The NHL has been secretly collecting information on players.
The Shane Pinto situation with the Ottawa Senators and the 41-game suspension that was handed down has taken an interesting turn over the last 24 hours. It appears that Pinto opened an account with a gambling website, which triggered a notification to the NHL's head office.
This information was reported by Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. He explains in a statement what happened with Pinto and what he thinks other players will do now that they are aware of the NHL's approach to these suspensions.
"We've been led to believe that NHL players weren't aware, until Pinto's suspension, that any player who opens an online betting account has their information forwarded to the league's security department for compliance purposes.
You can be certain there were players across the league deleting the gambling apps on their phones once they found out that this was the case in the last 24 to 48 hours." - Bruce Garrioch, Ottawa Sun
You can be certain there were players across the league deleting the gambling apps on their phones once they found out that this was the case in the last 24 to 48 hours." - Bruce Garrioch, Ottawa Sun
According to the investigation on Pinto, the NHL did not find any evidence that he bet on his own team's schemes or any NHL games whatsoever. It seems that the focus was on other leagues through the site.
This raises the question: Should the NHL inform its players, who are its employees, that suspensions can be handed down for opening an account with a gambling website?
Only time will tell; however, I believe that in the next collective bargaining negotiations, this language will need to be put in writing.
| POLL | ||
Should NHL players have been made aware of player monitoring by the league head office? | ||
| Yes | 31 | 64.6 % |
| No | 17 | 35.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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