Gaming News Canada

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.

On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, the interim Chief Executive Officer of Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC), Dan Keene made his maiden appearance on the podcast. We recorded our conversation with the gaming industry veteran, who spent 13 years with the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission before accepting the interim CEO role with the new AiGC body, as more operators continued to express interest in joining the open, regulated sports betting and online gaming market in the western Canada province. Keene spoke with host Steve McAllister about the input he, Service Alberta/Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally and others have received from the gambling industry on their way to opening the application process. We also chatted about the AIGC’s current search for staff and other matters on the road to regulation. Keene, who is optimistic for a late spring/early summer launch, discussed how Ontario's four-year-old open market influenced Alberta's leaders when they created the gaming framework there, as well as the tweaks made regarding responsible gambling, advertising, AML rules and other issues.

On the 200th episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, it felt like your humble host was playing a game of 200 Questions with the President and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, Paul Burns. Burns has been a familiar voice and face on Gaming News Canada’s weekly audio show, going back to the early days when we gathered on Clubhouse every Thursday afternoon to talk about the soon-to-change Canadian gaming industry with the passing of Bill C-218 to legalize single-event sports betting in our home and native land. On this milestone episode, the CGA head honcho offered his thoughts on several recent happenings including: The recent actions taken by The Alcohol and Gaming Association of Ontario against both FanDuel and PointsBet Canada.The latest tete a tete between Loto-Québec and the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition.The iGaming Ontario hiring of former AGCO chief strategy officer Ben Valido as its first Chief Responsible Gaming Officer.The CGA’s involvement and the feedback it has received from its membership on the rules placed by operators and suppliers to do business in Alberta’s incoming open and competitive sports betting and gaming marketplace.Burns’s recent op-ed on efforts within the Senate and federal government to create its own rules around sports betting advertising. And much more.