Latest Gambling News From Canada

Two recent events in Canada were, directly or indirectly, related to online gambling. One of them had a disappointing outcome, whereas the other gives reason for hope.

Canada’s single-game sports betting bill C-221 got its second reading in Parliament last week. It was introduced as a private member’s bill in February by New Democratic Party MP Brian Masse, and seeks to remove the restriction on bets other than multi-game parlay sports wagers. C-221 had its first reading in April, during which the Liberal party surprisingly took an antagonistic stance. Unfortunately the lobbying in the interim period proved fruitless and the governing Liberal party continues oppose the bill.

During the reading, Liberal MP Bill Blair, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, said he “cannot and will not be supporting it.” He accepted that there was a demand for single-game wagers, but opined that the social costs were too high. He disagreed that legalizing sports betting would reduce wagering at unauthorized online sites, because such sites can offer more favourable odds than the provincial monopolies. Though Masse and his NDP colleagues spoke in favour of C-221, the Parliament voted against adopting the motion. If the House remains in session, technically Bill C-221 can come up for further discussion this week. But if the bill is not sent to committee now then it cannot be reintroduced for another four years. In that case the only hope is that the government brings it as part of a budget bill.

The other event has indirect ramifications on Quebec’s attempt to order ISPs to block unauthorized online gambling sites. Canada’s Supreme Court just delivered a ruling, that has nothing to do with online gambling, but reconfirms that telecommunications issues are the prerogative of the federal government. The Court unanimously ruled that a Quebec municipality could not prevent telecom provider Rogers Communications from installing a new cell tower at Châteauguay, a suburb of Montreal, after it had received permission from a federal department. The municipality raised objections like the tower being an eyesore and potential health and safety threats. The Quebec authorities went to the extent of rezoning the property as a “land reserve”. The Court rejected all these claims.

The web site blocking initiative by Quebec would hopefully be dealt with similarly if and when it comes to the Canada Supreme Court. The simple stand would be that the province of Quebec cannot pass laws restraining or ordering telecommunications companies. This has gladdened the offshore online gaming operators functioning in Quebec and their customers.

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