Canada [finally] legalizes single-event sportsbetting

[ddm]

Canada’s Senate voted to pass a bill that will allow the country’s licensed sportsbook operators to offer single-event sports betting. The legislation was previously passed by the House of Commons on April 22nd and has now sailed through the Senate with no new amendments required.

Bill C-218 will amend the Canadian Criminal Code to allow single-event betting on sporting events. Currently, this type of betting is only allowed on horse racing in Canada.

The bill will now go to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the coming days to receive royal assent. It will then be up to each of Canada’s provinces and territories to decide on the implementation of legal single-event sports betting within their existing gambling markets.

Speaking in a press release issued following the Senate vote, theScore Chairman and CEO, John Levy said:

“THE SENATE’S PASSING OF BILL C-218 EARLIER TODAY IS AN HISTORIC MOMENT FOR CANADA AS IT WILL LEGALIZE SINGLE EVENT SPORTS BETTING. WE THANK MP KEVIN WAUGH AND SENATORS DAVID WELLS AND BRENT COTTER FOR CHAMPIONING THIS BILL, WHICH GARNERED STRONG ALL-PARTY SUPPORT THROUGH BOTH THE HOUSE OF COMMONS AND SENATE.
THE PASSING OF THIS IMPORTANT LEGISLATION ALLOWS THESCORE, ALONG WITH OUR FELLOW STAKEHOLDERS, TO COLLECTIVELY USHER IN A ROBUST INDUSTRY THAT WILL DRIVE BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION, EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH WHILE PROVIDING A SAFE AND TRUSTED ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH CANADIANS CAN WAGER ON SPORTS.

The Canadian Gaming Association also released a statement from its President and CEO, Paul Burns who said:

“THIS IS A MAJOR MILESTONE AND ACHIEVEMENT FOR THE CANADIAN GAMING INDUSTRY. THE CGA HAS BEEN WORKING TO LEGALIZE SINGLE-EVENT SPORTS BETTING FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS AND BILL C-218 BENEFITED FROM A GROUNDSWELL OF BROAD STAKEHOLDER SUPPORT FROM ACROSS CANADA. THE NEED FOR REGULATION, OVERSIGHT, PLAYER PROTECTION, AND THE CREATION OF ECONOMIC BENEFITS FOR CANADA WAS UNDERSTOOD BY EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, WHICH IS WHY THE BILL WAS SUCCESSFULLY PASSED.”

Many of Canada’s provinces have previously intimated that they will move quickly to launch single-event sports betting in their jurisdictions and with parlay betting currently available throughout Canada, supporters hope that single-event wagering can be in place sometime in late 2021.

Single-Event Sports Betting in Canada Set to Become a Reality as Senate Passes Bill

Canada's Senate has voted to pass Bill C-218 that will allow the country's sportsbooks to offer single-event wagering on a broad range of sports.

gamblingindustrynews.com

 

[PROFRBcom]

Meh, not good news for most of us here on AGD.

Or people in Canada for that matter. I have yet to see a state sponsored site offer better rewards, promotions, lines, etc than offshore providers.

If we let the free market rule, we would have even better options than what currently exists, alas...