Gaming News Canada

For Rick Allec, the wonderful world of sports blazed the path to a career in the gaming industry that’s now in its fourth decade. Allec, who’s today in charge of OddsLogic and WagerTalk Media, made his maiden appearance on the Gaming News Canada Show presented by GBC Plc. Host Steve McAllister took the sports betting industry veteran back to his first gig in the industry writing tickets and then becoming a sportsbook manager. He discussed his creation of data business SportsOptions and an eventual merger with Don Best Sports that brought him together with Friend of GNC Benjie Cherniak. Allec also got into the shifting sands that is the business of sports data, and what OddsLogic customers are seeking in today’s world of live/in-play wagering. We also couldn’t help ourselves on devoting a segment of the show to the sports media landscape, and Allec’s thoughts on the integration of sports betting content into sports broadcasts and other content given his WagerTalk Media business.

To mention that Ilkim Hincer has had his fingers on the pulse of regulated gambling in Canada and the U.S. over the five years is akin to proclaiming Connor McDavid is a pretty decent player of hockey. Hence, our motivation for some time now to get the former Chair of the Canadian Gaming Association into the virtual studio for an appearance on the Gaming News Canada Show presented by GBG Plc. Not only did Hincer accept our invite, but appeared on the podcast the same week he was appointed the new Chief Legal Officer at gaming industry behemoth GeoComply. Hincer, who left his position as partner and chair of the gaming practice at Fogler, Rubinoff LLP to join GeoComply, let us in on the process that led to his latest position in the business of sports betting and gaming. We also spoke with the one-time senior executive at Hard Rock International about the shifting regulated gambling space, and working with Paul Burns to lead the CGA through a busy three-year tenure as Chair. We also discussed the potential for competitive regulated gambling regimes not only in Alberta, but across the rest of the country.

When the topic of startups comes up in a conversation, one of the first thoughts is a company created by young people chugging Red Bull and leaving empty pizza boxes on the floor. OK, perhaps we exaggerate a little bit. However, the co-founders of Defy The Odds, formed to lend a helping hand to other startups, aren’t your stereotypical startup trio. Sue Schneider, Paris Smith and Kelly Kehn have a combined 75-years plus in the gambling industry and have individually been among the leading crusaders for women in a business that has historically been heavily male skewed. The three gaming leaders were Steve McAllister’s guests on a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by GBG Plc. They provided McAllister with the back story on the creation of Defy The Odds at the end of 2024, and the new company’s recently announced partnerships with Thundr,QueenBHive, and Let’s Fantasy Game. Schneider, a frequent guest on the GNCS, Smith and Kehn also spoke about their mentors during the early days in the industry, and the need to continue pushing the envelope on DEI initiatives.

When the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association (finally) decided to take the Nestea plunge into international hockey again, puck insiders and fans - and the best players from Canada, the U.S. of A., Sweden and Finland - weren’t quite sure what the 4 Nations Face-Off would produce. Well, the four-team tournament which culminated with Connor McDavid’s overtime goal to lift Canada over Team USA in the championship game was a resounding success. The inaugural global hockey event delivered two nail-biting, tough-as-nails contests between the North American rivals, full houses in Montreal and Boston, record television audiences on both sides of the border, and record activity among bettors with legal online sportsbooks. For more on the impact of the 4 Nations, we were joined on the Gaming News Canada Show, presented by GBG Plc. First, Rob Corte, Vice-President of Sportsnet and NHL Production at Rogers, shared his insights. Then, we brought back DraftKings’ long-time Head of Sportsbook, Johnny Avello, and John Ewing, PR Manager – Insights for BetMGM. Both Avello and Ewing spoke with host Steve McAllister about the tournament’s success and its impact on the operations of DraftKings and BetMGM with their respective hockey offerings. They also discussed the potential implications for the Stanley Cup playoffs and the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.We also asked the pair about the upcoming spring sports schedule, including March Madness and the Masters. And we had a chinwag with Avello about the PGA Tour’s recent Waste Management Open and the current state of men’s golf.

Including being the delivererto regulated operators in Ontario of access to two of Canada’s main credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion, GBG Plc has been a heavily invested player in the country’s emerging regulated sports betting and igaming marketplace. The UK-based identify verification company’s Director of Gaming, Rebekah Jackson, returned to the Gaming News Canada Show for a conversation with host Steve McAllister on GBG’s investment in our home and native land. Jackson gave us the goods on the company’s success in Ontario, and on its preparations to support the incoming regulated gambling industry in Alberta.  We also asked Jackson, who’s been with GBG since joining the business as a graduate management executive in the spring of 2023, about its Win Canada Market Share initiative and its recent work on behalf of Atlantic Lottery, and its entry into Brazil’s new legal online gaming marketplace.

Four years ago today, a newsletter covering the business of sports betting, igaming, and other topics of interest, was born. On that day, we covered the passing of the second reading of Bill C-218 in the House of Commons. Since then, Gaming News Canada – has produced almost 150 newsletters and some 600 audio/visual shows to deliver the latest industry news and insights to our still-growing list of subscribers. This morning, we thank everyone who has had a hand in the success of our neighbourhood media outlet, and there are far too many to mention by name in this space. To help us celebrate Anniversaire Numero Quatre, Parleh Media Group co-founder and CE0 (and the person giving your humble correspondent a friendly but firm push to create Gaming News Canada) Mark Silver helped us take a walk down memory lane with a special focus on the relationship between media and the regulated gambling industry in Ontario, and the rest of Canada. Then, long-time Friend of Gaming News Canada Amanda Brewer and journalist Dave Briggs joined us for their respective thoughts and layers on the past four years. That included a discussion on the Ontario market, which celebrates its third anniversary at the beginning of April and so far continues to wait for the consolidation many of us predicted back in April 2022. Brewer also provided an update and some advice for the folks in charge of creating an expanded legal sports betting and gaming business in Alberta. Both Briggs and Brewer weighed in on Briggs’s interview last week with PointsBet Canada boss Scotty Vanderwel about the potential impact of Donald Trump’s tariff war on the Ontario industry. We also asked Brewer about the Canadian Lottery Coalition-supported legal action taken by the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation against offshore betting site Bodog. Finally, we asked our two guests to take out their crystal balls to gaze into the future, and specifically asked Briggs about Canada’s horse racing industry and the opportunities/challenges around betting.