On November 26, a bill was presented to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, proposing to remove the criminal prohibitions against single event sport betting. Single event sport betting means placing a wager on the outcome of one single sporting game.
In essence, changes to sports betting legislation in Canada are likely to prove a game-changer for the betting industry. Amongst such reforms, single-event sports betting could be regulated or carried out by the very provinces and territories where they operate. In such an event, opportunities for players, for instance, with Canadian Online Casino, would include not only sports betting but also other forms of gambling, all done in a safe and regulated environment.
In tandem with this legislative proposal, the Government of Canada will be working with its provincial and territorial counterparts and Indigenous communities on gaming more broadly. This includes federal government officials hearing from Indigenous communities and organizations expressing interest in the involvement of Indigenous communities in the regulation of gambling. Federal government will also open discussions with provinces, territories, and the key industry stakeholders of the horse racing industry regarding the consequences of single-event sport betting's decriminalization.
Current Criminal Code provisions related to sports betting
The Criminal Code now prohibits all forms of gambling except provincial and territorial lottery schemes, inter-citizen betting in very limited cases, and betting typically subject to regulation under the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency. In terms of lottery schemes, provinces and territories will continue to regulate and license a much wider scope of operations, including betting on the results of more than one sporting event.
The Bill would change some lines within paragraph 207(4)(b) of the Criminal Code, providing provinces and territories the power to regulate and conduct single event sport betting on any sporting event but horse racing. It will, however, leave the participation of the federal government in respect of horse racing and its pari-mutuel betting systems intact.
In Canada, pari-mutuel betting systems are currently regulated by the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency (CPMA) in relation to live horse racing only. The CPMA is a special operating agency under the purview of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and regulates the way that betting on horse races is conducted across Canada.
In collaboration with the provinces and territories, the Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that all gambling is done with responsibility and appropriate supports. To that end, the Government of Canada provides funding to the Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Addictions (CCSA).
The changes that have been brought forth to the Criminal Code of Canada are quite important in bringing about reform in the manner of sports betting in the country. With the legalization of single-event sports betting, it will be left to the provinces and territories of Canada to regulate it in such a way that betting is done in a safer, more regulated environment where the bettor can feel confident. In essence, it aims to provide the legally permitted alternative to curbing illegal betting, which may come to prevent organized crime influence in this area.
Yet in the year end, there was a different kind of progress, on the edges of pro sports perhaps, but less and less so. Sports gambling, an eternal vexation for these regions, seems finally on the verge of being properly legalized and brought back into the fold with the rest of the world.
With the changes and updates to how Canadian sport fans can bet on their teams likely coming thick and fast in 2021, it seems a fitting time to stop, take stock of where we are, look ahead to where we are going, and put to the side what that might all mean.
So where exactly are we? When it comes to the sports gambling industry, however, Canada appears pretty stagnant, stuck in the same place that it has always been. While the sports betting industry has seen an online and particularly mobile revolution within its biggest markets, Canada has remained stagnant.
On the other hand, because legalized sports betting refers to multiple bets in horse, sports, or other betting types on works in real time in a given event, it may bring some other types of the problem some added opportunities, rather, it demands responsible gambling, by collaborating with Indie communities and others of the industry, the government looks to reach inclusion through a perspective lens of enhancing the decriminalization of single-event sports betting that it's including and optimizing the well-being of all Canadians. Providing proper safeguards will be vital to achieve a balance between the economic potential and the responsibility to prevent problem gambling.
That was a simple statement: legislation would bring a common practice out of the shadows into the open, legalized, regulated, and finally safe for all. Where to from here? The bill was introduced into the House in early December, and there was hope that it would be passed before the Christmas break. But, then why the rush after all this time? It will now be taken up again in the new year and, with all hitches cleared, stand a good chance of receiving royal assent in early spring. After this, it will become a matter of the provinces creating their own regulated and licensed markets, plans which some are already busy plotting. In Canada, companies are also taking tentative steps in anticipation. Among those expected to eye potential opportunities for that industry would be Rogers and Bell, which are the two telecom-media giants in that country.
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