Is inside sports betting on the rise? Why the problem may get ‘more common’
Global News
Does Canada have an inside sports betting problem? Two athletes for Canadian teams were recently penalized for betting as legalized gambling has taken off.
Does Canada have an inside sports betting problem?
Two athletes for Canadian teams were recently penalized for gambling, and experts say the cases highlight a growing — and significant — challenge for the future of professional sports.
Jontay Porter, who played for the Toronto Raptors, was suspended for life by the NBA following a league investigation. Meanwhile, Shawn Lemon was suspended indefinitely by the CFL last week after “an investigation uncovered that Mr. Lemon bet on CFL games in 2021 while a member of the Calgary Stampeders,” the league said.
And down south, superstar Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter allegedly stole $16 million from the player to pay off a gambling debt.
Sports betting is not new, but now that online betting is legal in parts of Canada, including Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, it is easier to access and more visible than ever.
Moshe Lander, a sports economics professor at Concordia University, told Global News that inside sports betting has a long history, with the most famous story being the “Chicago Black Sox Scandal.”
That’s when eight members of the Chicago White Sox baseball team were accused of losing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds on purpose.
Lander said sports and gambling go hand-in-hand, and sports leagues have jumped on the bandwagon.
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