Bill logjammed for two years
A bill that would legalize betting on single sports games in Canada remains stuck in the political pipeline. Betting on single games is now against the law, though provinces are allowed to offer parlay-style wagers on multiple games.
According to the Ontario Globe & Mail, the bill’s supporters say the provinces should be able to benefit from revenues that now go offshore or underground. Critics of Bill C-290 say legalizing single-game bets would lead to more gambling addiction and possibly tempt athletes to throw games.
David Smith, professor emeritus from the University of Saskatchewan, said delaying action on the bill has “led to a situation which is not desirable from anybody’s perspective. Holding up the legislation for so long is certainly not desirable. Not hearing from all of the affected groups is undesirable. It seems to have been procedurally inept.”
Two Conservative Party members summed up the pros and cons of the bill. Conservative Senator Bob Runciman, who is ready to give the bill another try, told his Senate colleagues, “This is a debate about whether the Senate should thwart the will of an overwhelming majority of those in the Other Place and whether we should deny the wishes of the provinces we were sent here to represent.”
Conservative Senator Vern White, a former Ottawa police chief, expressed the opposing viewpoint when he said, “Being No. 1 in gambling is not my aspiration, not with what I know of this terrible addiction.”
Proponents of Bill C-290 say single-game betting still takes place with all the wager money going offshore or to organized crime. Opponents say legalizing single-game betting will lead to gambling problems and pressure athletes to throw games.
