Canadian New Democrats Intend to Revive Sports Betting Bill

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Thursday, November 19th, 2015 | Written by Stephen Smith

Back in October, Canada had a major political shake-up with the country’s Conservative party losing their majority in the Canadian Parliament. Now that the Liberal Party is in firm control of the government, and the Democratic party has increased its share of seats, there is hope that a sports betting bill may finally pass in Canada.

Previous Effort to Legalize Sports Betting

Canada has already tried once to pass legislation that would have made it it legal to bet on single sports games. Back in 2012, the New Democratic Party legislator Joe Comartin introduced a bill that would have legalized one game bets. Called the C-290 sports betting bill, it was able to pass the Canadian House of Commons with ease, but the Canadian Senate never brought the bill to vote. As a result, it expired this summer.

Current State of Sports Betting

Presently, Canada’s Criminal Code only allows lottery corporations that are run by the Canadian provinces to accept sports bets. The law permits only parlay wagers and forbids casinos operating in Canada from offering or accepting any type of sports bets, either in-house or online.

Hoping Twice is a Charm

The New Democratic Party isn’t willing to give up on the idea of single game sports betting yet. New Democratic Party legislator Brian Masse (photo) has already announced that he has every intention of introducing another bill and will to try and drum up support in the new Parliament. Although he plans to use the legislation drafted by his fellow New Democratic Party member, Joe Comartin, Masse has expressed that he is willing to work with the other parties to ensure that the legislation is agreeable to everyone. As he explained to CBC News:

“What we want to do is have the bill pass, so we want to make sure everyone is comfortable”.

While New Democrats such as Brian Masse, Tracey Ramsey, and Cheryl Hardcastle have indicted their willingness to reintroduce a revised version of bill C-290 during their election campaigns, for the newly elected Liberal Party, however, legalizing sports betting does not appear to be a priority. This will naturally affect the bill’s chances of success in Parliament, should it be put forward by the New Democrats, and as Cheryl Collier, Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Windsor, explains:

“Maybe somebody is able to get through to the prime minister or his inner circle and make a good case and maybe in that case, they will take it up.”

About Masse’s Plans for Legislation

It’s important to note that Brian Masse’s legislation wouldn’t automatically make single game sports betting legal in Canada. What he is proposing is changing the Canadian Criminal Code to no longer make sports betting illegal for licensed private casinos. However, it will ultimately fall on the Canadian provinces to decide whether or not they wish to allow single game sports betting within their borders. This set-up would be similar to how U.S. states are free to make decisions regarding some forms of gambling legalization, such as whether or not to open land-based casinos, or offer gambling options online.

Why Now?

Why the push for single game sports betting? The answer lies in revenue. Joe Comartin was motivated to push for legalization in the hope of drawing American tourists to Canadian casinos. At the present time, this could work in Canada’s favor, but with New Jersey now fighting a legal battle to be allowed to offer sports betting, it’s possible that Americans may eventually be able to place wagers at home.

Even without foreign gamblers, sports betting could still be profitable for Canada, as the Canadian Gaming Association reports that Canadians are currently spending around $450 million each year on parlay bets, but over $10 billion on single game sports betting. If those numbers can be proven accurate, it seems likely that Canadian legislators will see Masse’s bill as a potentially beneficial one for the country.

Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa, for instance, believes legalized sport betting could provide a valuable extra source of revenues for provincial hospitals and education establishments. Likewise, the Canadian Gaming Corporation produced a report concluding that a newly regulated sports betting industry could create another 250 jobs at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, and Caesars Windsor. Furthermore, a HLT Advisory case study estimates that Fallsview Casino could generate an extra $9m to $12m in gaming profits, while for Caesars Windsor that figure would be around $18m to $24m.