Canadian Sports Integrity Body Breaks Silence on Jontay Porter Ban

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) is pushing for strong policies against match-fixing in the fallout of the Jontay Porter scandal that has rocked the NBA.

The sports integrity watchdog issued the first draft of what it has called “The Canadian Program to Prevent Competition Manipulation” last week, according to The Canadian Press, in a proposed national policy that would include educational programming targeted towards at-risk individuals including athletes and coaches across several major sports. 

Alongside the CCES, the draft is also co-authored by the Canadian Olympic Committee, with a “working group that included national sports organizations for badminton, basketball, cross-country skiing, curling, hockey, racquetball, soccer, speedskating and squash,” according to The Canadian Press.

“People are becoming more aware of this risk, or at least aware of this risk now,” Jeremy Luke, CEO of the sports integrity body told CP Thursday. “It’s really important that we put in place mechanisms to prevent, or at least to mitigate, the risk as much as we possibly can.”

The uptick in awareness and push to legislate follows Canada’s only NBA team, the Toronto Raptors, finding themselves embroiled in a betting scandal by means of former center Jontay Porter, who was banned for life by NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Wednesday.

“There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams, and everyone associated with the sport,” commissioner Silver said via a statement. “Which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment.”

According to the NBA’s investigation, Porter reportedly violated rules by disclosing information to bettors, and even pulling himself from at least one game with an “illness” that was later revealed to be connected to gambler activity.

“I thought (the NBA) needed to take significant action in this particular case, but I wasn’t also surprised with the situation itself,” Luke told the Canadian Press. “The legalization of single event sport betting and the proliferation of advertising certainly increases the risk for competition manipulation.”

Greater measures

With the ripples of the Porter saga still to come, the CCES and its draft program come in conjunction with prior reports from the organization pushing for stronger federal policies around sports betting.

Additionally, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the organization responsible for regulating sports betting within the province, had also been investigating the Porter incident in conjunction with Ontario Police and an existing law that prohibits “cheating while playing a game or betting with intent to defraud someone.”

Meanwhile, the CCES is pushing for even greater measures, including signing onto the Macolin Convention, which “aims to prevent, detect, and punish match-fixing in sport.” Despite being signed in Switzerland, there are no restrictions as to which countries can join, so long as member nations have clearly defined laws related to “competition manipulation.”

“Making sure that we have laws that can deal with this and making sure that we have a framework in place where betting operators and regulators can report things, and the police can take action or law enforcement can take action effectively on it,” said Luke, “I think is important.”

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