CGA lobbies for single sport event betting in Canada

The president of the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) has urged Senators to vote in favour of  the private members bill C0290 “An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Sports Betting) currently awaiting its third reading in the Senate.

Bill Rutsey said: “We have a clear choice: either allow billions to go offshore and through illegal book making operations, or offer Canadians a legal alternative, supervised by our provincial regulators, capturing revenue for government and creating good-paying, permanent new jobs.”

Changes to the legislation would allow punters to wager on a single sporting outcome rather than the current legal requirement where they have to select at least two or three winners.

Rutsey believes the amendment to the law will aid in combating organised crime and match fixing, create jobs, capture new revenue and ensure Canada joins the rest of the world in the activity.

The bill which was initially introduced by NDP MP Joe Comartin towards the end of last year reportedly carries the support of individual provinces along with experts covering legal, regulatory, law enforcement and problem gambling who spoke before the State Senate Committee. It was unanimously approved in the House of Commons in March 2012.

Single event sports betting in Canada is conservatively estimated to be in excess of $10 Billion annually which is lost illegally through bookmakers linked to organised crime, and $4 Billion of it through offshore internet websites that are not regulated by Canadian provincial regulators said the Canadian Gaming Association in a statement.

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