NHL's Shane Pinto Talks Suspension for Proxy Betting Violation

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00:00With the Shane Pinto of the National Hockey League, Pinto was under a ton of scrutiny

00:07last year, Mike, for improprieties as far as sports betting were concerned, but as you

00:12pointed out several times here on the show, we never had any clarity as to what exactly

00:17happened there.

00:18It feels like, according to at least some different reports here, that we finally have

00:21something, right?

00:22Yeah, correct.

00:23We finally got it from the man himself.

00:26Shane Pinto was on the Empty Netters podcast last week and said he was suspended 41 games

00:32last season for proxy betting.

00:34He said, I was not a Canadian citizen, he was playing for the Ottawa Senators, and he

00:39could not, therefore, download and apply for an account on a Canadian sportsbook.

00:46He apparently had his friends log into his U.S. sportsbook account and place bets.

00:51The Ottawa Sun had reported there was unusual activity on his U.S. sports betting account.

00:56The NHL said he did not bet on NHL games, but whether he was betting on the NBA or NFL

01:02or something to that extent, he had his friends apparently do it for him, which is a no-no.

01:06That is illegal, and so he was banned for the first 41 games last season.

01:11He said, you know, he and his agent, I guess, got a call around late August, early September,

01:17that there was an issue.

01:18He was very transparent in a couple of conversations over a three-week ban, and he said he found

01:22out about the ban two days before it became official.

01:25It was October 26, 2023.

01:28He said it sucked, but obviously, you know, couldn't get it, knew he did it, took the

01:35ban, and he came back very strong and ended up getting a two-year contract extension with

01:39the Ottawa Senators.

01:40So good for him.

01:41Hopefully, that's a lesson for every NHL player.

01:43We know that the NHLPA did a fall tour last season.

01:47It's happened to increase education efforts.

01:50Deputy Commissioner Bill Daley has said the league is in a good spot in terms of its policies.

01:54Players should know it.

01:55Hopefully, this won't happen again, but again, if you're a Canadian hockey player, do not

01:59have your friend in the U.S. bet for you because you are ineligible in Canada.

02:04That's a no-no.

02:05They get you banned for at least 41 games, and, you know, do they make an example of

02:09the next guy and get a harsher ban?

02:11Who knows?

02:12But, you know, certainly NHL players cannot bet on NHL games.

02:14That's prohibited, like every other sport.

02:16They can bet on everything else.

02:17Make sure you do it legally.

02:19Make sure you do it in a state where you are eligible or, you know, province, as in Canada.