Online Sports Betting Canada Legal
Online sports betting sites, the top sites in sport, sites such as Bovada, BetOnline, and MyBookie, make fully clear the rules and regulations of their sites and the industry they serve. Participants should know all the rules and regulations within that site before making bets, and should know what's legal and permissible in one state doesn't. Canada also has legal online sports betting, making it easier for these sportsbooks to benefit the country. 888sport 888sport has been online since 2008 and is a great sportsbook to use for recreational bettors.
David Lametti, Canada’s Federal Justice Minister, is expected to legalize single-event sports betting. The move would bring an end to a gambling prohibition that has existed in the country for decades. Experts claim that this prohibition has resulted in billions of dollars being funnelled into the black market. If passed, the legislation would enable gamblers to place bets on the result of a single sporting event, such as a hockey game or a football match.
Sports betting Canada currently only allows parlay bets, where players are forced to place bets on multiple events and predict the winner in each in order to land any kind of windfall. The odds of winning a parlay bet are low, and yet Canadians spend around $500 million per year on these kinds of bets.
MPs from large casino communities, such as Ontario’s Niagara Falls and Windsor, have been asking the federal government to remove a line in the Criminal Code that prevents non-parlay gambling. The aim is to boost gambling operations in Canada that face mounting pressure from U.S and online casinos.
Editor's Note: This is the first in a three-part series of stories on sports betting in Canada. In general, many forms of online gaming are legal in Canada. Banks do reserve the right to.
Changing the Criminal Code
Irek Kusmierczyk, a Liberal MP elected in the fall to represent Windsor-Tecumseh, recently spoke about how he’s been working to encourage the government to change the Criminal Code to allow enhanced sports betting in casinos.
Canadian Gaming Association president Paul Burns said he’s happy that years of advocacy work by local communities and MPs has received positive indications from the government. Burns said that it’s been a tough year for the industry, and that health and safety measures related to COVID-19 have significantly affected in-person gaming.
Attracting Old Customers
Burns added that the federal government won’t incur any costs, but that it gives them another channel to help the industry attract customers back to casinos when it’s considered safe to enter the venues once again.
A similar bill already exists from Kevin Waugh, a Conservative Saskatchewan MP, on the Commons order paper that would make it legal for a provincially licensed entity to allow people to bet on a single athletic contest or sporting event, such as an NCAA football match.
Common Sense Legislation
Waugh said that implementing the above would be a positive move for the gaming, sports, and tourism sectors, and a great win for those communities and workers that depend on them. Waugh referred to the legalisation as common sense. He did, however, question whether the government prioritizes it. As such, he isn’t quite ready to withdraw his private member’s bill in order to ensure that they proceed the proposed amendment.
While territories and provinces control gambling operations within Canada, all operators work within the federal Criminal Code. This code addresses gambling laws and regulations. Burns said that the government will likely copy and paste Waugh’s bill. It’s often easier for government legislation to be passed in Parliament than private member’s bills, as the government has more steps to take through both houses of Parliament.
Private Member’s Bill
In 2016, Windsor West MP Brian Masse also implemented a private member’s bill that would have seen changes similar to what’s being being considered by the Liberal government. That legislation was voted against by the government. It cited a claim by major sports leagues that betting on single events could result in match fixing. That opposition, however, was blunted after sports leagues such as the NHL and NBA joined forces with key casino operators to boost U.S. sports betting. COVID-19 has blown significant holes in provincial and federal budgets, and this kind of betting, if legalized, could lead to some much-needed revenue for the Canadian government.
Betting on a single sports game is currently illegal under the Criminal Code of Canada.1 While the Criminal Code prohibits single-game sports betting, it creates exceptions for a parlay-style system.2 Parlay-style betting requires an individual to bet on two or more events and accounts for approximately $500 million in legal provincial wagers.3 However, Canadians are betting close to $14 billion a year through offshore websites and illegal bookmaking operations.4 Under a new bill recently introduced by Justice Minister David Lametti, the $14 billion that Canadians gamble offshore could soon be legalized in Canada.
Bill C-13 (the 'Bill')5, which was introduced last November, would remove the prohibition on single-game sports betting in Canada and allow the provinces to regulate the industry.6 The Bill adopts suggestions forwarded in a private members' bill7 introduced earlier this year and is expected to draw support across bipartisan lines.8 The Bill comes at a time when Canada faces increased competition from America after the US Supreme Court paved the way for legalized sports betting in the States.9
Proponents for legalizing single-game sports betting in Canada point to the revenue potential gambling could funnel into the economy, bringing both jobs and economic benefits.10 The Canadian Gaming Association stated allowing single-game sports betting would serve as an economic stimulus, create hundreds of employment opportunities, and generate a significant new tax revenue stream for cities across Canada.11 Others claim removing prohibitions against single-game sports betting in Canada could have huge market impacts. In Ontario alone, one Canadian-based digital sports media company estimates $1.5-2.1 billion in annual gross gaming revenue.12
Those opposed to the legislation argue sporting events could fall prey to match fixing, undermining the integrity of professional sports. Declan Hill, an associate professor of investigations at the University of New Haven, argued in the Globe and Mail that the Bill is flawed. He contends Canada should also create a federal law targeting match fixing before legalizing single-game sports betting.13 The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport notes similar match fixing concerns.14 Further, legalizing single-game sports betting could contribute to growing addiction problems. Declan highlights easier access to sports betting could 'fuel addiction in the demographic that is not always known for making sensible choices – men aged 14 to 35.'15 With the added difficulty in monitoring underage betting, addiction problems could become more acute.
Others opposed to the legislation claim single-game sports betting creates an arena to bankrupt customers and drain money from the economy. Liberal MP Adam Vaughan, in debating the mirroring private members' bill, noted casinos take four dollars out of the local economy for every dollar that goes into it.16 Vaughan believes casinos are now looking to single-event sports betting as a way to supplement their income after bankrupting their previous clientele.
With the recent growth in the US gambling industry and Canadians appetite for gambling, the latest attempt to legalize single-game sports betting in Canada may prove successful. With the Bill garnering support from several multi-national sport organizations, the legislative change could come at a particularly poignant time when Canada's economy needs a boost from the COVID-19 pandemic.17 Parliament is expected to debate the Bill in early 2021.
Footnotes
1.Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46 s 207(4)(b).
2.Ibid.
3. Canadian Gaming Association, 'Canadian Gaming Association Urges Quick Action on Legislation for Sports Betting' (3 November 2020), online: Canadian Gaming Association (https://mailchi.mp/1f569daf0683/cga-urges-quick-action-on-legislation-for-sports-betting) [CGA].
4.Ibid.
5. 'Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (single event sport betting), 2nd Sess, 43rd Parl, 2020 (first reading 26 November 2020).
6. Justice Minister David Lametti emphasized the bill's objective was to move single-game betting into a legal, regulated environment. See Department of Justice, Backgrounder: Proposed changes to Canada's Criminal Code relating to sports betting (November 26 2020).
7. Bill C-218, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sports betting), 1st Sess, 43rd Parl, 2020 (second reading 28 February 2020).
8. Matt Rybaltowski, 'Canadian Bill on Single-Game Sports Betting Tabled Until After Christmas' (11 December 2020), online: Sports Handle (https://sportshandle.com/canada-bill-tabled-121120/).
9.Murphy v National Collegiate Athletic AssociationChristie vs NCAA, 138 S Ct 1461 (2018).
10. 'Bill C-218, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sports betting)' 2nd reading, House of Commons Debates, 43-2, No 025 (3 November 2020) at 1720 & 1725 (Mr. Kevin Waugh).
11.CGA, supra note 3.
12. Brad Allen, 'Finding the Biggest Winners from Expanded Canada Sports Betting' (2 December 2020), online: Legal Sports Report (www.legalsportsreport.com/46185/canada-sports-betting-winners/).
13. Declan Hill, 'Expanding Sports Betting Without Banning Match-Fixing is a Recipe for Trouble' (11 December 2020), online: Globe and Mail (www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-expanding-sports-betting-without-banning-match-fixing-is-a-recipe-for/).
14. McClaren Global Sport Solutions & Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, 'Match Manipulation and Gambling: A Growing Threat to Canadian Sport Integrity' (24 & 25 April 2019), online (pdf): (https://cces.ca/sites/default/files/content/docs/pdf/cces-mgss-matchman-whitepaper-execsum-e-web.pdf).
15. Hill, supra note 13.
16. 'Bill C-218, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sports betting)' 2nd reading, House of Commons Debates, 43-2, No 025 (3 November 2020) at 1730 (Mr. Adam Vaughan).
17. National Baseball Association et al, Joint Statement, 'Joint Statement From the Commissioners of the National Baseball Association, National Hockey League, Major Baseball League, Major League Soccer and Canadian Football League' (8 June 2020), online (pdf): (http://canadiangaming.ca/wp-content/uploads/Leagues-Joint-Statement.pdf).
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