{"id":142188,"date":"2025-08-13T10:55:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T10:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/142188\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T10:55:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T10:55:10","slug":"brady-tkachuk-had-to-change-his-venmo-because-gamblers-kept-asking-him-to-cover-their-losses-on-prop-bets-people-really-think-im-going-to-send-them-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/142188\/","title":{"rendered":"Brady Tkachuk had to change his Venmo because gamblers kept asking him to cover their losses on prop bets: \u2018People really think I\u2019m going to send them money\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cNot even like winning or scoring, it\u2019s like my shots or my hits,\u201d the 25-year-old explained to Greg Wyshynski<\/a> during an interview with ESPN<\/a>. \u201cI eventually had to change my name \u2013 my Venmo, I mean, I had it in college. There\u2019s 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\u2019re like, \u2018Who the hell is Venmo-ing me?’\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cHonestly it\u2019s funny because it\u2019s like, people really think I\u2019m going to send them money like for the shots,\u201d he continued with a smile. \u201cI\u2019m more pissed that we didn\u2019t 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\u2019s pretty funny that people get so emotional and mad about that stuff. That\u2019s not even in our thought process.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if he fulfilled any of those Venmo requests, Tkachuk said no and for good reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely not,\u201d he told Wyshynski. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be playing in the NHL because that\u2019s breaking a lot of rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the ruling preventing gambling in the U.S. outside of Nevada, dozens of athletes \u2013 professional and amateur \u2013 have been suspended from their respective leagues for violating anti-gambling policies<\/a>. One of Tkachuk\u2019s teammates, centerman Shane Pinto, was suspended 41 games in 2023<\/a>, revealing on an episode of the \u201cEmpty Netters Podcast\u201d<\/a> that it was for having friends in the United States place bets for him while he was in Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s proxy betting, so that\u2019s obviously a big no-no,\u201d Pinto said. \u201cIt was an illegal act so, obviously, it was a pretty big deal. So that\u2019s why we didn\u2019t want to fight [the suspension] and we just kinda accepted it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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