I think it is a little too early to be jumping to The Great One's defense.

Those police wiretappings supposedly show Gretsky planning on how to cover up his wife's involvement. That's a pretty serious matter. It also seems to imply that she might have been laying down bets for him as well.

The fact that it is betting on other sports is irrelevant imho. Athletes in different sports have too many connections to each other. It is too easy to just call up a friend and ask them for inside info or to arrange some kind of point-shaving-esque swap.

The very concept of people involved in pro sports betting on pro sports totally ruins the one crucial thing about pro sports: the belief that everything happening on the court/field/ice/etc. is totally unscripted and unpredictible.