NHL commissioner says NHL better positioned to avoid gambling controversy
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Many gambling scandals have hit the headlines in the sports world in recent weeks and months.
On Tuesday, longtime NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman addressed the issue during a wide-ranging interview. The league recently formed a partnership with leading prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket.
Bettman argued that the alignment between prediction markets and sports betting leaves the NHL with better oversight and ultimately more power to “cancel contracts that we feel are not appropriate.”
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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman speaks to the media before the game between the Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. (Marc DesRosiers/Imagn Images)
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 professional hockey league is positioned to avoid similar problems.
“I don’t believe our game is as delicate as some people’s… you can’t get away with that kind of cheating anymore,” Bettman said. he told CNBC.
In early November, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and All-Star pitcher Emmanuel Clase were targets of the investigation, with two men facing charges as part of the alleged scheme.
Emmanuel Clase (left) and Luis Ortiz were indicted in a federal gambling investigation on November 9, 2025. (IMAGN)
The shooters face charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to influence sporting events through bribery and money laundering. Both shooters denied the charges.
Also last month, the NBA was rocked by a widespread betting investigation. Dozens of people with ties to the league, including the current coach, were arrested on October 23.
Despite Bettman’s claim that the league he runs is not currently limited by the potential risk of problem gambling, hindsight reveals the complex history of the league and its betting share.
NHL logos are seen on the Delta Center windows in Salt Lake City, Utah, on April 19, 2024. (Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
In 2003, Jaromir Jagr reflected on his decisions that led 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 in the 2017-18 season.
Although Jagr acknowledged missteps, he insisted he was not engaging in illegal gambling activity.
“The year was 1998 and I made mistakes,” Jagr, who was playing for the Washington Capitals at the time, told reporters. “I wasn’t smart. It was stupid. It wasn’t illegal and it was five years ago. It was all settled in 1999. That’s all I can tell you.”
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A few decades before Jagr took the ice, Don Gallinger was at the center of a high-profile gambling scandal. The NHL suspended Gallinger indefinitely in 1948 after an investigation determined he had bet on Boston Bruins games. Gallinger’s then-teammate Billy Taylor also faced suspension.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
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