NHL commissioner says NHL better positioned to avoid gambling controversy

Several gambling scandals have dominated headlines across the sports world in recent weeks and months.

On Tuesday, longtime NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman touched on the topic during a wide-ranging interview. The league recently struck a partnership with leading prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket.

Bettman argued that the harmony between prediction markets and sports betting positions the NHL to have better oversight and ultimately more power to “take down any contracts that we don’t think are appropriate.”

While no current NHL players or coaches have been implicated in the recent scandals that have rocked the NBA and MLB, Bettman believes the top pro hockey league is positioned to avoid similar issues.

“I don’t believe our game is susceptible in the way that some others might be … you can’t really get away with that kind of cheating anymore,” Bettman told CNBC.

In early November, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and All-Star pitcher Emmanuel Clase were the targets of the investigation and the two face charges in the alleged scheme.

The pitchers face charges of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering. Both pitchers pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Also, last month, the NBA was rocked by a widespread betting investigation. Dozens of individuals with ties to the league, including a current head coach, were arrested on Oct. 23.

Despite Bettman’s assertion that the league he oversees is not currently limited in its potential problematic gambling exposure, a look back reveals the complicated history the league and betting share.

In 2003, Jaromir Jagr reflected on the decisions he made that led up to $500,000 in betting losses through an online gambling site. Jagr spent more than a quarter-century in the NHL, playing for nine franchises. He last appeared in an NHL game for the Calgary Flames during the 2017-18 season.

Despite acknowledging he made missteps, Jagr insisted he did not engage in illegal gambling activity.  

“It was 1998, and I made mistakes,” Jagr, who played for the Washington Capitals at the time, told reporters. “I just wasn’t smart. It was stupid. It wasn’t illegal, and it was five years ago. Everything was taken care of in 1999. That’s all I can tell you.”

Several decades before Jagr ever took the ice, Don Gallinger was at the center of a high-profile gambling scandal. The NHL suspended Gallinger on an indefinite basis in 1948 after an investigation determined he placed wagers on Boston Bruins games. Billy Taylor, Gallinger’s teammate at the time, also faced punishment. 

Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

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