Shane Pinto of the NHL Senators has been suspended 41 days that is retroactive to the Senators opening season game for 2023. I know I am running this a couple days late but folks, this is still news.
There is some confusion as to why. Yes, we know he was suspended for gambling in Sports but it was not in Hockey they say and the NHL major sponsor is Gambling sites. So what gives? I have been doing my best to break this down to make sense of something that does not make sense.
In an “explanation” the NHL offered this: “The league’s investigation found no evidence that Pinto made any wagers on NHL games.”
Ok, so we know that the NHL collective bargaining agreement with its players association says “gambling on any NHL game is prohibited.” That makes sense. The NHL has indicated Pinto did not bet on NHL games. So why would he get suspended?
As per various sources and people around the Sens franchise ,what I have come to understand as it has been given to me is, the basis of the suspension relates to a third party placing bets through Pinto’s gambling account. They refer to something like this as proxy betting. Sounds like his gambling site has had NHL betting however through a Proxy. Not sure what that means other than, they see NHL betting but can’t legally say it’s Pinto gambling on the NHL but his site has through a Proxy.
Pinto has admitted to gambling and the NHLPA has agreed to the suspension, which basically is saying to me that while his site was doing something wrong, it would be long and drawn out to find 100% proof it was Pinto but the investigation could also be drawn out while he is suspended until reviewed in full and a decision made. That can take 6 months to 2 years to truly discover the full truth and even then, it may not find anything more than what we already know as far as facts go.
Admittedly he says he gambled. The NHL says not on the NHL (or at least not directly him) and they both want to move on so, Pinto takes the 41 games and tries to get back into the game and go into rehab in the meantime.
A lot is on the line with a league that does not want people gambling on the game yet it’s major sponsor is a gambling website. The NHL saves face and Pinto will get to resume his career . Fair? Your the judge of what you perceive as fair or not.
All I can say is , this is just the beginning of what I believe will be a bigger issue in the years ahead. We now await for the ‘full truth’ to be told at some point. Will we ever know? Maybe, maybe not .
Keep on Keeping on!
Evan ‘REV’ Renaerts
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