Some news about Gaming News Canada
Today marks the final edition of our twice-weekly written dispatches although we're marching on with the Gaming News Canada Show. The new AGCO ad rules are live, and how about that SNL skit?
In this issue:
We have some news of our own
New AGCO standards are up and running
The collision of sports betting and sports journalism
Reaction to Rock Bottom Kings skit on SNL
We’re back on LinkedIn Audio today
We have some news of our own to report
When your try-to-be-humble correspondent began journalism school in the city below Terra Cotta almost 45 years ago, one of the first things we learned in Reporting 101 was the end of an article is always acknowledged with -30- (by the by, thank you/obrigado to Parleh Media Group graphic designer Bianca Marolla for the lead image of today’s dispatch).
Today, after a little more than three years after writing the first newsletter in 2021, we’re putting -30 - on the newsletter component of Gaming News Canada along with our weekly Thursday afternoon gatherings on LinkedIn Audio for the Gaming News Canada Show. Beginning next week, our efforts moving forward will be focused on delivering 1-2 podcasts every week to our subscribers to discuss the biggest stories of the day in the world of sports betting and gaming, and also have 1-on-1 conversations with the leaders around the industry. And yes, we will bring together our regular experts Amanda Brewer, Kris Abbott, Phil Gray, journalists and others for occasional GNCS roundtables.
Gaming News Canada will continue to be a destination for keeping tabs on what’s happening in the gambling space here in the regulated Ontario marketplace and across the rest of the country. We will continue to be a home for information, insight and opinion from the smartest voices in the industry, and to allow stakeholders from the various sectors to tell their stories. And, we will continue to be following the news on the Gaming News Canada X/Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.
As much as we’d love to give a shoutout by name to everyone who’s made these Tuesday-Thursday newsletters relevant to our readers and listeners, there are too many to mention. That written, we gave a heartfelt thank you to:
Parleh Media Group founder Mark Silver and our business partners Mike Day, Kevin Kennedy, Jonah Morris and Gavin Roth for supporting the decision in early 2021 for Parleh to enter the industry with this journalistic endeavour.
The folks working in the industry as founders, executives, directors, managers, employees, regulators, elected officials and industry advocates who have been so generous with their time over the phone, by email, over virtual calls, and in meeting rooms, hallways, hotel lobbies and eating/drinking establishments while attending conferences and summits.
The companies which supported The Parleh/Gaming News Canada by spending sponsorship and advertising dollars.
The communications people who believe their job is to provide information and access to journalists - and not obstruct at the behest of their bosses - and do so professionally, and almost always with a sense of humour.
Journalists, not only in Canada but in the U.S. and around the rest of the world who cover the gambling world as a beat. In a dying media industry, there are so many talented, principled people following this particular business who have provided the motivation for the newsletters to highlight their work every week.
You, the readers. The (still) growing list of subscribers and the increased engagement with the newsletters so far in 2024 made our decision to cease writing a difficult one. What became a labour of love at the keyboard every week has been fuelled by the texts, phone calls, emails and DMs from readers expressing their gratitude for the coverage, pointing out a mistake, chuckling at one of our dad jokes and/or ‘70s TV/movie/music reference, and offering a tip to a good story for us to tell.
We sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed reading the words of Gaming News Canada, and you will continue to enjoy listening to us.
AGCO’s revised advertising rules are up and running
As promised, the new standards around advertising and marketing campaigns for digital gambling went live yesterday.
As per Zochodne’s post, and to once again correct a mistake in Tuesday’s dispatch, the AGCO’s new advertising/marketing rules and regulations don’t include banning celebrities.
The Canadian Mental Health Association hailed the AGCO’s actions in a statement yesterday, although adding they don’t go far enough. The association argues athletes shouldn’t be allowed to participate in ads promoting responsible gambling, and operators should be prohibited from sponsor segments during broadcasts.
”We encourage a public health approach to regulating iGaming,” CMHA spokesperson Camille Quenneville told Katherine DeClerq of CTV News Toronto. “This includes implementing further restrictions on advertising and marketing until all advertising for iGaming is completely prohibited."
While it has been mentioned in this corner previously, there appears to be some confusion about the new standards. The ban on current and retired athletes only applies to paid advertising, so Jeff O’Neill doing FanDuel-sponsored segments on TSN’s popular Overdrive show and the Hockey Night in Canada pregame segments with Kevin Bieksa and Jennifer Botterill talking NHL pucks in front of a Sports Interaction logo aren’t going anywhere.
Simon Houpt of The Globe and Mail, in his article on the new standards, received a statement from AGCO senior communications advisor Ray Kahnert confirming that’s indeed the case. Houpt’s piece also points out that what the commission has put in place isn’t black and white when it comes to athletes participating in other promotional activities on behalf of a sports betting and gaming operator licensed in Ontario.
With apologies to Bill Shakespeare, therein lies the rub in how the AGCO will “police” all of the advertising and marketing activities by operators (although, as has been predicted by many in the industry since Day 1 of the regulated gambling industry here, advertising has declined especially when it applies to sportsbooks). Following a consultation process late last year, the commission offered additional guidance at the beginning of February. So, we’ll see what happens next.
Also, there was reaction yesterday from the Canadian Gaming Association:
The Canadian Gaming Association participated in the AGCO’s consultation on the changes to iGaming advertising standards, and its members are committed to offering safe and sustainable products with the highest levels of player protection.
Currently, there are over 20 individual requirements related to advertising standards which cover a wide range of activities from the location of outdoor advertising to the prohibition of mass-market advertising of bonuses or incentives, to requiring customers to opt-in to receive promotions from gaming operators, and the use of celebrities or endorsers who would be expected to appeal to minors.
Online gaming operators do not target minors and have robust “know your customer” (KYC) procedures for opening customer accounts and preventing minors from accessing sites registered to operate in Ontario.
In addition to the ACGO’s regulatory standards, operators must submit all TV commercials to thinkTV for clearance. Together these provide a high level of scrutiny and all licensed iGaming operators must be in full compliance before a commercial can air on television.
Ontario has some of the most robust regulatory standards in the world, which the industry actively supports.
And, from the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition, made up of some Ontario-licensed operators and GeoComply to advocate for a competitive regulated gaming marketplace in La Belle Province:
These changes in Commission des alcools et des jeux de l’Ontario (CAJO) reflect the adaptability of Ontario's regulatory model, as well as the willingness of stakeholders, including private operators, to work together to implement best practices to protect all consumers.
The article also mentions that the power to regulate the industry has been vested in the provinces since the legalization of sports betting on individual games in 2021.
It's time for Quebec to act.
Our request to the AGCO’s communications group for a senior executive to join us on the Gaming News Canada Show this afternoon was denied.
The debate on sports journalism and sports betting
A barrage of breaking news and other happenings in the first two months of the year has meant putting a story idea and the subsequent reporting on it being temporarily placed in mothballs.
One such issue is the ongoing debate around sports journalism, sports broadcasting and sports betting, which was reignited last year with the ESPN/Penn Entertainment partnership and the late-November launch of ESPN Bet. A couple of weeks before said launch, The Worldwide Leader put out guidelines around gambling for ESPN reporters and insiders that included strictly prohibiting the placing of wagers on sports or events they cover.
In December, a sports journalism professor in the U.S. of A. predicted a major sports betting journalism scandal will occur in 2024:
The same way Donald Trump’s candidacy is a test for the norms and practices of American political journalists, legalized sports gambling is a test for the norms and practices of sports journalists,” wrote Brian Moritz on the Nieman Lab website. “It’s an area ripe for a scandal. There’s simply too much money involved, too many tangled webs between media and gambling companies, too much information and too many things to bet on.”
We need to point out that sports betting didn’t suddenly land on the radar of sportswriters, columnists and broadcasters with the overturning of PASPA south of the border in 2018 and the passing of Bill C-218 here in the true north, strong and free in the summer of 2021. In our days as an ink-stained wretch for the - in the words of Toronto Star basketball writer Doug Smith - people’s wire service aka The Canadian Press, we joined our fellow baseball writers at the greyhound track in the evenings while on assignment covering the Toronto Blue Jays at spring training in Florida. Sportswriters, no different than folks from other vocations, put down money on NFL games, March Madness, the Stanley Cup playoffs, etc.
Public trust, truthfulness, fairness, integrity, independence and accountability continue to be paramount for truly ethical journalists (and there continue to be many of them, despite what the conspiracy theorists, misfits of information and other misguided people want you to believe). Back in January, we reached out to our friend Neil A. Campbell, the long-time Executive Editor of The Globe and Mail and before that, the smartest sportswriter we ever shared space with in a stadium/arena press box.
“In the real financial markets it's a no no for journalists to trade, at least in the more established business journalism outlets,” Campbell, now retired, told Gaming News Canada via email. “When I was at the Globe we employed someone to whom all business journalists and overall masthead editors had to submit in great detail what stocks and funds they owned. That third party would then monitor who was writing what, and point out any conflicts of interest.
“When I covered horse racing way back in the day, the same rigour didn't exist. I seem to recall the Los Angeles Times didn't allow its racing writers to bet on the races they were covering. And I vaguely remember the AP (Associated Press) having a similar rule. But the racing writers at the New York Times and Washington Post were among the most public and flamboyant bettors in the game.”
Campbell’s advice for sports journalists in today’s new world of regulated sports wagering?
“If I were an editor today I'm not sure I would want my beat writers betting on the teams they're covering. No good can come of it. If you're a Leafs writer and you want to cash in on your obsession with the Bundesliga, go for it. But I'd steer them away from betting on sports they're covering, and would want to say so as part of that coverage plan.”
The relationship between TSN and FanDuel, which began with the opening of the Ontario market in April 2022, has included close collaboration between the network’s production team and the sportsbook’s trading group. Gaming News Canada emailed the communications folks at TSN four times, beginning in January, asking if the network has a sports betting policy for its talent. We continue to wait for a response.
We also reached out to Sportsnet’s comms department, and were emailed this response earlier this week:
It is our top priority to adhere to the rules and standards set by iGaming Ontario and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).
On an upcoming edition of the Gaming News Canada Show podcast, SharpRank founder/CEO Christopher Adams and yours truly have a conversation on the topic.vering, and would want to say so as part of that coverage plan.
Reaction to Rock Bottom Kings skit on SNL
If you make a living in the world of sports betting and gaming, but have been away from all forms of communication this past week, Saturday Night Live spoofed the gambling industry on last weekend’s show.
The skit elicited some spits, giggles and other reaction, including a dandy X thread from Chris Grove (who had us, a la Jerry Maguire, at the Colon Blow reference. . . ):
And this:
Jessica Welman did some keyboarding on the skit for SBC, and included reaction from Straight to the Point newsletter author and gambling industry veteran Steve Ruddock.
“The skit isn’t going to change hearts and minds, but it offers a peek behind the curtain at how people perceive these apps and the companies behind them,” Ruddock told Welman. “It was a joke, and a pretty good one, that demonstrates how the current RG messaging is ringing hollow to the typical person, or in this case the SNL writers’ room.
“True or false, the gist of the skit was sportsbooks want to keep you in constant action at any cost.”
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Gathering the gang one more time on LinkedIn Audio
It’s a Leap Year Edition of the Gaming News Canada Show when we gather on LinkedIn Audio one final time this afternoon (first cliche drops shortly after 1 ET).
Today’s release of the Alberta government’s budget, the (finally) new AGCO advertising standards, the “Rock Bottom Kings” skit on SNL are expected to be among the topics du jour up for discussion. Troy Ross of TRM Public Affairs is scheduled to be among our guests.
And, in case you missed out on last week’s show with Covers journalist Geoff Zochodne and regular guests Amanda Brewer, Kris Abbott and Phill Gray:
On the Home Front
Mark Keast of CDC Gaming Reports has the deets on a World Series of Poker event coming to Great Canadian Entertainment Casino Resort Toronto towards the end of March.
A redesigned home page with a live scoreboard ticker and live odds are among the features in NorthStar Gaming’s Sports Insights 2.0.
Push Gaming has its foot inside the door in Ontario’s regulated market, thanks to a partnership with operator NEO.bet.
Betty is getting a boost from Stakelogic in building out its online gaming product in Ontari-ari-ari-o.
Rivalry and Counter-Strike commentator Launders are collaborating on a second CS 2 Lan tournament April 20-21 at The Warehouse in Toronto.
Continent 8 Technologies is now a member of the Canadian Gaming Association.
Classified (Jobs) Information
Danish business Omnigame is in the market for a Vice President, Game Studio.
FanDuel has an opportunity at its New York location for an AML Transaction Monitoring Senior Associate. And, FD is looking for a Data Analyst to work out of its Toronto offices.
iGaming Ontario is in search of a Senior Advisor, Strategic Communications.
OLG comms guru Tony Bitonti is looking to add a Senior Media Relations Specialist to his team. Also, OLG has an executive opening for a Vice President, Product Management (Technology).
Atlantic Lottery is seeking a Supervisor, Draws.
Meanwhile, BCLC is on the hunt for a Representative, Inside Sales, and also has an opportunity for a Manager, Data Centre Operations.
Among the several openings currently available at William Hill International is a Head of Gaming Operations Italy.
IGT is on a search-and-employ mission for a Vice President, Product.
The Responsible Gambling Council is looking for newcomers to join its board of directors.
Friends of Gaming News Canada GBG Plc are in the market for a Fraud Analyst.
Wanted by Penn Interactive: a Product Manager, Sportsbook.
Everi Holdings is hiring a Product Manager IV - Sports and Entertainment.
Ontario licensee Betty is seeking a Customer Service Representative for its offices in Sofia.
SBC has an opening for an Events Manager (Americas).
Derivco Sports in London is in hiring mode for a Software Engineering Manager: Trading.
Kaizen Gaming has an opening in Bogota for a Pre-Event Trader (Entertainment), and is hiring an Operational Excellence Partner at its headquarters in Greece.
FairPlay Sports Media is offering an opportunity for a Conversion Rate Officer in London.
Paysafe has an opening in Sao Paulo for a Business Development Representative.
Hard Rock Digital is hiring in Malta a Games Operation Manager, and is seeking a Creative Analyst in Hollywood. . . Fla.
BV Group is looking for a Human Resources Business Partner.
Covers has a hybrid position at its Halifax HQ for a Brand & Creative Designer.
Glitnor Group is searching for a Data Engineer.
The folks who run U.S. college sports are hiring a Senior VP of Championships.
FIFA has an opening for a Head of Brand, World Cup 2026.
Red Bull is seeking a Manager, Athlete Marketing to be based in Santa Monica, Californ-ay-yay, and is also hiring a Specialist, Brand Marketing.
You’re invited to participate in the live Gaming News Canada Show every Thursday afternoon and become a featured guest on our podcast, released every Friday.
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