Shane Pinto is in the NHL record books with a dubious distinction: here’s the first-ever NHL player to be suspended for gambling since the pastime of online gambling was legalized. He was suspended for 41 games in the 2023 season.
This has stirred up a lot of conversation on the topic, though: should the league have come down harder on him, or is he mostly innocent, just caught up in a popular pastime? Let’s take a closer look at the precarious situation.
Why Was Shane Pinto Suspended? The Proxy Betting Issue
While the details were shrouded at first, it eventually came to light that Pinto had been using proxies to place bets for him. There was some mystery about it at the time the news broke, but Pinto opened up when he was on the Empty Netters podcast.
Pinto plays with the Ottawa Senators, and he relied on other people who were in the United States to place bets for him. The biggest takeaway is that he didn’t bet on individual NHL games. That begs whether players should be busted for gambling when it’s perfectly legal for most adults.
NHL and Gambling: Why Players Face Harsh Penalties
One of the biggest challenges facing the professional sports leagues is that they don’t want anyone to ever question the integrity of their sport. Refs being on the take, coaches betting against themselves, or players throwing games would all be disastrous.
That’s why even the whiff of any gambling is a concern. They want to make sure there’s never anything malicious happening when it comes to gambling and their sport.
Is the NHL being hypocritical?
In Pinto’s case, he was mostly just doing a little gambling here and there, and he didn’t bet on individual NHL games. Should players really be punished for that? After all, Mark Stone used a slot machine on the ice in Las Vegas when they raised the banner after their Stanley Cup win. And the league has sports betting ads at every turn now – commercials, websites, and the Senators are even sponsored by Betway.
Want more? The league moved a franchise to Las Vegas, and they play steps away from a casino. In their first season, the stadium served ice cubes that were crafted as the suits in a deck of cards (spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds). It’s not just Vegas either; almost every team has a partnership with a sportsbook wherever it’s legal, and then the league itself has an Official Gaming Partner.
And when you step away from the league itself, what’s so wrong with the players getting into some gaming? We all love to do it, so what’s wrong if they play games at the best online casinos or bet on Sunday football like the rest of us?
These are some of the challenging dynamics of a situation like Pinto’s. He was gambling, and that’s still viewed as a “sin” in some circles – even if it’s gone mainstream. But he really wasn’t doing anything malicious.
Lessons Learned – Will the NHL Change Its Stance?
At the end of the day, Pinto handled the situation about as well as he could have. He was just 22 at the time. He cooperated with the investigation and – by his own admission – didn’t realize he was doing anything wrong. He was open and transparent, and he didn’t bet on individual NHL games.
All of that still led to a 41-game suspension because the league wanted to send a message that they frown upon this activity. But as gambling continues to enter the mainstream, there will be less and less appetite to see players like Pinto punished for a legal pastime that so many people enjoy every day.
