While sportsbooks across Nevada reported increased wagering during the first week of March Madness, potential Canadian sports bettors still await such opportunities.
Nevada is the only U.S. state with legal sportsbook operations, many of which also provide legal mobile and online sports, race, and casino betting. And the annual NCAA March Madness tournament has grown in excitement by a consistently wide margin.
Most books reported a profitable first week, as several favored teams lost in big upsets, and the sportsbooks were filled with long lines, excited crowds, and roughly equal wagering in many contests.
In Canada, the only sports wagering going on is done illegally, either online or through bookies. The House of Commons has yet to act on Bill C-221, the proposed Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act.
The House in 2012 passed a similar measure, but it languished in the Senate, until a new election was called, and it died a final slow death.
But with a new government seated and a new measure in the works, hope is high among Canadian sports bettors. Unfortunately, the same isn’t the case on Ottawa.
Many lawmakers remain opposed to legalized sports betting, many of them in response to opposition to legal betting from Canada’s professional sports leagues and teams. Many also remain opposed due to general opposition to legalized gambling and sports betting.
Yet, many also approve of daily fantasy sports, which Canada’s professional sports leagues and teams also generally support. In time, acceptance of daily fantasy sports might translate into acceptance of legalized sports betting in Canada.
In the meantime, they have to go to Nevada if they want to bet legally on sports. Coincidentally, it Nevadans want to wager on daily fantasy sports, they might want to go to Canada.
Nevada, like many states, last fall deemed daily fantasy sports operators to be unlicensed gaming operators. That means daily fantasy sports giants FanDuel and DraftKings must get gaming licenses to operate in Nevada.
Meanwhile, Nevada gaming regulators are working on enabling regulations, and many sportsbook operators, along with FanDuel and DraftKings, are hoping to have legal daily fantasy sports in Nevada in time for the start of the fall NCAA and NFL football seasons.
Anticipating the day will come soon when daily fantasy sports are legal in the Silver State, several startup companies are offering mobile apps and other products designed to help participants choose better daily fantasy teams.
Firms like FantasyCruncher and apps like BlitzPick are hoping to gain a firm hold in a fledgling market, but state regulators must make the market happen, first.
