On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, investigative journalist/author Rob Csernyik joined host Steve McAllister.

Csernyik’s book A Losing Hand: The Human Cost of Canada’s Gambling Epidemic was released earlier this summer and is the result of his reporting on the economic and social consequences of gambling – and researching gambling-related suicides after being awarded a Michener-Deacon Fellowship for Investigative Reporting in 2022. The Nova Scotia native also recently tweaked a section of his book for a an op-ed piece in The Globe and Mail on gambling among Canadian youth.

McAllister asked Csernyik what motivated his work on gambling and his investigation into the links between gambling and suicide across Canada. The book also includes telling the history of gambling in this country and the role of governments in legalizing sports betting, casino gaming, lottery and online gaming.

Csernyik also spoke about the final chapter of the book - A Path Forward - which includes a call for “provincial and national stakeholders (to) create solutions to limit the human costs of gambling”.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, host Steve McAllister took a virtual trip down under to speak with Waterhouse VC’s Chief Investment Officer, Tom Waterhouse.

Waterhouse, whose family has been involved in the business of betting for more than a century, spoke about his own personal path through the industry and what led him down the road from a 20-year-old bookmaker in 2003 to delivering value for investors through the gambling industry and authoring the regular Waterhouse VC Update on NEXT.io.

Among the topics discussed was the current state of the global economy and its impact on the sports betting and gaming industry, the shifting sands of regulated gambling jurisdictions, the role of artificial intelligence within the industry, and Waterhouse’s take on Ontario and Alberta’s regulated markets. And oh yeah, we asked Waterhouse to weigh in prediction markets

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show hosted by Bede Gaming, host Steve McAllister welcomed back the Global Gaming Director for GBG Plc, Rebekah Jackson.

Jackson spoke with McAllister about GBG’s involvement in the launch of the new regulated gambling market in Alberta, including a conversation she had with AGLC Chief Regulatory Officer Dave Berry back in May at the SBC Summit Canada. GBG also has some early numbers on the work it’s doing in the western Canada province. GBG, which has also been a very active participant in Ontario’s regulated marketplace, is also lending a hand to operators preparing for launches in Finland’s incoming regulated sports betting and online gaming industry, and other countries.

Also discussed was GBG’s latest products, including Loquate, and the company’s work in other sectors around the world. And, not surprisingly, that segment included much talk about the use of artificial intelligence.

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On the latest episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, host Steve McAllister caught up with Paul Burns. The Canadian Gaming Association president and CEO was in Calgary to meet with representatives from Gibraltar – including the country’s finance minister – who were in Alberta last week for a trade mission.

Burns spoke with McAllister about the one-month-old, regulated sports betting and online gaming market in the western Canada province, and the feedback he’s received on the process leading to the July 13 launch. The arrival last week of Bally Bet gives the new regulated jurisdiction some 26 websites and Burns expects more operators will join the market before Labour Day weekend.

McAllister also asked Burns about the CGA’s position on prediction markets as companies such as Wealthsimple are making their case to do business in Canada with oversight from provincial securities regulators and no interference by gambling regulators.

Layoffs at Better Collective and Catena Media last week are the latest to take place in a year that’s seen job cuts across the industry, so we asked Burns for his thoughts.

The CGA’s head honcho also looked ahead to a busy fall when the association will release a series of white papers on the industry and is also watching bills being debated on Parliament Hill around sports betting advertising and amending the Criminal Code and Indian Act with regards to gambling. Burns said the association is also continuing to advocate for changes to the rules and regulations around anti-money laundering in our home and native land.

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Geoff Zochodne (Covers) and Tom Nightingale (Canadian Gaming Business/SBC Americas) were Steve McAllister’s guests for a wide-ranging discussion on what’s happening in the business of gambling.

The topics du jour included:

• Thoughts and layers from the three members of the fourth estate on the opening of regulated sports betting and iGaming in Alberta last month, and what’s to come in Canada’s second regulated gaming marketplace.
• The panel did some spitballing around potential suitors for AGLC-owned PlayAlberta.
• The ongoing Ontario market which recently welcomed DAZN Bet and Hard Rock Bet and continues with 48 operators and 82 websites in a regulated landscape that is frequently praised in other jurisdictions.
• The fast-moving prediction markets issue in the U.S. and what may come to our home and native land.

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On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, host Steve McAllister welcomed GeoComply CEO Kip Levin.

Levin joined the Vancouver-based company in March 2025 after spending the past decade in C-suite roles at Flutter Entertainment and its FanDuel and FOXBet businesses. So, McAllister asked Levin to share his thoughts from his experiences in the gambling industry on several topics including:

• The challenges to keep up with online fraudsters and scammers, especially with the ongoing evolution of artificial intelligence.
• The opportunities being provided by AI and other new technologies.
• GeoComply’s supporting role in the launch of new regulated gambling jurisdictions, including most recently in Alberta.
• The popularity with the betting populace around the recently completed men’s World Cup of Soccer.
• The evolution of GeoComply some 15 years after being founded by Anna Sainsbury and David Briggs.
• What does the road ahead look like for the gambling industry.

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On the fourth day of Alberta’s new regulated sports betting and online gaming market, Steve McAllister welcomed back to the Gaming News Canada Show the Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta iGaming Corporation, Dan Keene.

Keene talked about the busy countdown to the July 13 market opening and 18 operators being ready to make available to Alberta some 22 websites on Day One.

Among the topics also discussed:

• The collaboration involving all stakeholders to get Canada’s second regulated marketplace up and running.
• How the western Canada province has benefited from the four-year-old Ontario model.
• The keen interest of operators, suppliers and providers to participate in Alberta and the timing for more operators to come on board.
• AiGC’s focus on proactively communicating its mandate and its commitment to social responsibility.
• The corp’s relationship with AGLC.
• When you can expect to see metrics from the new market.

McAllister also asked Keene for his reaction to the concerns already being written and talked about advertising and problem gambling.

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On the eve of the opening of Alberta’s regulated sports betting and igaming market, the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming was joined by a couple of gaming industry veterans who are plugged into the opening of Canada’s second regulated, competitive gambling jurisdiction.

GNCS regular and Canadian Gaming Association Senior VP of Policy & Communication Amanda Brewer spoke about the feedback she has received from CGA members and others in the gambling business during the countdown to opening day in Alberta. Brewer also referred to the lessons learned from four-plus years of regulated online gaming in Ontario and had an interesting response to a question from host Steve McAllister about the potential differences between the presence of the provincial gaming and lottery corporations in the two provinces.

We also asked Brewer about the ongoing presence of fake online casino ads on Meta platforms.

McAllister then welcomed Rich Taylor, the Director of Responsible Gaming at BetMGM. Taylor, a retired Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps, told his story of serving his country and then finding his way into the gambling industry.

Taylor spoke about the reaction from BetMGM customers to the most recent responsible gambling ad campaign featuring NHL superstar Connor McDavid and Newfoundland hockey legend Terry Ryan and if the Edmonton Oilers captain will appear in future RG-focused commercials – which are allowed by both the AGCO and AGLC in its rules and regulations around advertising and marketing.

That led to a conversation on BetMGM’s responsible gaming efforts which include its partnership with BCLC’s GameSense platform. Taylor, the author of an op-ed last week that appeared on various Canadian media websites, also talked about the multi-dimensional approach taken by BetMGM to support safe play.

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