In the wake of the 41-game suspension handed to Ottawa’s Shane Pinto [October 26], someone sent a close-up of Pinto wearing his home-ice black helmet last season. The message on the side of the helmet? “Bet99.”
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Bet99, for those just back from a trip to Pluto, is the Canadian version of BetMGM, formed when Wayne Gretzky signed a deal to act as a brand ambassador for the American gambling giant in order to exploit the legalization of single event sports betting in Canada.
Bet99 quickly signed Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, the two biggest stars on Canadian teams, to push its product in that orgy of sports gambling ads we were forced to watch last season.
