GME3: High Stakes on Thin Ice, Paid in Rubles, Fueled by Controversy & Meta Misstep: Privacy in Peril

In this week’s GME3 we’re looking at the discourse surrounding the Edmonton Oilers’ renewed sponsorship with AGLC (as well as plugging a recent episode of Gaming News Canada), controversy surrounding a Canadian influencer and her husband who have been accused of accepting money from the Russian government, and a ruling in a Canadian case that determined Facebook broke federal privacy law. Read on for the full stories!

Gambling

High Stakes on Thin Ice

With the 2024-25 NHL season just around the corner, training camps will be starting up over the coming weeks. One of Canada’s biggest teams, the Edmonton Oilers, are set to hit the ice as soon as September 22nd.

The Oilers are coming off a hot season, making it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals last spring before being defeated by the Florida Panthers. For this season, the Oilers are one of the favourites to win the Cup, with most sportsbooks having them as low as +650. The Panthers, in second, are usually at +900 to +1000.

With all the hockey buzz, Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis (AGLC) announced earlier this week that they will be extending the partnership between the Oilers and AGLC’s Play Alberta platform, which is (for now) the province’s sole regulated gaming platform. As part of the deal, the Play Alberta logo will be featured prominently on the team’s jerseys, with further branding for GameSense – the province’s responsible gambling program – displayed on the team helmets.

“Play Alberta is proud to continue its partnership with the Edmonton Oilers over the next several seasons. We value our patrons and the fans of the Oilers and are thrilled to see PlayAlberta.ca, Alberta’s trusted gambling platform along with the best-in-class responsible gambling program – GameSense – as prominent fixtures on the Oilers uniforms” said Kandice Machado, the CEO of AGLC.

However, not everyone is happy about the renewed sponsorship. In fact, reactions to the news on social media were overwhelmingly negative. People decried the move as “cringe” with one user “sending hate from Manitoba” over the issue. The issue boils down to a) general fatigue with the pervasiveness of gambling ads in professional sports, and b) people concerned with the addictive nature of gambling itself.

However, Alberta’s sports fans are likely going to have to get used to gambling ads, with the impending launch of the province’s “Ontario-style” regulated gambling regime. While we’re still in the relatively early days of the new gambling marketplace in Alberta, we do know they plan to emphasize the importance of responsible gaming. And, if they can mitigate potential issues, the increased tax revenue will benefit the people of Alberta.

If you want to learn more about the imminent Alberta market, our friends at Gaming News Canada did a fantastic deep dive into the topic with Ron Segev of Segev LLP. Listen to the whole episode here!

Media

Paid in Rubles, Fueled by Controversy

A Quebecois influencer and her husband have come under fire for allegedly accepting millions of dollars from RT, a media outlet controlled by the Russian government, despite sanctions that prohibit Canadian citizens from dealing with the company or its officials.

An unsealed indictment revealed that US prosecutors believe Tenet Media, a media company controlled by right-wing pundit Lauren Chen and her spouse Liam Donovan, accepted nearly USD $10 million to create and distribute messaging that would benefit Russia.

While Chen, Donovan, and Tenet are not explicitly named in the indictment, the description of the company and its founders (known as Founder 1 and Founder 2) match closely with the language used on Tenet’s own website. Chen and Donovan have not been charged with any crimes by US authorities.

Chen initially started working with RT in 2021, being paid to create videos, post social media content, and write articles for the Russian media outlet. When RT was sanctioned after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Chen was asked to launch a new YouTube channel, for which she would be paid USD $8,000 per month for “influencer talent scouting services.” This agreement was later updated to pay her monthly fees of $25,000 and “performance bonuses” for engaging high-profile commentators. Prosecutors allege that between August 2023, and June 2024, Chen and Donovan invoiced a “shell” entity in Britain more than USD $760,000.

Last fall they launched Tenet, which branded itself as a “new independent media network” with “independent” thinkers. Some of these thinkers include Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, and Tim Pool, who are all right-wing commentators with millions of followers between them. While the commentators have not been named in the indictment, some of them received as much as $400,000 per month to post four online videos. Of the $9.7 million sent to companies controlled by Chen and Donovan, at least $8.7 million was used to pay the commentators. All three of the named commentators said that they were “victims” of the scheme, and Pool added that he is cooperating with the FBI.

The allegations against Lauren Chen, Liam Donovan, and Tenet Media highlight serious concerns about media influence and potential sanctions violations. Though no charges have been filed, the ongoing investigation into their financial dealings could have significant implications for media transparency.

Entertainment

Meta Misstep: Privacy in Peril

A panel of Canadian judges has ruled that Facebook broke federal privacy law by failing to sufficiently inform users of the risks to their data upon signing up to the popular social media platform.  Facebook, now called Meta, further failed to adequately monitor and enforce the privacy practices of third-party apps hosted on their platform.

In 2019, an app known as  “This is Your Digital Life,” encouraged users to complete a personality quiz, but ended up collecting much more data about users and their Facebook friends than it initially disclosed. The data was sold to various groups, including Cambridge Analytica, which was involved in U.S. political campaigns and targeted messaging. 

About 300,000 Facebook users worldwide added the app, leading to the potential disclosure of the personal information of approximately 87 million others, including more than 600,000 Canadians, according to the commissioners’ report

Interestingly, the Court of Appeal noted that Meta’s contention that users read privacy policies presented to them on signing up to social networking websites is “a dubious assumption” given the length and complexity of such documents. “Terms that are on their face superficially clear do not necessarily translate into meaningful consent,” Justice Donald Rennie wrote on behalf of the panel. “Apparent clarity can be lost or obscured in the length and miasma of the document and the complexity of its terms.”

The ruling emphasizes the need for transparency in data privacy and accountability for tech companies like Meta. It reinforces that clear, meaningful consent is essential in protecting user information.