Meet Geoff Zochodne, Our Senior News Analyst
Geoff Zochodne
Senior News Analyst
4+ Years ExperienceGeoff has been writing about the legalization and regulation of sports betting in Canada and the United States for more than four years. His work has included coverage of launches in New York, Ohio, and Ontario, numerous court proceedings, and the decriminalization of single-game wagering by Canadian lawmakers. As an expert on the growing online gambling industry in North America, Geoff has appeared on and been cited by publications and networks such as Axios, TSN Radio, and VSiN. Prior to joining Covers, he spent 10 years as a journalist reporting on business and politics, including a stint at the Ontario legislature. More recently, Geoff’s work has focused on the pending launch of a competitive iGaming market in Alberta, the evolution of major companies within the gambling industry, and efforts by U.S. state regulators to rein in offshore activity and college player prop betting.
What makes Geoff Zochodne an expert?
Geoff has been following the sports betting and iGaming industry for Covers since early 2021, reporting on and writing about regulation, legislation, and the seemingly constant flow of news that arises on a daily basis. He has helped make Covers a go-to source for industry news, a place where bettors can get great analysis for their wagering, but also a heads-up on what changes might be coming for them from on high.
Before joining Covers, Geoff spent a decade as a reporter for a major business publication and a subscription news service for the Ontario legislature. He began his career in journalism at his hometown newspaper, covering cops, courts, and City Hall.
Experience
Covers.com
- Senior News Analyst
- January 2024 - Present
- Geoff's archive of industry news stories
- Publication
- Sports Betting Journalist
- May 2021 - December 2023
Financial Post
- Reporter
- July 2017 - April 2021
- 'We are missing out': As another Super Bowl passes, calls to punt single-game betting ban are getting louder
- Publication
- How big is single-game sports betting in Canada?
- Publication
Queen's Park Briefing
- Reporter
- August 2014 - July 2017
- Columnist, Inside Queen's Park
- August 2014 - July 2017
Oshawa Express
- Reporter
- October 2010 - August 2014
Education
Geoff attended Saint Mary's University in Halifax. Look, I'm not going to lie to you, he wasn't a very good student. He wasn't a very good or healthy football player either, which is what brought him to SMU in the first place. However, Geoff did graduate, earning a Bachelor of Arts in History, with a Minor in English. While at SMU, he learned to love reading the news (mostly while working as a bouncer in several bars) and, eventually, learned to love writing. So, I guess you could say he received an education in Halifax that contributed to his future career. It just wasn't a straight line.
Saint Mary's University
- Bachelor of Arts (History and English)
5+ years in sports betting, iGaming
Geoff has been offering analysis and reporting on the industry for five years.
Multimedia journalist
Geoff writes about the industry, but he also has appeared in broadcast news, podcasts, and as a speaker at several conferences.
Multi-subject expert
Geoff has written extensively about sports betting, iGaming, horse racing, and prediction markets.
How does Geoff stay up to date?
Geoff is an avid reader of business and political news, long and hard-to-parse legislation and regulation, and various notes about the industry published by investment banks.
To be honest, it's his job to keep you up to date on what's going on in the industry. So, you know, that's what he's going to do.
X/Twitter
Like most newspeople, Geoff is usually keeping a close eye on what’s happening on X, as that is still where a lot of news first breaks.
American Gaming Association
The American Gaming Association remains the “voice of the industry,” so to speak, and they provide research and opinion that carries a lot of weight.
Covers
Our industry news team has grown substantially to keep pace with the gaming business, and Geoff finds himself checking our own site often to see what others are reporting.
Q&A with Geoff
Wait, I usually come to Covers to learn about betting. Why do I need betting industry news?
I’m glad you asked. Every bettor, whether they know it or not, is affected by what’s going on in the industry more broadly. Is your state or province planning to legalize or regulate or even re-regulate some form of gambling? Then that could affect you. Is a company expanding on contracting where you live? That could also affect you. Is there a lawmaker somewhere that really hates what the industry is doing and wants to change that? Then that could affect you!
So what would you say you do here?
Well, me and the industry news team are following all the various things that are happening in the industry and providing you with that information so you’ll never be blindsided by, say, your sportsbook suddenly deciding to close up shop. Maybe you’ll even learn about something you didn’t expect, but appreciate.
What made you want to do industry news?
I’ve always loved the news and especially sports news. I was one of those kids who would pull out the sports section of the newspaper on a Saturday and study the baseball statistics. My family would then have me recite those statistics for them at our get-togethers. As I grew up, that love of news expanded to business and politics. I’ve always had a bit of gambler in me as well, starting with parlay cards in Ontario. So, when Covers offered me the chance to write about an industry that combines sports, politics, and gambling, it was a dream come true.
So do you even like sports, then?
I love sports. I’ve always loved the Miami Dolphins and as I’ve grown my sporting tastes have matured. My friends are big golfers and have infected me with that bug. I went to a NASCAR race in Michigan and it changed my life. I also went to Saratoga recently and I’ve been on a horse racing kick ever since. A sport that relies on gambling to survive? Sign me up.
You read a lot these days about athletes getting into trouble betting on sports, including the sport they play. We have a special page that tracks all of these incidents. You can ready it here.
Geoff's areas of expertise
Geoff knows all about the sports betting and iGaming industry, from how it's regulated and governed to how companies are operating all over the continent.
Sports betting
Geoff has been tracking the legalization and regulation of sports betting and iGaming across North America for five years, such as the ongoing debate over bringing event wagering to California.
News and innovations
Geoff is also up to date on the innovations that are shaking up the industry, such as sweepstakes casinos and prediction markets.
Geoff's memories
🚀 Big wins
If we're talking betting, I backed Scottie Scheffler to win his first-ever PGA Tour event, the 2022 WM Phoenix Open, and then immediately wagered on Matt Fitzpatrick to win the 2022 U.S. Open. Doing so got me recognized (anonymously) by the OLG in their weekly winners rundown.
News-wise, my biggest wins are whenever anyone links to our coverage, because it means we're doing it better and faster than anyone else.
😭 Bad beats
I had Emiliano Grillo to win the 2025 John Deere Classic and he lost in a playoff to Brian Campbell, so that stung.
The loss that stings the most, though, at least most recently, was my guy Journalism finishing second in the Kentucky Derby. He's Journalism, I'm a journalist, and I'd been backing him wherever and whenever I could. It was a big blow for the news industry.
Geoff has also been featured in:
- TSN | tsn.ca
- Gaming News Canada | gamingnewscanada.ca
Geoff's Articles
It's not just Geoff doing the research
Ryan Butler
Senior News Analyst
Ryan is a Senior Editor at Covers reporting on gaming industry legislative, regulatory, corporate, and financial news. He has reported on gaming since the Supreme Court struck down the federal sports wagering ban in 2018. Based in Tampa, Ryan graduated from the University of Florida with a major in Journalism and a minor in Sport Management. Before reporting on gaming, Ryan was a sports and political journalist in Florida and Virginia. He covered Vice Presidential nominee Tim Kaine and the rest of the Virginia Congressional delegation during the 2016 election cycle. He also worked as Sports Editor of the Chiefland (Fla.) Citizen and Digital Editor for the Sarasota (Fla.) Observer.
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Peter Clarke
Senior Editor
Peter Clarke is dedicated to keeping bettors informed about the biggest sports betting events, such as the Super Bowl and March Madness, and the best way to cash in on sportsbook promos. He's also always on top of the latest welcome offers from the biggest sportsbooks, so he can share the best deals and the most exciting games to use them on every day.
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Matt Burke
Contributor
Matt Burkewas born and raised in Massachusetts but also spent a few years in sunny San Diego, California, accomplishing every eight-year-old boys dream - writing the bios on the back of baseball cards. Matt began writing and editing sports betting content in 2018, founding MetroBet - a sports betting content platform under the Metro Newspapers umbrella (now AMNY).
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