnet.
• Nightingale’s interview last week with Molly Cormier on the rebranding of the Canadian Lottery Coalition to the Canadian Alliance for Regulated Gaming and what that means.
• And, a lengthy final segment on last week’s Supreme Court of Canada appeal hearing with some provincial lottery and gaming corporations pushing back against Ontario’s wishes for cross-borders gaming.

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Between trips to Las Vegas for the BSA/AML Gaming Conference and this week’s Global Gaming Expo, Derek Ramm made his return to the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

Ramm, the Global Head of Advisory Services for Kinectify and a member of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Gaming Association, has been a leading voice for an overhaul of anti-money laundering rules and regulations in the Canadian gambling industry with a special focus on online gaming. He spoke with host Steve McAllister about recent monetary penaltieslevied by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) against the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation and New Brunswick Gaming Corporation.

Ramm sits on an AML working group in the CGA and spoke about the conversations the association has had with the federal government. We also asked the Kinectify exec why AML programs have yet to be put in place by gaming regulators in both Ontario and Alberta, and why he believes revised AML measures matter so much.

Finally, he spoke about what he and his colleagues at Kinectify are seeing with the data being collected around the industry these days.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, mkdodo Commercial 

Director Will Whitehead spoke with host Steve McAllister on the UK company’s continued expansion into North America – including Alberta – introduction of new products and other topics.

Whitehead, who joined mkodo as an account executive in 2013 and has been in the commercial director’s role for almost five years, talked about the retirement of Stuart Godfree this summer and the lessons learned from the company’s co-founder and long-time managing director. The conversation with McAllister included the introduction of mkodo’s GeoLocs product into Alberta over the summer and its presence in the Ontario market that includes collaborating with Bede Gaming to support OLG’s igaming business.

There’s also a segment on mkodo’s adoption of new tools, including Fraud Shieldand the challenges and opportunities around the demand for products beyond geolocation in today’s regulated gaming industry. Whitehead also addressed mkodo’s expansion strategy for the North American regulated market.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, Jonah Sigel rejoined Steve McAllister for a wide-ranging discussion on the business of sports, sports media and sports betting.

Sigel, a Toronto Star contributor and the host of the Bleav In The Pressrow podcast, gave McAllister his thoughts on the Sportsnet/NHL partnership and the tweaks that were made over the summer to talent at Hockey Night in Canada. He was also asked about the contract status of popular Toronto Raptors voice Jack Armstrong, which appears to be related to the new ownership structure of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

Five years after Sportsnet hired Cabral (Cabbie) Richards as executive producer of sports betting content – a move that didn’t pan out - Sigel and McAllister debated the integration of sports betting into sports media including the relationship between FanDuel and TSN, why the networks haven’t leaned into a second-screen experience that’s betting focused, and Sigel’s opinion on that information being provided around game broadcasts.

Finally, the host and his guest talked about the current state of sports media and journalism.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, Harley Redlick makes his return for a conversation with host Steve McAllister.

These days the Executive Director of the Canadian Addiction Recovery Association, Redlick explained the services provided by CARA – including its partnership with Connex Ontario - and the work he’s been doing since joining the organization in the spring.

Redlick also spoke about recent media coverage of youth gambling in Ontario, Massachusetts, the Netherlands and Sweden along with new(ish) programs by the Responsible Gambling Council to educate high-school students about the potential dangers of gambling. That led to a discussion about advertising and the use of athletes by sportsbook and online gaming operators in Ontario, where the Alcohol and Gambling Commission changed regulations around that use in 2024 and the lessons learned from four-plus years of regulated gambling in the province with Alberta’s regulated market approaching its two-month anniversary this weekend.

Finally, McAllister asked Redlick about the Osgoode Certificate in Gambling Law program he launched with lawyer and gaming industry veteran Don Bourgeois. The program will be offered again this fall with registration currently taking place.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, investigative journalist/author Rob Csernyik joined host Steve McAllister.

Csernyik’s book A Losing Hand: The Human Cost of Canada’s Gambling Epidemic was released earlier this summer and is the result of his reporting on the economic and social consequences of gambling – and researching gambling-related suicides after being awarded a Michener-Deacon Fellowship for Investigative Reporting in 2022. The Nova Scotia native also recently tweaked a section of his book for a an op-ed piece in The Globe and Mail on gambling among Canadian youth.

McAllister asked Csernyik what motivated his work on gambling and his investigation into the links between gambling and suicide across Canada. The book also includes telling the history of gambling in this country and the role of governments in legalizing sports betting, casino gaming, lottery and online gaming.

Csernyik also spoke about the final chapter of the book - A Path Forward - which includes a call for “provincial and national stakeholders (to) create solutions to limit the human costs of gambling”.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, host Steve McAllister took a virtual trip down under to speak with Waterhouse VC’s Chief Investment Officer, Tom Waterhouse.

Waterhouse, whose family has been involved in the business of betting for more than a century, spoke about his own personal path through the industry and what led him down the road from a 20-year-old bookmaker in 2003 to delivering value for investors through the gambling industry and authoring the regular Waterhouse VC Update on NEXT.io.

Among the topics discussed was the current state of the global economy and its impact on the sports betting and gaming industry, the shifting sands of regulated gambling jurisdictions, the role of artificial intelligence within the industry, and Waterhouse’s take on Ontario and Alberta’s regulated markets. And oh yeah, we asked Waterhouse to weigh in prediction markets

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 On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show hosted by Bede Gaming, host Steve McAllister welcomed back the Global Gaming Director for GBG Plc, Rebekah Jackson.

Jackson spoke with McAllister about GBG’s involvement in the launch of the new regulated gambling market in Alberta, including a conversation she had with AGLC Chief Regulatory Officer Dave Berry back in May at the SBC Summit Canada. GBG also has some early numbers on the work it’s doing in the western Canada province. GBG, which has also been a very active participant in Ontario’s regulated marketplace, is also lending a hand to operators preparing for launches in Finland’s incoming regulated sports betting and online gaming industry, and other countries.

Also discussed was GBG’s latest products, including Loquate, and the company’s work in other sectors around the world. And, not surprisingly, that segment included much talk about the use of artificial intelligence.

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On the latest episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, host Steve McAllister caught up with Paul Burns. The Canadian Gaming Association president and CEO was in Calgary to meet with representatives from Gibraltar – including the country’s finance minister – who were in Alberta last week for a trade mission.

Burns spoke with McAllister about the one-month-old, regulated sports betting and online gaming market in the western Canada province, and the feedback he’s received on the process leading to the July 13 launch. The arrival last week of Bally Bet gives the new regulated jurisdiction some 26 websites and Burns expects more operators will join the market before Labour Day weekend.

McAllister also asked Burns about the CGA’s position on prediction markets as companies such as Wealthsimple are making their case to do business in Canada with oversight from provincial securities regulators and no interference by gambling regulators.

Layoffs at Better Collective and Catena Media last week are the latest to take place in a year that’s seen job cuts across the industry, so we asked Burns for his thoughts.

The CGA’s head honcho also looked ahead to a busy fall when the association will release a series of white papers on the industry and is also watching bills being debated on Parliament Hill around sports betting advertising and amending the Criminal Code and Indian Act with regards to gambling. Burns said the association is also continuing to advocate for changes to the rules and regulations around anti-money laundering in our home and native land.

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Geoff Zochodne (Covers) and Tom Nightingale (Canadian Gaming Business/SBC Americas) were Steve McAllister’s guests for a wide-ranging discussion on what’s happening in the business of gambling. 

The topics du jour included:

• Thoughts and layers from the three members of the fourth estate on the opening of regulated sports betting and iGaming in Alberta last month, and what’s to come in Canada’s second regulated gaming marketplace.
• The panel did some spitballing around potential suitors for AGLC-owned PlayAlberta.
• The ongoing Ontario market which recently welcomed DAZN Bet and Hard Rock Bet and continues with 48 operators and 82 websites in a regulated landscape that is frequently praised in other jurisdictions.
• The fast-moving prediction markets issue in the U.S. and what may come to our home and native land.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, host Steve McAllister welcomed GeoComply CEO Kip Levin.

Levin joined the Vancouver-based company in March 2025 after spending the past decade in C-suite roles at Flutter Entertainment and its FanDuel and FOXBet businesses. So, McAllister asked Levin to share his thoughts from his experiences in the gambling industry on several topics including:

• The challenges to keep up with online fraudsters and scammers, especially with the ongoing evolution of artificial intelligence.
• The opportunities being provided by AI and other new technologies.
• GeoComply’s supporting role in the launch of new regulated gambling jurisdictions, including most recently in Alberta.
• The popularity with the betting populace around the recently completed men’s World Cup of Soccer.
• The evolution of GeoComply some 15 years after being founded by Anna Sainsbury and David Briggs.
• What does the road ahead look like for the gambling industry.

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On the fourth day of Alberta’s new regulated sports betting and online gaming market, Steve McAllister welcomed back to the Gaming News Canada Show the Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta iGaming Corporation, Dan Keene.

Keene talked about the busy countdown to the July 13 market opening and 18 operators being ready to make available to Alberta some 22 websites on Day One. 

Among the topics also discussed:

• The collaboration involving all stakeholders to get Canada’s second regulated marketplace up and running.
• How the western Canada province has benefited from the four-year-old Ontario model.
• The keen interest of operators, suppliers and providers to participate in Alberta and the timing for more operators to come on board.
• AiGC’s focus on proactively communicating its mandate and its commitment to social responsibility.
• The corp’s relationship with AGLC.
• When you can expect to see metrics from the new market.

McAllister also asked Keene for his reaction to the concerns already being written and talked about advertising and problem gambling.

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On the eve of the opening of Alberta’s regulated sports betting and igaming market, the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming was joined by a couple of gaming industry veterans who are plugged into the opening of Canada’s second regulated, competitive gambling jurisdiction.

GNCS regular and Canadian Gaming Association Senior VP of Policy & Communication Amanda Brewer spoke about the feedback she has received from CGA members and others in the gambling business during the countdown to opening day in Alberta. Brewer also referred to the lessons learned from four-plus years of regulated online gaming in Ontario and had an interesting response to a question from host Steve McAllister about the potential differences between the presence of the provincial gaming and lottery corporations in the two provinces.

We also asked Brewer about the ongoing presence of fake online casino ads on Meta platforms.

McAllister then welcomed Rich Taylor, the Director of Responsible Gaming at BetMGM. Taylor, a retired Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps, told his story of serving his country and then finding his way into the gambling industry.

Taylor spoke about the reaction from BetMGM customers to the most recent responsible gambling ad campaign featuring NHL superstar Connor McDavid and Newfoundland hockey legend Terry Ryan and if the Edmonton Oilers captain will appear in future RG-focused commercials – which are allowed by both the AGCO and AGLC in its rules and regulations around advertising and marketing.

That led to a conversation on BetMGM’s responsible gaming efforts which include its partnership with BCLC’s GameSense platform. Taylor, the author of an op-ed last week that appeared on various Canadian media websites, also talked about the multi-dimensional approach taken by BetMGM to support safe play.

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Aaron GlynWilliams, the Vice President of Safer Gambling for OLG – and the Chair of the Canadian Responsible Gambling Association – joins host Steve McAllister on a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

GlynWilliams, who’s played a leadership role in OLG’s responsible gambling initiatives for more than a decade, talked about the need for all stakeholders in the gaming industry to be on the same page when it comes to safer gambling during a panel discussion at last month’s SBC Summit Canada. McAllister revisited his guest’s comments and asked GlynWilliams for his reaction to the lottery corporation’s June 1 announcement about new measures targeting online gaming customers under the age of 25.

The OLG veep also spoke about his tenure as chair of the CRGA coinciding with the legalization of single-event betting across Canada, the impact on Ontario’s competitive sports betting and igaming market on OLG’s RG programs, the conversations happening between lottery and gaming corporations across the country these days, and the Corp’s existing partnerships around safer gambling. 

GlynWilliams also provided his thoughts on iGaming Ontario’s launch of BetGuard, and about the incoming regulated gambling market in Alberta. 

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, host Steve McAllister welcomed Dwain Powell, the Online Director, Sports Betting for Goldrush Gaming – the owners of the BetNova brand.

BetNova entered the highly-competitive Ontario sports betting and igaming market this spring, so McAllister asked Powell about both the challenges and opportunities that have come from being latecomers to the province’s regulated industry. Powell also addressed Goldrush’s relationship with both the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and iGaming Ontario when setting up shop in Canada’s largest province.

Goldrush is one of the 45-plus operators which have registered to do business in Alberta when the proverbial puck drops on its regulated gambling marketplace next month. Powell answered our questions on Goldrush’s road to Alberta so far and addressed the advertising and marketing strategy for BetNova, what makes the brand unique competing against established operators in Canada, and about responsible gaming.

Powell told the story of his early days in the gambling business as a casino tables supervisor, moving into the online space, the legal gaming landscape in South Africa, and, of course, the World Cup of Soccer.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, host Steve McAllister was joined by Responsible Gambling Council VP of Strategy and Programs Elaine McDougall and Lisa Couperus, the council’s Director of Education and Programs.

Couperus and McDougall spoke with your usually humble host about the early takeaways from the RGC’s Beyond the Game campaign, launched late last year to educate Grade 11 and 12 student-athletes and coaches in Ontario secondary schools about the risks of gambling. There was an additional discussion on the ongoing need for education for everyone involved in children’s lives around online gaming and also the federal government’s introduction last week of the Safe Social Media Act to limit kids’ exposure to social media.

We also spent time talking about panel discussions and other conversations that took place around responsible gaming initiatives during last month’s SBC Summit Canada, and the increasing access to data and research focused on gambling harm.

McDougall also teased an RGC announcement that’s expected to come this week that’s aligned with the attention around the men’s World Cup of Soccer.

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The latest episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming is a special soccer edition.

On the eve of the start of the men’s World Cup, Steve McAllister is joined by Simon Clare the Group Director of Consumer PR and Sponsorship, UK Brands for BetMGM’s parent company, Entain. And later, the dean of Canadian soccer media, James Sharman, returns to the podcast.

Among the topics du jour in our conversation with Clare, who’s been around the betting industry for more than three decades:

• The impact of the internet along with the legalization of sports betting in North America on betting.
• The global growth of soccer in North America, which includes Canada hosting men’s World Cup matches for the first time.
• Some advice on approaching prop/parlay/live bets during the 39-day tournament.
• The expectation that this World Cup will be the most highly engaged sporting event ever with sports bettors around the world.

Among the issues we tackled with Sharman:

• The expectations for a Canadian team that’s dealing with injuries to significant players and Sharman’s take on what’s needed for Jesse Marsch and Co. to declare success.
• What will the legacy be for Canadian soccer from this tournament, especially given the problems mostly created by FIFA in the lead-up to this tournament?
• A big-picture look at the contenders, the superstar players, and some potential Cinderella stories.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, Canadian Gaming Association president/CEO Paul Burns returned to the podcast.

Burns joined host Steve McAllister from Las Vegas, where he attended last week’s International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking and joined Dr. Mary Donohue to talk about The Power of Protective Pause: Emotional Regulation in Gambling Environments. The CGA’s head honcho provided his takeaways from the 19th annual conference.

Burns and McAllister also shared their thoughts and layers from the recent SBC Summit Canada, including:

• The road to regulation in Alberta some nine weeks before the western Canada province joins Ontario to offer a competitive gambling industry;
• The remarks by Stan Cho, Ontario’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, at the conference;
• The results of the AGCO-commissioned study into channelization;
• A reckoning from panelists and people with whom we spoke at the summit that the time has come to take further action when it comes to player protection, responsible gaming communication and advertising;
• A need for elected officials and others to be better when it comes to understanding the separation between regulated and unregulated gaming.
• Burns’s response to iGaming Ontario’s launch of its centralized self-exclusion program.

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There was a “well, that makes sense” feeling on last week’s announcement by Kambi that it would be collaborating with Canadian printing security company Canadian Bank Note Company to support CBN’s online sports betting operations in South and Central America, and the Caribbean.

It’s (almost) all Canadian all the time these days for Kambi, which earlier this year helped OLG launch a new and improved version of Proline in both digital and retail form, and then last month was selected by Atlantic Lottery and BCLC to provide the power behind their multi-province sportsbook.

So, what better timing to welcome back to the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, Kambi’s chief commercial officer – and, of course, a Canadian – Sarah Robertson. Among the topics du jour:

• Kambi’s work in seven Canadian provinces;
• Robertson’s thoughts on the incoming regulated market in Alberta;
• The expected avalanche of activity by bettors around this summer’s men’s World Cup of Footy;
• The ongoing controversy around in-play/prop betting;
• The ongoing story in the U.S. these days around prediction markets.
• The opportunities around the growth of women’s sports.

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Before ironing his dress shirts and (crying while) filling up the vehicle with petrol for the road trip to Toronto and the SBC Summit Canada, Steve McAllister virtually visited one of the panels for this week’s gathering of the Canadian gaming industry for a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

Joining McAllister to provide a sneak peek at their Brick by Brick: The construction of a new affiliate landscapediscussion Wednesday afternoon were Bet99 head of affiliate marketing Andrew Garven, Linemate co-founder Calvin Konya, Hot Takes Sports CEO Tyler Amirault and former Game Lounge director of casino Keith Geary. Among the topics du jour was examining the changing landscape around affiliates over the four-plus years of legal, regulated sports betting and online gaming in Ontario and the lessons that could/should be applied to the incoming open market in Alberta this summer.

The panel also looked at the evolving relationship between operators and affiliates, and also discussed what’s on their To Do list over the next two days at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

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Steve McAllister welcomed back a couple of chief executive officers to a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming: PointsBet Canada boss Scotty Vanderwel and Bede head honcho Colin Cole-Johnson.

The reason for the joint appearance? PointsBet and Bede last month announced collaboration on a new casino aggregation and bonusing platform provided by Bede to the Ontario-licensed operator. Vanderwel discussed the decision to bring Bede on board to power its new proprietary platform, which gives PointsBet access to an extensive online casino catalogue that includes Games Global, Pragmatic Play, Play’n GO, Light & Wonder, and other games suppliers.

Cole-Johnson talked about the company’s experience in the Ontario marketplace through its long-time partnership with OLG, and the collaboration process between the two companies’ teams to create and launch the new platform.

McAllister asked both leaders about the growth of igaming in Ontario’s regulated gambling industry, the player protection piece of the platform and the importance of both companies’ culture during the building process. Vanderwel and Cole-Johnson both addressed the opportunity around the incoming open market in Alberta and the need to create a unique product for customers in the western Canada province.

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The latest Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming took the conversation on advertising in the gambling industry in a different direction.

Host Steve McAllister was joined by two of Global TV Experts senior executives: Nick Wood, the Global Director of Client Strategy and Growth, and Jenny Croswell, the Managing Director of Canadian Operations. Wood and Croswell talked about their respective journeys through the TV and media industry, and the story behind Global TV Experts in Canada and other parts of the world. The company advises clients in the gambling industry on their media buys. Both guests addressed the ongoing influence of television around advertising campaigns and the evolution of those campaigns in the changing regulated sports betting and gaming landscape.

McAllister also asked Croswell for her reaction to the latest report from Canadian Media Means Business on the impact of fewer advertising dollars being committed to traditional media. And, our two guests also discussed responsible gaming advertising, and the incoming open and regulated market in Alberta.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, Steve McAllister is joined by two of the leading voices in the just-released research on sports betting advertising and its impact on young men.

Dr. Andrew Kim, psychology professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and Canada Research chair in addictions and mental health comorbidity, and Greo Evidence Insights chief research officer Matthew Young discussed with McAllister the findings of the research that was conducted in Alberta and Ontario. TMU and Greo received a helping hand from Brock University, the University of Calgary, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Bristol, with funding provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Alberta Gambling Research Institute.

Among the topics discussed:

• The genesis of the study, and how the funding was secured.
• The effect of sports betting advertising, especially on men under 30, and how those ads motivate young gamblers to play online casino games.
• The effectiveness of responsible gaming advertising.
• The need for problem gambling to be identified as a public health issue.
• Thoughts on placing additional restrictions on gambling advertising. 
• The efforts by the authors of the research to get the results in front of gambling industry stakeholders. 
• The need for ongoing research with the Ontario legal market now four years old, and an open, regulated market ready to launch in Alberta this summer.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show, Covers senior news analyst Geoff Zochodne rejoined Steve McAllister for an extended version sparked by everything going on across the North American gambling landscape.

Zochodne, who will participate on a panel on “tackling grey-market gambling in Canada” at next month’s SBC Summit Canada in Toronto, has been keeping tabs on news from both sides of the border, including:

• The latest on efforts by our federal elected officials in the Great White North to pass Bill S-211 around sports betting advertising.
• Speaking of advertising, Zochodne and McAllister discussed a recent piece by Steve Ruddock in his Straight to the Point newsletter suggesting tobacco-style rules on the legal gambling industry in the U.S.
• The current state of Ontario’s legal sports wagering and igaming industry, the withdrawal of Casumo and a mini-debate on informing/educating industry stakeholders and others about the regulated environment.
• The road to regulation and a July 13 launch date for Alberta’s open, legal market.
• Whether or not Alberta is the catalyst for other provinces to follow suit, and a conversation about the Supreme Court of Canada case around peer-to-peer igaming across borders.
• The never-ending news cycle around prediction markets in the U.S. of A.

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A wearer of many chapeaus in the business of gambling, Benjie Cherniak joined Steve McAllister on a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

Cherniak, the principal of Avenue H Capital, provided his insights and perspectives on the issues and topics of the day across the sports betting and gaming industry, including:

• What’s at the top of his To Do list these days, and the current landscape around startup companies in the industry. 
• The soon-to-come launch of Alberta’s open, regulated gambling market and if that could be the catalyst for other Canadian provinces to follow suit. 
• Four years of Ontario’s open, regulated market. 
• How the use of data and technology has evolved. 
• The impact of prediction markets on the U.S. gambling scene.

And more.

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Friend of Gaming News Canada Jessica Welman is Steve McAllister’s guest on a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

The long-time journalist and content specialist announced in February her departure from SBC as Managing Editor. Last month, Welman let it be known she was joining Brianne Doura-Schawohl’s consulting firm to support the practice’s work around responsible gambling programs and policies. Among the topics covered on the podcast:

• Welman’s decision to walk away from SBC and choosing a different path in the gambling industry by joining Doura-Schawohl, and what’s involved in her new role. We also asked her to take a trip down memory lane on the evolution of regulated online sports betting and gaming in the U.S.
• The current goings-on around gambling in the U.S. of A., including the ongoing bunfight/legal wranglings involving politicians, regulators, gaming operators and prediction market proprietors (and oh yes, lawyers, many, many lawyers).
• Of course, we wanted Welman’s thoughts on the incoming legal, open gaming market in Alberta and asked her to look back at four years of regulated, competitive gaming in Ontario. That included asking the experienced poker player about the liquidity issue that has involved courts in Canada.
• She had an opinion or three on the results of a recent study conducted by Gaming Public Policy Consulting around media coverage of the gaming industry, and the media coverage of that study.

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For the latest episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, host Steve McAllister is joined by the Senior Vice President of Group Operations at Sportradar, Sophie Thomas.

Thomas, who joined Sportradar as Head of Snooker Operations in late 2012 and has served in her current role for a year now, made her maiden appearance on the GNCS at the end of a robust first quarter of 2026. Sportradar tapped into its November 2025 acquisition of IMG Arena to last week announce it is expanding its agreement with Hard Rock Bet to add PGA Tour and UFC data, odds and enhanced in-play wagering capabilities to its existing set of services in the U.S. of A. Earlier in the week, the company announced the launch of igaming brand Playradar which will combine sports data “expertise” with casino content for operators around the world, including Canada. That bit of news came on the heels of the hiring of former Playtech Live CEO Edo Haitin to oversee Sportradar’s igaming business.

We asked Thomas for her thoughts on last week’s announcements and Sportradar’s increasing investment in igaming along with:

• The company’s involvement in this summer’s FIFA World Cup men’s tournament in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico;
• Other opportunities available through the IMG Arena acquisition;
• Working with operators to offer more in-play betting products at a time that some regulators and others are asking for a reduction in said products;
• Sportradar’s ongoing role supporting the efforts of leagues, organizations and other bodies in monitoring suspicious betting activity;
• If/how does the company fit with prediction markets, specifically given Sportradar’s deal with Major League Baseball, which just introduced Polymarket as a partner in a multi-year agreement.
• How Sportradar is exploiting the growth of women’s sports in North America and Europe.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, Steve McAllister is joined by the co-founder and Managing Director of Partnerships for Oddin GG, Marek Suchar.

Suchar, who launched the Prague-based company in 2018, continues to be bullish on the esports and esports betting industry despite recent layoffs at Riot Games and ClickOut Media. Suchar said it’s business as usual at Oddin, which supplies B2B products and services around esports odds, trading and risk management.

The company’s co-founder also got into the state of esports in Canada, Oddin’s interest here and the need for the industry to continue its focus on integrity monitoring around the world.

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The co-founder and Managing Director of iGaming B2B supplier mkdodo, Stuart Godfree, is Steve McAllister’s guest on the latest episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

Godfree, whose company creates mobile apps and websites for sportsbook, casino and lottery operators, is among the legions of industry stakeholders on the road to regulation in Alberta. He provided his thoughts on the opportunities with an open market in the western Canadian province and the rules that have been in put in place for the application process. Godfree believes Mkodo’s current partnership with the Western Canada Lottery Corporation and AGLC has the company well-prepared to expand their presence there. 

McAllister also asked his guest about the ongoing evolution of geolocation technology – including mkodo’s GeoLocs product and the evolution of how artificial intelligence is being used across the gambling industry.

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Some 30 days before the inaugural event of the Rock League begins at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, The Curling Group co-founder/CEO Nic Sulsky made his long-awaited return to the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

Since creating The Curling Group with partner Mike Cotton in April 2024, Sulsky and his TCG colleagues have acquired the Grand Slam of Curling from Sportsnet, given that series a major makeover and created Rock League – a series with six mixed-gender teams featuring the best players from around the world. Next month’s series debut in the city below Barrie will come on the heels of an Olympic Winter Games that parlayed competition and controversies into a highly engaged event for curling fans, sports fans and sports bettors. 

Sulsky spoke with us about the impact of the Milan/Cortina Games curling event on the sport and its athletes, the feedback he has received from the athletes on The Curling Group’s promotional efforts (including the ultra-popular Grand Slam of Karaoke), the continued efforts to grow the game around the world, and sports betting’s place within TCG’s marketing strategy.

Also, we asked Sulsky, one of the first senior executives to be hired in Ontario’s open and regulated sports betting and igaming market when he joined PointsBet Canada as Chief Commercial Officer in June 2021, for his thoughts on the recent action taken against his former employer by The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. And, of course, Sulsky and Steve McAllister had a chin wag about the incoming open market in Alberta.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, the interim Chief Executive Officer of Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC), Dan Keene made his maiden appearance on the podcast.

We recorded our conversation with the gaming industry veteran, who spent 13 years with the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission before accepting the interim CEO role with the new AiGC body, as more operators continued to express interest in joining the open, regulated sports betting and online gaming market in the western Canada province.

Keene spoke with host Steve McAllister about the input he, Service Alberta/Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally and others have received from the gambling industry on their way to opening the application process. We also chatted about the AIGC’s current search for staff and other matters on the road to regulation.

Keene, who is optimistic for a late spring/early summer launch, discussed how Ontario's four-year-old open market influenced Alberta's leaders when they created the gaming framework there, as well as the tweaks made regarding responsible gambling, advertising, AML rules and other issues.

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On the 200th episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, it felt like your humble host was playing a game of 200 Questions with the President and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, Paul Burns.

Burns has been a familiar voice and face on Gaming News Canada’s weekly audio show, going back to the early days when we gathered on Clubhouse every Thursday afternoon to talk about the soon-to-change Canadian gaming industry with the passing of Bill C-218 to legalize single-event sports betting in our home and native land. On this milestone episode, the CGA head honcho offered his thoughts on several recent happenings including:

• The recent actions taken by The Alcohol and Gaming Association of Ontario against both FanDuel and PointsBet Canada.
• The latest tete a tete between Loto-Québec and the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition.
• The iGaming Ontario hiring of former AGCO chief strategy officer Ben Valido as its first Chief Responsible Gaming Officer.
• The CGA’s involvement and the feedback it has received from its membership on the rules placed by operators and suppliers to do business in Alberta’s incoming open and competitive sports betting and gaming marketplace.
• Burns’s recent op-ed on efforts within the Senate and federal government to create its own rules around sports betting advertising.

And much more.

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The 2026 SBC Summit Canada has a new moniker, a new date and some new topics to be discussed. So, the folks in charge of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming figured the timing was appropriate to bring back SBC senior marketing guy Dennis Algreen.

Algreen joined host Steve McAllister from London to set the table for this year’s gathering of the Canadian gaming industry in the city below Malton, set for May 19-21 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. We spoke with Algreen about another busy year for SBC, which also operates conferences in Rio de Janeiro, Malta, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Lisbon, about the topics to be discussed in Toronto. 

The summit’s dedicated conference agenda will feature three stages, each designed to reflect the key forces shaping Canada’s gaming landscape in 2026. Across two days, the program will cover leadership strategy in sports betting and casino, affiliate and advertising models, cybersecurity, land-based and lottery operations, player protection, and payments and compliance.

Algreen also addressed the impact of the incoming open and competitive gaming market in Alberta on the Canadian summit, and the opportunity for the Toronto event to bring together legal operators and suppliers, provincial lottery and gaming corporations and First Nations gaming businesses and regulators. 

Gaming News Canada is a partner of SBC for the Canadian conference, and we’re offering below a special discount to register for the May rendezvous.

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Just before the torch was lit to officially open the Winter Olympic Games of Milan and Cortina, Italy, Jeremy Luke joined us on the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

Luke, the president and CEO of Sport Integrity Canada, spoke with your humble host about a busy time for the rebranded organization, including its tri-focused mandate on safe sport, anti-doping and competition manipulation in our home and native land. SIC collaborated with the Canadian Olympic team pre-Winter Games to educate athletes about integrity monitoring and match fixing, and Luke also addressed the role of the International Olympic Committee in trying to keep the Games free of competition manipulation.

Our conversation also included SIC’s partnerships with companies such as IC360 and Luke’s continuing advocacy for the federal government to sign onto the Macolin Convention. Luke and his organization is also keeping close tabs on this summer’s FIFA World Cup, which will include games here in Canada

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Gaming industry veteran Adam Chernoff was our guest for a wide-ranging conversation during a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

Chernoff, who returned to Covers at the beginning of 2026, this time as Senior Manager – Growth Initiatives, first cut his teeth in the sports betting industry as a sportsbook manager with Bahamas-based A Sure Win in 2011 in the days when lines were set by human beings, not algorithms. The Saskatchewan native also spoke at length about the evolution of regulated gambling in Canada, including a competitive Ontario market that will recognize its four-year anniversary in April and has produced more than $2 billion in tax revenue for the province. 

We also asked Chernoff for his thoughts on the incoming open market in Alberta and on the ongoing business of affiliates in the sports wagering and gaming space.

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In 11 days, the Olympic flame will be lit to raise the curtain on the Milan/Cortina Winter Games in Italy. Two days later, Bad Bunny will be joined at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, by the two last-standing teams in the National Football League for Super Bowl number 60. This summer, footy fans around the globe will be focused on the happenings on pitches in Canada, Mexico and the United States during the FIFA World Cup.

Months before the start of a very, very busy sports calendar, Vividata went and did some research on the habits of Canadian sports consumers in this still-evolving era of traditional television, digital and streaming services, and sports betting apps. So, on the eve of the Olympics and the Super Bowl, the timing was rather perfect to have Paul Briggs join your humble host on a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

Briggs, the Senior/Principal Analyst for EMARKETER’s Canadian business did a rather deep dive into the report. That included the ongoing power of live sports for consumers in-stadium and watching from the comfort of their living rooms, in a bar, in a train or at an airport gate. Vividata’s survey also revealed that one-third of sports bettors are wagering at least once a week and 5% are betting daily. Briggs and host Steve McAllister also mentioned the 10 most-engaged sportsbook apps in Canada including three from provincial lottery and gaming corporations.

Briggs also spoke about advertising and sponsorship in the Canadian sports industry and a surprising revelation about merchandise sales.

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Before hopping on a plane to Spain for this week’s ICE Barcelona, gaming industry veteran Ilkim Hincer hopped into the virtual studio for a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

The interview with Hincer, the Chair Emeritus of the Canadian Gaming Association who joined Integrity Compliance 360 in October as President, Canadian Operations & Managing Director, Global Advisory Strategy, took place just days after Alberta Gaming Liquor & Cannabis made registration available for the province’s incoming legal sports betting and gaming market. Hincer, who joined gaming industry stakeholders on a call a week ago with Alberta minister Dale Nally and AGLC personnel, provided his thoughts and layers on the next Canadian jurisdiction to join Ontario in a competitive, regulated marketplace.

Hincer, given IC360’s involvement in U.S. college sports, was guarded in his response to our question about a point-shaving plot involving 39-plus players and 17 Division 1 teams in NCAA men’s basketball. He also discussed with host Steve McAllister last week’s announcement of an extended agreement between IC360 and the PGA Tour to incorporate the company’s ProhiBet platform into the tour’s gambling oversight.

Finally, McAllister asked the former CGA chair if he had any words of wisdom for incoming Chair Scott Vanderwel.

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When the 2026 season of sports betting and gaming conferences gets rolling next week at ICE Barcelona, there will be a segment of attendees climbing out of their hotel beds before the sun rises, putting on their shorts, T-shirts and hoodies and then heading to the gym for some skipping, jabbing, bobbing and weaving. . . and trying to avoid getting knocked on their derrieres by the heavy bag.

Who to “blame” for this early-morning sweaty session around the boxing ring? That would be Lee McFarland, the creator/owner of Beyond the Gloves, with a helping hand from the Chair/founder of Bede Gaming, Michael Brady. Bede, the sponsors of this august podcast, are supporting the latest opportunity for gaming industry types to live and learn from the teachings of McFarland in Barcelona.

The pro-pugilism pair were our guests on the latest episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming. McFarland explained the decision to launch Behind the Gloves towards the end of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2023 to support people – many of whom were looking to reconnect with peers and others as they began to leave remote work environments. McFarland, who also co-founded Recovery in iGaming last summer, talked about the reaction to his boxing sessions at conferences and company team-building events.

Brady, who was trained by McFarland for his participation in the UK-based SBC Boxing Championship/Oliver’s Wish event, spoke about his enthusiasm for the Behind the Gloves program and the impact it has had on his own life and on Bede employees participating in the BTG sessions.

While we had the two gaming industry veterans in the virtual studio, we also asked them for their thoughts on the current industry landscape. Brady addressed Bede’s partnership with OLG, Ontario’s regulated market, the company’s plans to grow in Canada, and what’s happening in other parts of the world.

While McFarland has sold out his BTG sessions for ICE Barcelona, conference attendees can put their names on a waiting list.

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Long-time Friend of Gaming News Canada Phill Gray, the former trading lead at Sports Interaction, joined us for a lookahead on several levels into the business of sports betting and online gaming over the next 12 months.

Gray tackled the issues expected to be of the most hot-button variety across the Canadian and American gambling industries in 2026, including:

• The continuing conflict between prediction markets and sportsbooks which aren’t incorporating PMs into their business, and thoughts on the launch of DraftKings’ prediction market product.
• What’s ahead for Ontario’s competitive legal gaming industry as it marches towards the fourth anniversary of its launch in April, and will it continue to see the growth it experienced in 2025. Gray pontificates about what should be top of mind for operators in the regulated market.
• As we enter the NFL postseason, a Winter Olympics next month, a FIFA World Cup being hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S. this summer, the excitement around the Toronto Blue Jays following their return to the World Series in 2025 and the growing popularity of women’s pro sports – including the inaugural season of the WNBA Toronto Tempo coming this spring – 2026 promises to be a big year for bettors and the books. Gray also discussed the changing responsibilities of sportsbook traders and the impact on artificial intelligence and data companies on them. 
• Some advice for the powers-that-be responsible for creating Alberta’s open market, expected to launch sometime this year. 
• The concerns surrounding prop betting by sports leagues/organizations and public health advocates.

And, of course, we asked Gray for his new year’s predictions around the industry in Canada.

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On the final episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming for 2025, GNC writer-in-chief Dave Briggs and Covers gaming industry senior correspondent Geoff Zochodne were our guests for a media roundtable on the year that’s been, and what lies ahead for 2026.

The conversation included a record revenue monthfor Ontario’s legal operators in November with non-adjusted gross gaming revenue surpassing $400 million for the first time since the province’s open, regulated market opened its doors in April 2022. Zochodne and Briggs provided their thoughts on Ontario, the province’s Court of Appeal decision earlier this year around liquidity and what should be top of mind for iGaming Ontario boss Joseph Hillier and Co. going into 2026.

Of course, there’s a segment devoted to Alberta and the provincial government’s plans to launch its expanded legal gaming marketplace next year. Our two media guests chimed in on the industry’s continued efforts around responsible gaming, Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s latest plan to turn Niagara Falls into the “Vegas of the North” and a discussion around changes to the Canadian horse racing industry – including Great Canadian Entertainment’s decision earlier this month to close historic Hastings Park.

Finally, Briggs and Zochodne identified some storylines to follow over the next 12 months.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, Steve McAllister’s guest is the general counsel for Soft2Bet – owners of the Ontario-licensed ToonieBet brand – David Yatom-Hay.

Yatom-Hay, who previously worked at DraftKings and GamingTech, provided some thoughts and layers on ToonieBet’s past 12 months, which included partnership deals with the Canadian Football League and the Ottawa Senators, the launch of its sportsbook app and competing with big, established brands in the North American gaming space (Soft2Bet is almost set to launch in New Jersey).

On the heels of our interview with Dan Waugh of Regulus Partners on the previous podcast, we asked Yatom-Hay how the Ontario model compares with other jurisdictions (Sweden, Denmark and Mexico, to name a few) where Soft2Bet does business and the lessons learned in Ontario that could be applied to Alberta’s plans for an open gambling market. 

Soft2Bet’s legal beagle provided a few details on the company’s recent call with iGaming Ontario president and CEO Joseph Hillier, and also discussed a recent op-ed by the company’s chief product officer, Yoel Zuckerberg.

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The recent announcement by the ruling government in the United Kingdom of tax rates – including a hike to 40% for remote gaming - for the gambling industry was met with an avalanche of reaction not only in the UK but other parts of the world with regulated gaming environments.

So, we asked Dan Waugh of Regulus Partners – whose coverage of the international gambling landscape is a must-read (to subscribe, drop an email to dan.waugh@reguluspartners.com) – for his thoughts on the brouhaha around the tax hike and its potential impact on regulated gambling and the companies servicing the industry within the UK and to other parts of the globe.

We also asked the long-time follower of the gaming industry about jurisdictions that are getting it right with their regulatory frameworks, and to weigh in on the regulated vs. black market debate around the world. 

Waugh also had some words of wisdom for the folks in charge of creating Alberta’s regulatory gaming regime, opening date still TBD.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, Steve McAllister spoke with the two founders of Golden Camel, Ryan Magrum and Artie Baxter.

Magrum, a former professional poker player, was flipping houses in Austin, TX., four-plus years ago when his wife said her husband needed to find something in his professional career to be passionate about. That led to a phone call to Baxter and the beginning of creating a platform which Baxter calls “the Apple TV of sports betting”.

Magrum and Baxter talked about their plans for creating something unique in the business of betting, what’s behind the branding of their business, wanting to “be the glue between the consumer and the platforms” and how Golden Camel can connect with young adults immersed in the betting space.

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Since we started covering the business of sports betting and gaming almost five years ago, experts in the space have talked to us about exploiting the omnichannel opportunities. Among the operators which are delivering that combination of land-based and digital gaming is BetMGM.

Hence, the maiden appearance of chief revenue officer Matt Prevost on a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming. Prevost talked about the reaction from customers to the launch earlier this year of Live from Vegas, a casino-floor studio inside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas that produces – with support from gaming industry supplier Playtech – live streaming interactive table games to its digital players. 

Prevost also talked about the popularity of the company’s Family Feud and The Price is Right products, the result of BetMGM acquiring the rights to the iconic television shows at the beginning of 2025. The conversation also got into sports wagering, including an early look at the Super Bowl and NFL betting so far this season, and, of course, the Toronto Blue Jays’ run to an epic World Series and the impact that had on BetMGM bettors in Ontario’s regulated marketplace.

We also asked the head revenue guy if BetMGM’s attitude towards prediction markets have changed since CEO Adam Greenblatt addressed them during an earnings call in October. 

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When Martha Otton announced in the summer of 2024 that she was retiring as Executive Director of iGaming Ontario, there was thinking among different sectors of the province’s regulated igaming market that the organization’s Chief of Staff, Mitch Davidson, would be a great fit to move into the leadership role.

Instead, Davidson decided in August to get back into the policy game, this time as Vice President, Policy for Canadian public affairs firm Enterprise Canada. The former Director of Policy for the Premier’s Office was our guest on the latest episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

Your humble host tried to cover with the new father the gamut of topics in the business of sports betting and online gaming, Canadian style, including:

• Davidson’s decision, after speaking with some gaming-related businesses, to join Enterprise;
• The work done at iGO under the leadership of Otton and him to launch Ontario’s open private-sector market in April 2022, and the success story that is the Ontario model;
• Why the implementation of a centralized self-exclusion program, identified as a priority by operators, has taken so long (new iGO president and CEO Joseph Hiller told us on the GNCS at the beginning of the month he expects the program to be launched in the first half of 2026);
• Other priorities for iGO moving forward;
• His reaction to last week’s decision by the Court of Appeal for Ontario to go along with reviving pay-to-play daily fantasy contests and expanding online poker games (Davidson writes about the court ruling and liquidity in his latest post on The Policy Shop);
• What happens with regulated gaming beyond Ontario, including Alberta.

Davidson also explained the motivation for the creation of The Policy Shop on Substack, a weekly, well-reasoned deep dive into the issues that matter most to Canadians these days and – importantly - offering potential solutions.

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Count the Canadian Gaming Association among the entities in the business of sports betting and other forms of gambling that are riding the industry’s fast-moving train these days.

Hence, our rationale for bringing back on the Gaming News Canada Show, CGA president and CEO Paul Burns for a rapid-round episode of the podcast. Burns first addressed last week’s decisionby the Court of Appeal for Ontario with regards to expanding peer-to-peer play to international jurisdictions and the potential opportunities around the court’s ruling if there are no appeals filed over the next 20-something days. 

Next up was a segment on Bill S-211 – aka the National Framework on Sports Betting Advertising Act – passing first reading in the House of Commons. That led to Burns walking your humble host through the CGA’s recently released Code for Responsible Gaming Advertising, put together in collaboration with the association’s membership and with Ad Standards – Canada and scheduled to be put into effect at the beginning of the new year.

Burns also spoke about the CGA’s request for an exemption from the cash limits in Bill C-2, which awaits passage in the aforementioned House of Commons. The section of greatest concern to the association includes this clause:

136 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 77.‍4:

Offence — cash payments, donations or deposits of $10,000 or more

77.‍5 (1) Every person or entity that is engaged in a business, a profession or the solicitation of charitable financial donations from the public commits an offence if the person or entity accepts a cash payment, donation or deposit of $10,000 or more in a single transaction or in a prescribed series of related transactions that total $10,000 or more. 

The CGA’s head honcho also gave us a few thoughts about the recent sports betting/match-event fixing scandals in the NBA, UFC and Major League Baseball.

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To borrow a line from The Roastmaster Jeff Ross, the only thing John Levy has ever sugarcoated has been his morning bowl of Corn Flakes (Ed’s note. . . our tongue was securely fastened in our cheek while tapping the keyboard).

Levy was his usual candid self in his latest conversation with Steve McAllister on the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming. The original founder of Headline Sports – which spawned theScore, Hardcore Sports Radio and theScore Bet – had lots to say about the news last week of ESPN and Penn Entertainment ending their 10-year agreement, and the end of ESPN Bet.

Levy, who sold Score Gaming and Media to Penn in the summer of 2021 and left the company in 2024 along with his sons Aubrey, Benjie and Noah, discussed the failures that led to the demise of ESPN Bet and the breakup of Penn and Barstool Sports in the summer of 2023 (we asked Levy if he had any interest in pulling a Dave Portnoy and reacquiring theScore – he answered). He also talked about Penn’s problems in the digital gaming business both in the U.S. and Canada and had some thoughts about the comments of Penn CEO Jay Snowden last week that the company may have interest in the retail casino business here in the Great White North.

The conversation also included the relationship between sports betting operators and sports media companies. And, some two weeks after a riveting World Series, Levy trumpeted theScore’s 10-year partnership deal with the Blue Jays that was announced on the same day Ontario’s open gambling market opened in April 2022.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, Adam Rosenberg and CJ Buskey joined our humble host with some news of the breaking sort around their newish business Handigraphs.

After launching a dashboard back in June to lend a hand to bettors of baseball, Rosenberg and Buskey will start this week to offer NHL data/analytics/metrics/numbers/etc. to lovers of puck. The two co-founders, who also do some moonlighting as co-hosts of the Dads Bet Baseball pod, talked about taking their passion for baseball and spreadsheets and turning it into a business. Buskey and Rosenberg also let us know they were ahead of the curve when it came to the 2025 edition of your Toronto Blue Jays and their wonderful run to their first World Series appearance since 1993.

We asked the co-owners about the delay in launching their hockey product a month into the NHL regular season, and how the information being provided on Handigraphs will lend a hand to bettors wishing to lay a loonie or two on prop bets. Speaking of which, Rosenberg – whose work in the gaming industry prior to becoming a branding, communications and marketing consultant included stops at The Action Network and Better Collective – provided some thoughts and layers on the push in some corners these days to ban prop betting in the regulated North American industry. The noise around that debate became louder over the weekend as Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are both facing legal trouble amidst allegations of rigging pitches.

Finally, we asked both Buskey and Rosenberg if Blue Jay fans can expect another sensational summer and fall in 2026. 

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Some 50 days since joining iGaming Ontario as the president/CEO of the conductor and manager of the province’s competitive sports betting and online gambling market, Joseph Hillier was our guest on the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

Hillier, who was introduced as Martha Otton’s success at the end of August and joined iGO in early September, talked about the process that led him to accept the position and leave the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario after 19 months as the AGCO’s chief strategy officer and corporate secretary. And how he can parlay his experience at the AGCO, and in the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General during the time the province’s private sector-driven igaming market was created around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We also asked the new boss about the first weeks in his new office and his priorities, which we highlighted in the newsletter just days before Hillier’s start date – including the implementation of improved technology (especially with regards to data collection and reporting mechanisms), a long-awaited centralized self-exclusion program and improved protocols around anti-money laundering. 

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