Money talks. And apparently there was enough money behind sports betting for it to creep its way into the NHL despite commissioner Gary Bettman swearing up and down that the league would not partner with sports betting services. In fact, it was not that long ago when Bettman was among the leaders fighting against the growing prevalence of gambling in our society.
This is just the latest advancement in sports betting within the NHL.
Last month, the league announced a new partnership with PENN entertainment group that will bring ESPN and the SCORE brands to the NHL in terms of sports betting opportunities.
Of course, the NHL has also been handing out punishment to players for betting on sports, which seems contradictory to their new policy. If it was related to bets made on NHL games, that could make sense, but apparently in the case of Shane Pinto, he did not even bet on NHL games and yet he still got a 41 game suspension.
At this point it seems like the league will continue to embrace sports betting until the money says otherwise.
As seen on Gary Bettman Exposed By Insiders For Take On Gambling
POLL | ||
7 DECEMBRE | 49 ANSWERS NHL Exposed For Hypocritical Stance On Sports Betting Would you like to see more or less sports betting advertising in the NHL? | ||
More | 2 | 4.1 % |
About the same is fine | 1 | 2 % |
Less | 46 | 93.9 % |
List of polls |