The NHL is on the cusp of getting involved with the sports gambling industry, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.
“There will be a big announcement on Monday in New York City — the league is going to get into the sports gambling business and they’ll do this through some strategic partnerships with the gambling industry,” Johnston said Saturday during Hockey Night in Canada’s Headlines segment. “The NHL, at one time, stood publicly against legalized gambling, but ever since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in May paved the way for U.S. states to make it legal, the league sees an opportunity to make some significant money and revenue, to build their fanbase.”
Johnston added that legislation in Canada won’t allow this to take place north of the border at this time. He also said Monday’s announcement doesn’t figure to change the league’s stance on injury disclosure.
“Speculation that this will lead to a more free disclosure of injuries, like the one [Auston] Matthews just suffered, is not the case,” Johnston said. “The NHL believes its current injury policy will be enough, even with these new gambling partnerships.”
One remaining key area of interest is how player data factors into the equation, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
“One of the things we’ve kind of been wondering about is the data,” Friedman said Saturday. “The NHL, can they sell data like player- and puck-tracking, to these companies for special bets, prop bets, on individual things? That is in the plans, but not immediately.”
Watch the full Headlines segment in the video at the top of this post.
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