After years of waiting, Canadians will get their chance to bet on a specific game as of August 27.
The country’s Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act amended a line in the Canadian Criminal Code to allow single-event sports wagering in the country. The Canadian Gaming Association estimates that more than $1 billion has flowed from Canadian bank accounts to illegal sportsbook operators since C-218 became las on June 29.
It’s up to each Canadian province to decide to legalize such wagers.
The legislation permitting provinces to regulate new forms of sports gambling has been hotly anticipated by provincial lottery corporations, online sportsbooks and land-based casinos eager to tap into a lucrative market currently dominated by offshore online bookmakers.
The British Columbia Lottery Corp. will launch single-event wagering on PlayNow.com. Manitoba also uses PlayNow. Alberta will operate on Play Alberta, according to Legal Sports Report. CGA President and CEO Paul Burns said Alberta may want to create a retail model at casinos that could include mobile options.
He also said Saskatchewan gave online sports betting rights to the Indian Gaming Authority, which operates six casinos in the province.
Sportsbook operators are still positioning themselves for a piece of the market.
Burns says support for new forms of legalized sports betting spans political parties, unions, chambers of commerce, industry stakeholders and communities where casinos are major employers, like Niagara Falls and Windsor, according to Yahoo Finance Canada. Bill C-218’s critics in the Senate raised concerns about the rights of First Nations, and how the change may impact match-fixing in sports.
