Albertans can't legally gamble with Betway. So why is it advertising at Oilers games?
Alberta has only one legal, regulated site for betting — and it's not Betway
When following the Edmonton Oilers' playoff run so far, you may have seen ads for Betway on display.
Because during Edmonton-hosted games of the Stanley Cup final, an advertisement for Betway.net has appeared on the boards — and in the ice — of the Rogers Place arena.
Betway is an online betting brand that operates in various countries across the globe. And it's also a brand that is part of Ontario's regulated online gambling market.
But it's not a legal option for Albertans, as the province has only one legal regulated site for sports betting: Play Alberta.
To sports-gambling expert Victor Matheson, he says it seems Betway likely has a play in mind that involves getting its name out there while avoiding the direct promotion of an out-of-market betting service in Alberta.
"Betway has made a bet on the NHL and the Stanley Cup," said Matheson.
A Betway site without betting
Betway has a partnership with the NHL that grants it branding rights during the regular season and through to the Stanley Cup.
But the company told CBC News the advertising seen in Edmonton during the finals is for its "global website," which doesn't feature gambling content.
The Betway.net site provides information about sports, including recent scores from events around the globe — including NHL playoffs.
Matheson said it seems the promotion of this site must provide a legal path for having this advertising in place in this manner.
"I kind of find that amusingly clever, I guess," said Matheson, an economics professor at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.
The province's legal betting site has also had its logo displayed on the boards in Edmonton during the finals.
Karin Campbell, the manager of communications for Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) said that Play Alberta and Oilers have a partnership of their own.
Campbell reiterated that Play Alberta is the province's only legal site for sports betting.
But will Albertans watching these games understand that Betway is not a brand for them to use?
'A sports information site'
Brandon Aboultaif, the press secretary for Service Alberta minister Dale McNally, said Albertans know that Play Alberta is the site to use and the AGLC works to reinforce that message.
Echoing a point made by Betway, Aboultaif said the company's ads on display in Edmonton point to "a sports information site," rather than a betting site.
Both Aboultaif and AGLC suggested contacting the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) about the issue — though the regulator denied having jurisdiction over such advertising.
"The CRTC does not regulate gambling organizations," the regulator told CBC News in an emailed statement.
"Additionally, the CRTC does not regulate the content of advertisements, except for advertising to children and alcohol ads."
Yet Aboultaif further said if there are "complaints or concerns" over the CRTC's "current regulations," those should be raised with the regulator and the federal government.
In Ottawa, a senator has put forward a bill to establish a national framework for regulating the advertising of sports betting. But the proposed legislation hasn't reached the House of Commons.
A lot of eyeballs
Betway ads were on display again during Friday's Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final in Edmonton.
Their recurrence of the advertising will presumably get in front of a lot of eyeballs: the NHL said 8.5 million viewers in North America tuned in for Game 5.
Yet whatever the audience exposure, Matheson says he suspects Betway would have preferred to see a different Western Conference team, other than the Oilers, in the Stanley Cup final — like the Colorado Avalanche, a team that plays in a U.S. state where the Betway brand is a legal option.
Edmonton's 5-1 win over Florida on Friday evening means that a Game 7, to be played Monday in Florida, will be necessary to decide the Cup.
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