The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake has come out in opposition to Bill C-218, Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act that would legalize single game sports wagers in Canada.
The bill is near to passing, having passed the House of Commons and is going for a final pass from the Senate. Once the Criminal Code is amended, individual provinces and territories would be able to regulate the activity.
Kahnawake has operated online gaming through its Mohawk Online platform for six years, although technically it is operating outside of Canadian law. It has made millions of dollars that are spent on tribal members, said MCK Chief Michael Delisle Jr. Those funds are threatened if provinces and territories are allowed to take sports betting while his First Nation is not, he said.
He added that other First Nations and Indigenous communities would also have to operate outside the law. He said the way to solve this problem is add the term: “Indigenous governing body” to the definition of who can adopt regulations governing sports betting.
The bill was authored by MP Kevin Waugh, whose legislative assistant Michael Giesbrecht told CTV News, “C-218 simply amends a single line in the Criminal Code to remove the criminal restriction on single-event wagering. It is the jurisdiction of the provincial governments to license operators and regulate this sector if Bill C-218 passes.”
Ontario Senator Vernon White, who supports adding an exception for the indigenous communities, said “The reality is, the gaming industry in First Nations, they probably run better than it is in any province or territory,” adding “This is about money. It’s not about relationships, it’s not about sports.” The senator added, “It’s not about gambling addiction, it’s not about First Nations and it’s not about match-fixing. It’s about revenue, and they believe they can tap into that revenue.”
Delisle added, “In effect, it eliminates Kahnawake from single-source betting that we’ve been able to become a part of for the past six years.”
When Waugh presented the bill, he declared, “It is all done by unregulated and unsupervised offshore betting sites and black market bookmakers. There are no consumer protections in place. There are no problem-gambling programs offered and no guidelines that bookmakers are required to follow. This also means that the economic benefits are not being felt by Canadians.”
Lawmakers are hesitant to begin any process for amending the existing bill because they want to get the law adopted before a possible election is called in the fall. If that happens, all pending bills will become moot.
