Lawmakers in both Canada and the United States are trying to repeal the 24-year-old federal ban that was adopted in the U.S., and was followed later in Canada.
Many feel that if either nation takes action to repeal the ban that the other is likely to follow suit.
However, in Canada last week the House of Commons voted 156 to 133 not to repeal the ban on single-event sports betting, voting down the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act. This act would have given individual provinces the option to allow or not allow the practice.
Some parlay sports betting, including Pro Line, is legal in Canada. This bill would have allowed lotteries to allow bettors to wager on a single game.
The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had officially opposed the bill in May, although previously it had supported such a bill.
Matt Marchand, chief executive officer of the Windsor-Essex Chamber of Commerce, said the fight is just beginning. “Certainly it’s disappointing,” he told the Windsor Star. “Chambers across Canada were in agreement that Bill C-221 should have been passed and allowed provinces to decide whether to proceed with single-event sports betting.”
Asserting that repealing the ban has broad support among businesses and labor communities, Marchand added, “A lot of hard work went into this and local MP Brian Masse worked hard to get a lot of people on board, but unfortunately at the end of the day there was not enough support.”
Masse is the main MP pushing to end the ban. Border communities such as Windsor believe that allowing single sport betting would be an economic engine.
This is the second time the House had voted on such a bill. Four years ago one such bill passed, only to die in the Senate.
It is estimated that illegal sports betting in Canada amounts to $38 million a day.
After the vote Massie commented, “By defeating this legislation the Liberal Government just endorsed an unacceptable reality in the gaming sector in Canada. They are well aware of the massive revenue stream sports wagering is providing organized crime to fund human trafficking, the illegal drug and weapons trade, money laundering and tax evasion.”
Marchand admitted defeat for this session, but indicated that he didn’t plan to give up his quest. “This is the end of it for this parliament session, but at some point there will be a new parliament and we will get back at it,” he said. “There are all kinds of employment opportunities with this, so it would have been nice if we were the first. It’s disappointing, but there will be another day.”
The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) had also pressed for a repeal. CGA President Bill Rutsey commented, “I regret that I don’t have better news for Canadians. The CGA looks forward to working with Members of Parliament to introduce the necessary legislative changes at the earliest opportunity, in order to thwart the illegal and unregulated sports betting market that continues unabated in this country.”
The CGA issued the following statement: This vote against Bill C-221 denied representatives from labor, business, sports, and communities the opportunity to engage MPs to inform them that the $14 billion wagered illegally by Canadians each year equals lost revenue for government, lost jobs and economic opportunities for communities, and keeps gaming operators and regulators from providing a safe and regulated environment throughout the country.
Meanwhile the American Gaming Association (AGA) last week called on Congress to repeal the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which prevented states from allowing sports gambling, except in Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, and Montana, where sports lotteries were offered.
In 2015 the AGA created a blue-ribbon panel, Illegal Gambling Advisory Board (IGAB), headed by former FBI Deputy Director Tim Murphy, which studied the issue. It also includes a former attorney general of Wisconsin, and a former sheriff of the Clark County, Nevada, ground zero for gaming in that state. It’s conclusion: PASPA should be repealed. That opinion is put forth in the board’s Law Enforcement Summit on Illegal Sports Betting.
Some of its findings came after the group participated in a law enforcement symposium in Washington D.C. involving about 25 national law enforcement leaders.
“This is not just a victimless crime,’’ said Ed Davis, a former Boston police commissioner and member of the advisory group. He said that organized crime used money generated from sports betting to fund other illegal activities.
One reason it cites is that there is a very large black market of illegal gambling in the U.S., which the report estimates to be between $150-$500 million. It alleges that illegal sports betting promotes organized crime, something that legalizing it would deliver a hammer blow to.
“The current approach to sports betting in the United States is not working,” said Murphy. “It’s fueling criminal enterprises. The time has come to repeal the current sports betting ban and replace it with rigorous regulations that benefit states, protect consumers and maintain the integrity of the games.”
His panel advocates giving each of the states the option to allow or not allow the practice, as each state can now decide whether to allow online gaming.
Lifting the ban is strongly opposed by the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and NCAA who have fought in federal court the state of New Jersey, which has challenged the federal ban. They have also filed letters in opposition to efforts to lift the ban in Canada.
Major league sports have traditionally opposed bringing teams to Las Vegas because sports betting is legal there. However, this year Mark Davis said he wanted to bring the Oakland Raiders to the city.
In addition, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver joined the effort to repeal the ban earlier this year. “We have no idea what’s going on and there’s no transparency,” he said. “I think it should be legal; I think it should be regulated; it should be transparent.”
