Brady Tkachuk had to change his Venmo because gamblers kept asking him to cover their losses on prop bets: ‘People really think I’m going to send them money’

Sports gambling has become ever present in American culture since states began gradually legalizing it. Athletes are now the subject of increased harassment online when bettors lose their wagers.

Sometimes it gets even more out of hand, like how Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk received a massive influx of Venmo requests from gamblers who lost bets based on his game props.

“Not even like winning or scoring, it’s like my shots or my hits,” the 25-year-old explained to Greg Wyshynski during an interview with ESPN. “I eventually had to change my name – my Venmo, I mean, I had it in college. There’s a selfie of me and my name so, people got a hold of that so I had to change my name on it and I had to take down my profile picture. Now when I Venmo people they’re like, ‘Who the hell is Venmo-ing me?’”

Tkachuk, who recorded 55 points (29g, 26a) in 72 games this past season, found the nuisance humorous despite its troubling nature.

“Honestly it’s funny because it’s like, people really think I’m going to send them money like for the shots,” he continued with a smile. “I’m more pissed that we didn’t win the game or score or whatever it may be, like I could care less about not hitting the four, four and a half or whatever the cover is for the bet, like the parlay for scoring. Do you really think I care about your parlay? It’s pretty funny that people get so emotional and mad about that stuff. That’s not even in our thought process.”

When asked if he fulfilled any of those Venmo requests, Tkachuk said no and for good reason.

“Absolutely not,” he told Wyshynski. “I wouldn’t be playing in the NHL because that’s breaking a lot of rules.”

Since 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the ruling preventing gambling in the U.S. outside of Nevada, dozens of athletes – professional and amateur – have been suspended from their respective leagues for violating anti-gambling policies. One of Tkachuk’s teammates, centerman Shane Pinto, was suspended 41 games in 2023, revealing on an episode of the “Empty Netters Podcast” that it was for having friends in the United States place bets for him while he was in Canada.

“That’s proxy betting, so that’s obviously a big no-no,” Pinto said. “It was an illegal act so, obviously, it was a pretty big deal. So that’s why we didn’t want to fight [the suspension] and we just kinda accepted it.”