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BetMGM has invested in making Canadian NHL phenom Connor McDavid one of its most visible ambassadors, and the iGaming operator unveiled its latest campaign with the Edmonton Oilers captain this week.

The online sports betting and online casino giant launched a new responsible gambling TV ad spot featuring the three-time NHL MVP alongside player-turned-actor Terry Ryan. The commercial is currently airing in the U.S. and Canada, as well as on various digital platforms.

The commercial titled “Mullet Over” was directed and produced by New York-based creative agency CAPE, in collaboration with BetMGM’s creative and responsible gambling teams.

McDavid’s star power reaps reward

BetMGM has worked with former NHL MVP McDavid since before Ontario’s regulated iGaming market opened in April 2022. When he signed on as an ambassador for the MGM Resorts International and Entain joint-venture operator, he was the first active player in a major U.S. professional league to endorse a regulated North American sportsbook.

BetMGM said the new commercial will build on the success of its 2024 responsible gambling ad with McDavid, which the operator said led to a notable increase in use of BetMGM’s responsible gambling tools.

Following that campaign, BetMGM reported a 38% year-over-year increase in Ontario players’ usage of deposit limits and a 55% jump in players in Ontario using stake limits.

Now, it’s hoping a new commercial will continue that impact.

“Filming the ‘Mullet Over’ commercial with Terry was a fun opportunity to combine hockey humour with a meaningful message,” said McDavid of the newly unveiled ad. “It’s important to stay in control, and BetMGM’s tools and resources help customers do just that.”

Ontario-facing ads must be RG-focused

BetMGM also counts the NHL’s ‘Great One’ Wayne Gretzky, New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter and Hollywood stars Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm among its brand ambassadors.

Whereas BetMGM uses that roster of stars as brand-wide ambassadors across its numerous U.S. markets, even tying their names and likenesses to specific games in some instances, it has to take a narrower approach in Canada’s regulated iGaming province.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario’s (AGCO) regulations stipulate that celebrities including active or retired athletes cannot be used in advertising and marketing “except for the exclusive purpose of advocating for responsible gambling practices.” In August 2023, the AGCO announced it would ban the use of athletes in broader online gaming advertising and marketing in Ontario, a change that came into effect in February 2024.

Ontario also has a requirement that operators must spend a certain percentage of their annual gross gaming revenue on RG-specific messaging.

So, BetMGM’s stars, as well as other gaming ambassadors like BetVictor’s former Toronto Raptor Tracy McGrady, Betway’s French soccer icon Thierry Henry and Bet99‘s Canadian UFC legend Georges St-Pierre are used purely to talk about the responsible gambling tools offered by the companies they represent.

“Our new campaign with Connor and Terry builds upon our approach to deliver an entertaining and memorable responsible gambling message,” said BetMGM Director of Responsible Gambling Richard Taylor. “We’re committed to finding new and creative ways to reach customers and encourage them to ‘mull it over’ before they place a bet.”

Hockey hook-up could work well in Alberta

Meanwhile, as Alberta continues to inch slowly towards launching its own commercial iGaming market, BetMGM leaders know that the brand’s association with McDavid and Gretzky may stand it in good stead in the western province.

BetMGM VP of Canada Scott Woodgate told Canadian Gaming Business in mid-2024 that the company believes Alberta can become “a key omnichannel market” for the operator.

We’ve obviously gotten into business with a couple of guys from Alberta, so we see the appeal,” he added at the time. “It’s a dynamic province, it’s a good-sized market, there are strong incomes, a young and growing population, it’s a great hockey market. It checks a lot of boxes.”

BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt added a few months ago that, with the company one of the top operators by market share in Ontario, it is primed for success in Alberta.

“Alberta is an area that should play to BetMGM’s strength given its operations in Ontario,” he noted on an April 2025 earnings call. “That should be a province where BetMGM really does flex its muscles, given the strength of our business in Ontario. So we’re really excited, really optimistic for Alberta.”

Lawmakers in New Jersey heard from both sides of the argument regarding a proposed bill to ban in-game prop betting, or micro-betting, in the state. However, since the hearing was only informational, so far, the Assembly has not taken any action on the matter.

Bill would ban in-game wagers on events like baseball pitches

Rep. Dan Hutchinson kicked off the hearing by explaining his measure, A 5971, which he introduced last month amidst a torrent of controversies related to match fixing in professional and collegiate sports. The bill would eliminate the bets and impose a fine of between $500 and $1,000 on each wager taken. There is a companion bill in the New Jersey Senate with the same text, S

Hutchinson recalled some experiences he shared interacting with those who have dealt with problem gambling as well as voiced his own thoughts as to why he thinks the matter is an issue worth legislating.

“As I watched the Eagles play yesterday, I was shocked to find that gambling ads were bak..

NCAA President Charlie Baker has been outspoken about the impact of legal sports betting on its student-athletes, but the organization is also having to consider another vertical.

Baker sat down with Yahoo! Sports to discuss the legal sports betting industry and how the NCAA is responding to recent gambling infractions across sports and the steps the organization is taking to protect its student-athletes. Baker also discussed the growing popularity of prediction markets and how the NCAA perceives the emerging platforms.

Easy access to online wagering changed the game

Since the overturning of PASPA in 2018, the NCAA has worked to develop and implement a framework that protects student-athletes from gambling-related harm and ensures the integrity of competition. However, the rapid pace of growth and the accessibility of online sports wagering impacts how the NCAA sets a standard related to regulated gambling.

“I don’t think anybody was anticipating that it [legal sports betting] woul..

Notch another one in the win column for DraftKings, as Southern District of New York Judge Denise Cote dismissed a class action lawsuit against the sportsbook over its promotions.

After prevailing in a similar lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York in July, Cote’s ruling drew many of the same conclusions as the judge drew in that case. Both cases observed that there were clear opportunities for the plaintiffs to read the terms of service surrounding the $1,000 deposit bonus and the “No Sweat” bet, so they cannot argue that DraftKings was misleading in how these offers were presented.

Plaintiffs didn’t have a specific DK ad in mind

Cote also pushed back at the suit because the plaintiffs could not point to the exact advertisement the plaintiffs had seen. The plaintiffs tried to argue that didn’t makker because all of the ads are relatively the same, but Cote said a specific example is necessary in order to state a claim.

She went into more detail on other elements of the case, ..

The NCAA investigation into sports betting violations at Fresno State led to the discovery of similar infractions at another California university.

Former University of San Francisco men’s basketball guard Marcus Williams was found to have violated the NCAA’s rules related to sports betting by knowingly providing information to a third-party for gambling-related purposes. Williams shared information with former Fresno State men’s basketball player Mykell Robinson, who was dismissed from the university and ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA for manipulating his performances during games to win bets.

The NCAA initiated an investigation into Williams after their probe into Robinson revealed communication between the two players. The communication included Williams providing information for Robinson to wager on him.

Robinson leveraged daily fantasy sports accounts to place bets on Williams. The NCAA did not disclose which gaming platform Robinson used to place the wagers. NCAA ga..

Fanatics Betting and Gaming has partnered with betting technology provider OpenBet to launch the supplier’s suite of geolocation, fraud prevention, AML and responsible gaming tools on its sportsbook platform.

Fanatics Sportsbook will deploy OpenBet’s full Protect Suite, which includes OpenBet Locator and the AI-enhanced responsible gaming and AML platform Neccton.

“The OpenBet Locator and Neccton products deliver a secure and frictionless experience for our customers,” said Fanatics Chief Business Officer Ari Borod. “When we launched, we stated that our intention would be to innovate on the tech side, and we have now delivered two critical integrations in Neccton and OpenBet Locator to enhance our player protection framework and our geolocation needs.”

Rollout reflects Fanatics’ expansion

Fanatics Sportsbook now operates in 22 U.S. states plus D.C., a geographical spread that the operator said exposes it to close to 95% of the total addressable online sports betting market. It most..

Kalshi’s list of legal battles now includes one with citizens in addition to state governments.

Last week, a group of individuals from across the United States filed a class action against the site related to its offering of sports-related event contracts.

Filed in the Southern District of New York, it is the second such lawsuit filed in the district, following one that was filed in October. The law firm representing the plaintiffs in the first lawsuit is the Almeida Law Group, a firm that is no stranger to gaming-related class actions. The firm represents the plaintiffs in the pending litigation in California against DraftKings and PrizePicks as well as some sweepstakes-related lawsuits.

The uniting thread of all of the cases is that the product being offered is tantamount to illegal gambling and the plaintiffs are seeking damages and restitution. To date, none of the cases have been resolved.

The plaintiffs in the second lawsuit are represented by Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernste..

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Canada continue to work together to safeguard Canadian soccer from match-fixing and integrity concerns, with nearly 200 Canadian Premier League (CPL) players and staff completing integrity training in 2025.

IBIA and PFA Canada have completed the second year of their joint anti-match-fixing education program, part of an initiative funded by a $300,000, three-year investment from IBIA and its members – bet365, Betway and FanDuel. The overarching initiative provides Canadian athletes and sports organizations with access to free, in-person integrity education.

Players and staff across all eight CPL clubs completed integrity training this year, just as they did last year.

Real-world experiences
The key aim of the IBIA training is to equip athletes and coaches with the knowledge to identify, avoid and report betting-related integrity risks. The focus on in-person training creates the opportunity to share and discuss real-world experiences, says IBIA.

The ‘Protecting the Integrity of the Game’ player education program is built around three foundational pillars of rules, responsibility and reporting. Those 3Rs cover the key information every athlete should know about sports betting-related match-fixing. In addition to highlighting the potential threats from sports betting-related match-fixing, the program educated players on rules and sanctions, the scale and accuracy of technology-enabled sports integrity monitoring and how to report incidents.

“Preventing sports betting-related match-fixing starts with educating the athletes and coaches,” said IBIA CEO Khalid Ali. “Through collaborative campaigns, industry-funded initiatives and unique face-to-face training, IBIA is setting the global standard for athlete education on betting integrity, in line with our Mission 2030 strategy. Alongside regulation and monitoring, it is very important that player education is placed at the heart of a maturing Canadian sports betting integrity ecosystem.

“We’re pleased to see this program delivering real impact. Everyone benefits when sports are clean.”

Resources like IBIA’s work are ‘beyond integral’
“The IBIA sports integrity training was super informative for our players, providing essential information on the rules of sports betting, the consequences of being involved, and ways to report any illegal activity,” added Vancouver FC captain and six-year CPL veteran goalkeeper Callum Irving. “Resources like the IBIA are beyond integral to safeguarding our sport and locker rooms from sports betting-related match-fixing.”

IBIA is a not-for-profit association funded by operators committed to safeguarding betting integrity. Its Global Monitoring & Alert Platform (Global MAP) uses operator intelligence from 90+ members to identify and share alerts on suspicious betting across regulated online sports wagering markets worldwide. Its model enables intelligence sharing between operators, sports governing bodies, regulators and law enforcement to help prevent the manipulation of sports and betting markets through athlete education, policy guidance and by promoting integrity standards.

IBIA and PFA Canada will continue their joint work in 2026. IBIA Education Ambassador Jean-Francois Reymond said the association looks forward to partnering with additional Canadian sports organizations to help safeguard the integrity of Canadian sport.

A lawmaker in Maryland wants the state to consider prohibiting micro betting as a professional sports league deals with allegations of game manipulation by athletes.

According to a report from The Baltimore Sun, House of Delegates member Jason Buckel wants the state to consider banning or changing rules related to micro bets as MLB deals with a gambling scandal tied to the alleged manipulation of pitch-level markets.

“We definitely should take a strong look at it [micro betting],” Buckel told The Baltimore Sun. “I believe the best course of action would be to either outright ban those types of individual-play prop bets or to very significantly limit the amount that could be wagered on those types of sporting activities.”

Buckel wants Maryland to consider a ban on micro bets after MLB warned state gaming regulators in 2021 about the risks associated with offering the betting markets. MLB pointed directly to the risk of offering pitch-level markets and called for discussions on the ma..