Canada’s Member of Parliament Sponsoring Single Event Sports Betting

Kevin Waugh, Canadian Conservative Party member and a member of the Parliament, is pushing towards legalization of a single even sports betting in Canada by sponsoring a bill that permits this.

The bill was filed on February 25th and its goal is to annul the paragraph 207(4)(b) of the Canadian Criminal Code which will allow operators to offer betting on a single sport event or contest. At the moment, the said Code allows only those bets that have three or more games on the betting slip.

The Idea Behind the Initiative

Waugh’s Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act (Bill C-218)…

…will repeal this restriction and permit federal governments to tap into a market that is worth CAD 14 billion, according to estimates.

Says Waugh about the bill:

“Let me be clear that single-event sport wagering already exists in this country, and if do not think so, they are behind the curtains. The Canadian single-event sport wagering industry is worth over $14 billion, but most of it, 95% of it, exists underground on the black market or through offshore websites.”

He continued by saying that none of the activity is subject to government regulations or taxes. “None of it is creating jobs in this country or economic opportunities; and none of it is contributing to consumer protection and education” which, he says, are badly needed in Canada.

Third Time’s Lucky

There have been two attempts to single-event betting in Canada…

…and both were unsuccessful. Waugh hopes that the third will be lucky and said that by ing this bill everyone can put a stop to money going to organized crime and reroute it to communities.

He cites USA’s PASPA ban lift from 2018 as a starting point that changed it all:

“The United States has allowed it. Sport leagues, like the NBA, are in favour of sports betting being regulated. It is time this country follows forward.”

Canadian Gaming Association has ed Waughn’s introduction of C-218, sending good wishes for his attempt to succeed.

The CGA’s CEO Paul Burns said that amending the Criminal Code to legalize single-event sports betting will give country’s provinces more tools to deliver a safe and legal option to residents.

He also said that it would give provinces alone more power to address issues like consumer protection, while simultaneously allowing more economic benefits to flow to operators and communities.

Source:

“Canadian lawmaker makes new single-event betting push”, igbnorthamerica.com, February 26, 2020.