Canadian single game sports betting back on the legislative agenda

Following up on his pledge several weeks ago to resurrect the failed C-290 Cromartin bill on sportsbetting (see previous reports), Canadian Opposition member of parliament Brian Masse launched his Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act in the House of Commons this week as a private member’s bill.

Our readers will recall that the Cromartin bill passed through the Commons two years ago, only to be bogged down for months by stone-walling members of the unelected Senate and finally killed off by time limits.

Masse’s resurrection has essentially the same objective – to amend the national Criminal Code so as to permit wagering on single sports events and athletic contests, widening the present restriction to multi-game parlay betting only.

There is wide acknowledgement that single event sports betting is already prevalent throughout the nation, but the current restrictions ensure that it is not regulated. Betting companies are happy to be regulated should the business be legalised, Masse claims.

Cromartin’s bill survived despite opposition from major sports leagues, and Masse can probably expect the same obstacles this time around.