Ottawa should tighten rules on match manipulation as legalized sports betting grows, experts say

Raptors player Jontay Porter's lifetime ban from the NBA is just one sign that the rules governing Canada's legal betting industry need to be strengthened to prevent widespread manipulation, experts say.

In an interview airing Saturday on CBC Radio's Jeremy Luke, president and CEO of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES), said that while the Porter case suggests some positive aspects of the legal system, more needs to be done.

«It is positive that through the legalization of single event sport betting and the ability to regulate it, that we're able to ensure policies are in place and that these things can be flagged and that they can be dealt with,» Luke told host Catherine Cullen.

"[But] it's certainly a very serious risk that I think we're falling behind with respect to… protecting the integrity of our sports and the safety of those who participate in sport."

He said the threat posed by match manipulation to the integrity of professional sports — and the trust of sports fans — is similar to the threat posed by performance-enhancing drugs.

Professional sports leagues have been rocked recently by two high-profile cases related to betting. Porter was found to have violated the NBA's betting rules by, among other things, betting against his own team. In the United States, police have charged baseball star Shohei Ohtani's interpreter with bank fraud in relation to allegations that he stole from the L.A. Dodger to pay off gambling debts.

Toronto police have said they are not investigating the Porter case.

Luke said that almost three years after single-event sports betting was legalized in Canada, this country still lacks a comprehensive policy for national-level athletes like Olympians that articulates their obligations