Canada has offered legal sports betting for decades, but any resemblance to the kinds of wagers in the U.S. is coincidental.
In the Canadian National Post, sports writer Scott Stinson wrote that wagers go through the provincial lottery that offers multi-event parlays at terrible odds.
But that could change thanks to a bill introduced in Ottawa on February 25 that would modify the Criminal Code that prohibits wagering on a single sporting event, a revision that would allow the provinces to theoretically offer casino sportsbooks and mobile betting.
Such efforts have failed in the past. But this time might prove different. For one, the U.S. laws permitting sports betting could spur action. New Jersey alone reported more than $540 million in legal wagers last month, an increase of more than 70 percent from a year earlier. As border states climb onto the bandwagon, the very real fear that casinos in Canada will suffer is a growing concern.
Most of Canada’s population lives within 100 miles of the U.S. border.
A majority of provinces have tossed their support towards changing the laws, as have border municipalities and tourism associations. Canadian-based technology and gaming companies also say a legalized market would create jobs and economic growth, Stinson said.
On the flip side comes concerns about problem gambling with increased opportunity, a fact under scrutiny in the U.K.
The new bill, introduced by Saskatoon Conservative MP Kevin Waugh, has multi-party support, also has the backing of the Canadian Gaming Association. Still, the provinces regulate the gambling industry, and any revenues to be made would not help the federal treasury.
Credit for any movement must go to the legalization of sports betting in Michigan. According to Legal Sports Report, Windsor should be concerned, as nothing but a bridge separates the city from Detroit and its casinos. The Michigan bill includes mobile betting as well, making it even easier for Canadians to place their bets once they cross the border.
Continuing to vote against single-game betting could result in revenue lost to the Ontario government. But there is enough support in the New Democratic Party to get sports betting pushed through, MP Brian Masse told the Windsor Star.
