Online gambling has become extremely popular almost everywhere in the world, including in Canada. In addition, the online gambling sector globally sees some of the largest amounts of money spent by customers.
However, this does not mean that online gambling is well accepted in all countries, but where it is, it usually blossoms, except for the cases when local regulators have imposed a too strict legal framework. Some countries have preferred to stick to a more uncommon approach, as the one that has recently been demonstrated by Canada.
For the time being, online gambling is legal in the country, with a number of Internet slots available to local residents. As revealed by Casino Reports at the end of June, Canadian competent authorities could consider the addition of single-game sports betting. Canada has already made sports betting legal, with the so-called “parlay bet” being the only legal sports betting option available. However, for the time being, there is a federal ban on single-game sports betting options.
“Parlay betting” or “parlay bets” allow players to bet on one sport over a series of games, or on more than one sport in a single day. That is why some companies engaged in providing local citizens with the available sports betting options have shared their concerns that a possible expansion of the market would bring more rivalry, making the sector increasingly competitive.
US Sports Betting Expansion Could Make Canada Legalize More Betting Options
However, sports betting expansion, and more specifically, single-game betting, also has its supporters. In fact, the current situation could actually change, with a number of cities located close to the Canadian border, including Ottava, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Fredericton, and Regina. On the other hand, the US counterparts of these towns, including Seattle, Detroit, and Boise, having backed the idea of adding more betting options to their currently existing ones.
Considering possible expansion of the existing gambling sector, the issue of illegal offshore sports betting remains on the agenda, too. According to a recent research, Canadian players spend more than CA$5 billion every year on unregulated overseas betting options. Taking that in mind, such illegal gambling could actually affect the perfectly legal gambling revenue, as local customers could find alternative betting options very close to home.
As previously explained by Casino Reports, a number of Canadian provinces have already rolled out campaigns aimed at legalizing single-game sports betting options. Many of them have shared hopes that such pieces of legislation could be quickly and easily implemented, and mostly before their American counterparts get their desired sports betting expansion.
Single-game betting is still illegal on the territory of Canada but this could change soon. A couple of years ago, in 2016, a piece of legislation seeking to make the betting option legal emerged, but the proposed bill did not manage to get the necessary support in the House of Commons.
However, earlier in 2018, the US Supreme Court decided to rule in favor of New Jersey in the state’s sports betting case – a ruling which ended up lifting a federal ban on sports betting. Since then, the majority of US states have been trying to finally pass the necessary pieces of legislation to see a long-desired expansion in their gambling sectors. This, on the other hand, could actually provoke the Canadian Government to consider adding new sports betting options, and more specifically single-game betting, to the already existing ones to make the country’s gambling market more competitive and resistant to offshore competition.
