from of CBC,

And headlining many of the ads are high profile people referred to as brand ambassadors, or celebrities and sports stars paid to promote the companies they represent.

However, three hockey stars contacted by CBC's The Fifth Estate as part of an investigation into sports betting in Canada refused to talk about their brands, despite deals reported to be worth several million dollars to do exactly that.

The Fifth Estate interview requests followed a recent ban in the United Kingdom on ads featuring sports stars and other celebrities because of their appeal to children....

Among the three ambassadors is the Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky.

"Every bet with BetMGM has a potential for greatness," Gretzky says to the camera as a lion made of ice explodes out of a frozen fountain behind him.

He is joined by two of the best young hockey players in the NHL today, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, who also represent betting companies.

The Fifth Estate wanted to know more about the deals with the three sports stars.

"I appreciate the question, but after all of that I don't think I'm going to get into it much, honestly," Matthews, a star centre with the Toronto Maple Leafs, told The Fifth Estate recently. ...

"You guys have any more hockey-related questions?" he said. "I would just like to keep on that if that's OK. If not, we can just move forward."

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