A wearer of many chapeaus in the business of gambling, Benjie Cherniak joined Steve McAllister on a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

Cherniak, the principal of Avenue H Capital, provided his insights and perspectives on the issues and topics of the day across the sports betting and gaming industry, including:

• What’s at the top of his To Do list these days, and the current landscape around startup companies in the industry.
• The soon-to-come launch of Alberta’s open, regulated gambling market and if that could be the catalyst for other Canadian provinces to follow suit.
• Four years of Ontario’s open, regulated market.
• How the use of data and technology has evolved.
• The impact of prediction markets on the U.S. gambling scene.

And more.

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Friend of Gaming News Canada Jessica Welman is Steve McAllister’s guest on a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming.

The long-time journalist and content specialist announced in February her departure from SBC as Managing Editor. Last month, Welman let it be known she was joining Brianne Doura-Schawohl’s consulting firm to support the practice’s work around responsible gambling programs and policies. Among the topics covered on the podcast:

• Welman’s decision to walk away from SBC and choosing a different path in the gambling industry by joining Doura-Schawohl, and what’s involved in her new role. We also asked her to take a trip down memory lane on the evolution of regulated online sports betting and gaming in the U.S.
• The current goings-on around gambling in the U.S. of A., including the ongoing bunfight/legal wranglings involving politicians, regulators, gaming operators and prediction market proprietors (and oh yes, lawyers, many, many lawyers).
• Of course, we wanted Welman’s thoughts on the incoming legal, open gaming market in Alberta and asked her to look back at four years of regulated, competitive gaming in Ontario. That included asking the experienced poker player about the liquidity issue that has involved courts in Canada.
• She had an opinion or three on the results of a recent study conducted by Gaming Public Policy Consulting around media coverage of the gaming industry, and the media coverage of that study.

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For the latest episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, host Steve McAllister is joined by the Senior Vice President of Group Operations at Sportradar, Sophie Thomas.

Thomas, who joined Sportradar as Head of Snooker Operations in late 2012 and has served in her current role for a year now, made her maiden appearance on the GNCS at the end of a robust first quarter of 2026. Sportradar tapped into its November 2025 acquisition of IMG Arena to last week announce it is expanding its agreement with Hard Rock Bet to add PGA Tour and UFC data, odds and enhanced in-play wagering capabilities to its existing set of services in the U.S. of A. Earlier in the week, the company announced the launch of igaming brand Playradar which will combine sports data “expertise” with casino content for operators around the world, including Canada. That bit of news came on the heels of the hiring of former Playtech Live CEO Edo Haitin to oversee Sportradar’s igaming business.

We asked Thomas for her thoughts on last week’s announcements and Sportradar’s increasing investment in igaming along with:

• The company’s involvement in this summer’s FIFA World Cup men’s tournament in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico;
• Other opportunities available through the IMG Arena acquisition;
• Working with operators to offer more in-play betting products at a time that some regulators and others are asking for a reduction in said products;
• Sportradar’s ongoing role supporting the efforts of leagues, organizations and other bodies in monitoring suspicious betting activity;
• If/how does the company fit with prediction markets, specifically given Sportradar’s deal with Major League Baseball, which just introduced Polymarket as a partner in a multi-year agreement.
• How Sportradar is exploiting the growth of women’s sports in North America and Europe.

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