Faced with the launch of sports betting in Detroit on March 11, lawmakers in the Canadian House of Commons are reviewing a sports betting bill that would allow betting on single-game sporting outcomes.
The bill was introduced by Member of Parliament Kevin Waugh. It legalizes “betting on a race or fight or on a single sport event or athletic contest.”
The existing law recognizes sports betting on several event outcomes based on a single wager—in other words, a parlay. The law was considered a safeguard against the perception that betting on single games affects the integrity of the sport.
Waugh and other members say the recent expansion of sports betting in the U.S. led to reconsideration of that view. Several of Canada’s largest casino resorts lie across the border from Detroit and Niagara Falls. Canadian parliamentary members may remove the parlay mandate and keep such gaming dollars from flowing to the United States.
“We’ve had legal sports wagering for decades,” Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) Chief Executive Paul Burns told the Globe and Mail. “In most of the United States, even parlay wasn’t legal.”
The CGA estimates that $7.5 billion is bet through illegal bookies each year, compared to just $375 million wagered through provincially run sports lotteries.
“It’s frustrating,” said MP Brian Masse, a lawmaker who has repeatedly called for single-game betting.
