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The Canadian Football League is the latest sports league to take action against a player for violating gambling policy.

The CFL announced on April 24 that retired defensive lineman Shawn Lemon has been suspended indefinitely for allegedly placing bets on league games while an active player. An investigation conducted by the CFL found that the University of Akron product bet on multiple CFL games, including one in which he played during the 2021 season while a member of the Calgary Stampeders.

The investigation found that there was “irrefutable evidence of Mr. Lemon’s participation” in betting on league games and that Calgary coaches, teammates or team personnel were unaware of his actions. However, it stressed that “no evidence was found to indicate matches were in any way impacted by his wagering.”

The league reiterated that players betting on league games is strictly prohibited by its rules.

“The integrity of our game is of the utmost importance,” said CFL Commissioner Randy Amb..

DraftKings has announced the appointment of Lori Kalani as its first Chief Responsible Gaming Officer.

Kalani, who will report to DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, will be tasked with elevating and integrating the company’s player safety and protection activities and initiatives across all facets of DraftKings platforms and player communities.

“Responsible gaming is one of our top priorities and it is a core part of our mission to build games that our customers can enjoy responsibly,” said Robins. “In this leadership role, Lori will further advance our responsible gaming initiatives and uphold our commitment to setting new industry standards.”

Before joining DraftKings, Kalani was a partner at the Cozen O’Connor law firm and Co-Chaired the State Attorney’s General Practice.

DraftKings says that her experience in consumer protection law and her working relationship with regulators, attorneys general, and other key stakeholders will allow Kalani to further cultivate DraftKings’ dedicati..

UNLV is preparing to host its inaugural class of ESPN Research Fellowships.

The institution’s International Gaming Institute (IGI) has announced the recipients of the 2024 ESPN Research Fellowships. The group of scholars is tasked with researching the impact of RG messages used by media in the sports betting and gaming industry. Their work will be key in addressing and promoting healthy gambling practices.

“ESPN is proud to work with IGI to advance responsible gaming standards through this comprehensive research,” said VP of ESPN Corporate Citizenship Kevin Martinez. “These diverse research projects will help to inform how the industry can continue to respond to and improve upon responsible gaming practices in the sports entertainment ecosystem.”

Each of the five receipts of the fellowship will provide unique insights into the aspects of RG messaging in sports media. Dr. Hannah Borenstein, an Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of Chicago, will be investigating the integr..

DraftKings Sportsbook is now facing a second class action, this time a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York for its promotional “risk-free” bets.

The lawsuit, filed by plaintiff Samantha Guery, says that DraftKings engaged in deceptive, misleading, fraudulent and unlawful by advertising a risk-free wager.

The suit claims that the way DraftKings awards its free bet resulted in compensation that failed to match the amount of money a person had to wager in order to receive the offer.

Suit says DraftKings free bets are fraudulent and misleading

“The promotion required that the customer place a bet with their own money. If a customer lost their bet, they were not returned to their original position. Instead, their accounts were credited with a “Free Bet” that was worth less than its counterpart in U.S. dollars implied by the promotional materials.”

The complaint went so far as to break down its mathematical approach:

“Free Bets cannot be withdrawn and must be wagered t..

While the NFL has had a fair number more controversies, it is the NBA who is the first league to permanently ban a player for sports betting in the post-PASPA era. Today, the league announced that Jontay Porter will never again play for an NBA team after both betting on basketball and passing on insider information so others could bet on basketball.

Last month the NBA said it was investigating Porter after there was suspicious activity related to Porter’s play as a Toronto Raptor in games on Jan. 26 and March 20. The investigation concluded that prior to the March 20 game, Porter told a known NBA bettor about his health status. That bettor subsequently wagered $80,000 on a Porter-centric SGP that would pay out $1.1 million.

The investigation also determined Porter deliberately limited his participation in the game to ensure the under on all the legs of that parlay would cash.

In addition to divulging information, the league concluded Porter used an associate to place 13 bets on NBA..

Player protection in the U.S. has been in the spotlight of not just the sports betting industry recently, but also the media, lawmakers, and the general public. Seven leading operators formed the Responsible Online Gaming Association to support best practices, while one federal US lawmaker has called for investigation into VIP programs.

Both state and local lawmakers and regulators are reviewing advertising and marketing limits, along with bans on college prop bets. Dr. Michael Auer, Founder and Managing Director of OpenBet’s Neccton, shares some of the approaches that have developed over his 18-year career to help U.S. operators reinforce responsible play with their customers.

From lagging behind to leading the way

U.S. sports betting continues to boom. With the explosive growth of this market – and with online casino in the offing – player protection rightfully has become the industry’s top priority. However, as the sports betting market matures, so too must our ability to integr..

The former interpreter of MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani is in negotiations to plead guilty following allegations of stealing million to wager on sports, according to the New York Times.

Ippei Mizuhara is expected to plead guilty to federal charges after allegedly participating in an illegal gambling operation run by former bookie Matthew Bowyer. Mizuhara, who was subsequently fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers, allegedly siphoned at least $4.5 million from Ohtani’s bank account to Bowyer to cover gambling losses. Mizuhara is alleged to have changed the alert and confirmation settings of Ohtani’s bank account.

Bank information showed Ohtani’s name on two $500,000 payments marked as loans.

Ohtani, who signed a record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers last December, has denied any wrongdoing following the allegations against Mizuhara.

“I’ve never bet on baseball or any other sports or asked someone to do it on my behalf,” said Ohtani during a team press conference last month..