Evander Kane gets heat following Shane Pinto’s 41-game suspension over sports betting violations

On Thursday, news broke that Ottawa Senators free agent forward Shane Pinto had been suspended 41 games for activities relating to sports wagering. In the lenghty report on the violations, the NHL did however specify that they found no evidence he wagered on NHL games. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has since reported: “According to multiple sources, one of the major issues leading to Pinto’s penalty was along the lines of “proxy betting,” where another individual or individuals have access to a legal account in his name. Companies like FanDuel specifically ban this practice. The state of New Jersey fined DraftKings $150,000 in March 2022 for allowing large (and illegal) proxy bets.”

Pinto’s online U.S gambling account was flagged by a company that’s partnered with the NHL for unusual activity.

The investigation reportedly dates back to sometime in the summer, but is not believed to be the reason why Pinto remains unsigned with the Senators. TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun added that Pinto’s suspension is retroactive to the Senators’ first game of the season and the forward will be eligible to play on Jan. 21. Though LeBrun did mention that Pinto isn’t likely to sign with the Sens until he has served his suspension in January. The team has rescinded all previous contract offers to Pinto.

The whole story pushed the spotlight on Edmonton Oilers’ Evander Kane, who once claimed to have placed as many as 50 bets per day with illegal bookmakers when he was in the grip of his gambling addiction. You may recall how the winger filed for bankruptcy in January 2021, claiming a total of $26.8 million in debt. That’s despite having signed a $49 million deal with the San Jose Sharks just three years earlier. His contract was later terminated, and he finally ended up with the Oilers.

Kane claims to be dealing with his gambling issues since, however, fans were somewhat stunned that Pinto landed a 41-game suspension, despite never betting on NHL games, while Kane was never banned though his estranged wife had accused him of betting on hockey and compromised games for gambling purposes.

In response, Kane posted on Twitter that he has never bet on hockey, including Sharks games, and has never thrown a game. The NHL investigated but Kane was not suspended, even during their investigation.

Several fans called him out on Thursday night, following the massive suspension to Pinto.

When it comes to Pinto, who did apologize after the announcement was made, the NHL considers this matter closed, absent the emergence of new information.

I can only imagine they’ll say the same thing about Kane if someone were to ask as fans have been doing for the past day.

Recommended articles:

• Major update on the Shane Pinto situation from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman
• Suspension appeal coming for Shane Pinto?
• We now know exactly what Shane Pinto did to earn a 41 game NHL suspension
• Shane Pinto releases a statement following 41 game suspension from NHL
• NHL lets the Sens off the hook with Pinto suspension