Gaming News Canada

Steve McAllister welcomed back a couple of chief executive officers to a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming: PointsBet Canada boss Scotty Vanderwel and Bede head honcho Colin Cole-Johnson. The reason for the joint appearance? PointsBet and Bede last month announced collaboration on a new casino aggregation and bonusing platform provided by Bede to the Ontario-licensed operator. Vanderwel discussed the decision to bring Bede on board to power its new proprietary platform, which gives PointsBet access to an extensive online casino catalogue that includes Games Global, Pragmatic Play, Play’n GO, Light & Wonder, and other games suppliers. Cole-Johnson talked about the company’s experience in the Ontario marketplace through its long-time partnership with OLG, and the collaboration process between the two companies’ teams to create and launch the new platform. McAllister asked both leaders about the growth of igaming in Ontario’s regulated gambling industry, the player protection piece of the platform and the importance of both companies’ culture during the building process. Vanderwel and Cole-Johnson both addressed the opportunity around the incoming open market in Alberta and the need to create a unique product for customers in the western Canada province.

The latest Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming took the conversation on advertising in the gambling industry in a different direction. Host Steve McAllister was joined by two of Global TV Experts senior executives: Nick Wood, the Global Director of Client Strategy and Growth, and Jenny Croswell, the Managing Director of Canadian Operations. Wood and Croswell talked about their respective journeys through the TV and media industry, and the story behind Global TV Experts in Canada and other parts of the world. The company advises clients in the gambling industry on their media buys. Both guests addressed the ongoing influence of television around advertising campaigns and the evolution of those campaigns in the changing regulated sports betting and gaming landscape. McAllister also asked Croswell for her reaction to the latest report from Canadian Media Means Business on the impact of fewer advertising dollars being committed to traditional media. And, our two guests also discussed responsible gaming advertising, and the incoming open and regulated market in Alberta.

On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, Steve McAllister is joined by two of the leading voices in the just-released research on sports betting advertising and its impact on young men. Dr. Andrew Kim, psychology professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and Canada Research chair in addictions and mental health comorbidity, and Greo Evidence Insights chief research officer Matthew Young discussed with McAllister the findings of the research that was conducted in Alberta and Ontario. TMU and Greo received a helping hand from Brock University, the University of Calgary, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Bristol, with funding provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Alberta Gambling Research Institute. Among the topics discussed:The genesis of the study, and how the funding was secured.The effect of sports betting advertising, especially on men under 30, and how those ads motivate young gamblers to play online casino games.The effectiveness of responsible gaming advertising.The need for problem gambling to be identified as a public health issue.Thoughts on placing additional restrictions on gambling advertising. The efforts by the authors of the research to get the results in front of gambling industry stakeholders. The need for ongoing research with the Ontario legal market now four years old, and an open, regulated market ready to launch in Alberta this summer.

On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show, Covers senior news analyst Geoff Zochodne rejoined Steve McAllister for an extended version sparked by everything going on across the North American gambling landscape. Zochodne, who will participate on a panel on “tackling grey-market gambling in Canada” at next month’s SBC Summit Canada in Toronto, has been keeping tabs on news from both sides of the border, including:The latest on efforts by our federal elected officials in the Great White North to pass Bill S-211 around sports betting advertising.Speaking of advertising, Zochodne and McAllister discussed a recent piece by Steve Ruddock in his Straight to the Point newsletter suggesting tobacco-style rules on the legal gambling industry in the U.S.The current state of Ontario’s legal sports wagering and igaming industry, the withdrawal of Casumo and a mini-debate on informing/educating industry stakeholders and others about the regulated environment.The road to regulation and a July 13 launch date for Alberta’s open, legal market.Whether or not Alberta is the catalyst for other provinces to follow suit, and a conversation about the Supreme Court of Canada case around peer-to-peer igaming across borders.The never-ending news cycle around prediction markets in the U.S. of A.

A wearer of many chapeaus in the business of gambling, Benjie Cherniak joined Steve McAllister on a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming. Cherniak, the principal of Avenue H Capital, provided his insights and perspectives on the issues and topics of the day across the sports betting and gaming industry, including: What’s at the top of his To Do list these days, and the current landscape around startup companies in the industry. The soon-to-come launch of Alberta’s open, regulated gambling market and if that could be the catalyst for other Canadian provinces to follow suit. Four years of Ontario’s open, regulated market. How the use of data and technology has evolved. The impact of prediction markets on the U.S. gambling scene. And more.

Friend of Gaming News Canada Jessica Welman is Steve McAllister’s guest on a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming. The long-time journalist and content specialist announced in February her departure from SBC as Managing Editor. Last month, Welman let it be known she was joining Brianne Doura-Schawohl’s consulting firm to support the practice’s work around responsible gambling programs and policies. Among the topics covered on the podcast: Welman’s decision to walk away from SBC and choosing a different path in the gambling industry by joining Doura-Schawohl, and what’s involved in her new role. We also asked her to take a trip down memory lane on the evolution of regulated online sports betting and gaming in the U.S.The current goings-on around gambling in the U.S. of A., including the ongoing bunfight/legal wranglings involving politicians, regulators, gaming operators and prediction market proprietors (and oh yes, lawyers, many, many lawyers).Of course, we wanted Welman’s thoughts on the incoming legal, open gaming market in Alberta and asked her to look back at four years of regulated, competitive gaming in Ontario. That included asking the experienced poker player about the liquidity issue that has involved courts in Canada.She had an opinion or three on the results of a recent study conducted by Gaming Public Policy Consulting around media coverage of the gaming industry, and the media coverage of that study.

For the latest episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, host Steve McAllister is joined by the Senior Vice President of Group Operations at Sportradar, Sophie Thomas. Thomas, who joined Sportradar as Head of Snooker Operations in late 2012 and has served in her current role for a year now, made her maiden appearance on the GNCS at the end of a robust first quarter of 2026. Sportradar tapped into its November 2025 acquisition of IMG Arena to last week announce it is expanding its agreement with Hard Rock Bet to add PGA Tour and UFC data, odds and enhanced in-play wagering capabilities to its existing set of services in the U.S. of A. Earlier in the week, the company announced the launch of igaming brand Playradar which will combine sports data “expertise” with casino content for operators around the world, including Canada. That bit of news came on the heels of the hiring of former Playtech Live CEO Edo Haitin to oversee Sportradar’s igaming business. We asked Thomas for her thoughts on last week’s announcements and Sportradar’s increasing investment in igaming along with: The company’s involvement in this summer’s FIFA World Cup men’s tournament in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico;Other opportunities available through the IMG Arena acquisition;Working with operators to offer more in-play betting products at a time that some regulators and others are asking for a reduction in said products;Sportradar’s ongoing role supporting the efforts of leagues, organizations and other bodies in monitoring suspicious betting activity;If/how does the company fit with prediction markets, specifically given Sportradar’s deal with Major League Baseball, which just introduced Polymarket as a partner in a multi-year agreement.How Sportradar is exploiting the growth of women’s sports in North America and Europe.

On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, Steve McAllister is joined by the co-founder and Managing Director of Partnerships for Oddin GG, Marek Suchar. Suchar, who launched the Prague-based company in 2018, continues to be bullish on the esports and esports betting industry despite recent layoffs at Riot Games and ClickOut Media. Suchar said it’s business as usual at Oddin, which supplies B2B products and services around esports odds, trading and risk management. The company’s co-founder also got into the state of esports in Canada, Oddin’s interest here and the need for the industry to continue its focus on integrity monitoring around the world.

The co-founder and Managing Director of iGaming B2B supplier mkdodo, Stuart Godfree, is Steve McAllister’s guest on the latest episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming. Godfree, whose company creates mobile apps and websites for sportsbook, casino and lottery operators, is among the legions of industry stakeholders on the road to regulation in Alberta. He provided his thoughts on the opportunities with an open market in the western Canadian province and the rules that have been in put in place for the application process. Godfree believes Mkodo’s current partnership with the Western Canada Lottery Corporation and AGLC has the company well-prepared to expand their presence there.  McAllister also asked his guest about the ongoing evolution of geolocation technology – including mkodo’s GeoLocs product and the evolution of how artificial intelligence is being used across the gambling industry.