Canada Operators Want Single Game Sports Betting

The USA NFL season is extremely popular in Canada and has huge online sports betting potential. However, Canada's Federal Criminal Code comes in the way, since it places constraints on sports betting operators, including a rule banning bets on the outcome of a single game. Punters do not like to bet on multiple games simultaneously because it decreases their chances of winning. This year the Canadian online gaming operators have once again pressed for a review of the code. The operators point out that punters will anyway bet on the NFL markets. Since the provincial governments controlled operators cannot offer these bets, the punters are turning to offshore operators. As a result the government owned operators are missing out on significant revenues.

One of those speaking out against the present laws was Canadian Gaming Association vice president Paul Burns. He said, “The Canadian casino operators and lottery corporations can't offer that [single game] product, but Canadians still have access to it through the Internet. Because of the Internet, sports betting is a global business.” He cited numbers to support his claim. Approximately CAD4 billion a year is gambled on the Internet by Canadians, out of which only CAD500 million is spent on Canadian-legal products offered by the provinces. He strongly urged the government to allow Canadian operators to fight for some of that money so that the benefits like gaming revenue and tax receipts could stay in Canada.

In 2012 a private members bill was tabled to amend the rules and allow single game betting. Bill C-290 enjoyed wide commercial and political support. The bill received overwhelming support in the Commons, but problems surfaced against it in the Senate. Some Senators succeeded in delaying the bill till it ultimately got strangled. Sports betting operators and many Lower House politicians felt frustrated at the outcome but were helpless.

Legal observers in Canada have opined that the Criminal Code is in need of review as far as sports betting is concerned. The popularity of sports betting has grown tremendously in recent years. Some of its provisions, including the multiple outcome requirement, are out of tune with today's realities and what is available in many other countries. New products such as fantasy sports and eSports betting have entered the market. The provincial governments also realize that they are losing out. Ontario's finance minister Charles Sousa said that his province would welcome federal changes permitting single game betting and would deploy it at once.

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