Canada sports betting moves closer

It’s a slow and tortuous political path, but a proposal to legalise single game sports betting in Canada has been quietly making progress over the past few months, and this week passed a key committee stage that has forwarded the bill for a parliamentary third reading before going to the Canadian Senate.

The bill in question is C290, introduced some time ago by Joe Comartin MP which seeks to repeal existing laws that prevent provincial lotteries from offering anything beyond parlay sports betting.

This week the bill cruised through the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights following its successful second reading in November last year, and the prospects for a friendly reception in the Senate are said to be good.

The British Columbia and Ontario provinces have both expressed their support for the measure, as has the Canadian Gaming Association, although there has been some opposition from the National Hockey League, which is against any revisions.

Comartin has estimated that his bill will generate around Cdn$70 million in wagers in Windsor alone. This town on the US border is badly in need of a fillip after the economic crisis and bureaucratic border control changes induced a decline in gambling revenues in recent times.

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