The British Columbia Lottery Corporation urges Canadian authorities to finally introduce legally single sports betting. The Crown Corporation believes that the legalization will be more than profitable with an estimated of around CA$125 to CA$175 million in additional revenue accumulated through brick-and-mortar casinos and online platforms. The extra revenue could turn out to be quite helpful for local communities and groups.
Currently, there are many players who are making single-event betting on illegally operating websites, and PlayNow.com is the only regulated one in British Columbia province. That is why the Crown corporation believes that if the government approves such legalization it will be a huge boost for all the parties involved. More than two-thirds of the provinceās player base uses PlayNow.com as their preferred online gambling platform.
Pros of Single-Event Wagers
According to BCLCās director of eGaming, Stewart Groumoutis, players have been waiting for single-event betting for a long time. Groumoutis believes that huge single-betting events such as the upcoming Super Bowl are a missed opportunity. He further clarified that the corporation is pushing for the introduction of single-event betting to generate more revenue to fund and support provincial programs.
In the future, the BCLC will work for the introduction of licensed sportsbooks in key areas, by cooperating with government, regulator, and gambling partners. Another option that the Crown corporation considers is āenhanced sports-bettingā at local hospitality locations that offer lottery products across the B.C. province. According to the corporation, the introduction of single-event betting will be able to provide CA$125 to CA$175 million in additional revenue for the region.
By the time being if a player wants to bet on a single event, he usually travels across the border to Washington State casinos, or simply by placing online bets in illegally regulated off-shore platforms. If the proposed wagering is legalized, the Crown Corporation believes that this will keep players to local casinos and will prefer playing on PlayNow.com where playerās health is of utmost importance and thus generating enough revenue for healthcare, education, and local programs.
Saskatchewanās Push for Single-Event Bets
In order to keep up with the US gambling industry and keep gamblers on Canadian borders, Kevin Waugh, representative of Saskatoon-Grasswood proposed a new bill to make alterations to the existing Criminal Code, which will make way for the legalization of single-events betting in the country. Another reason for that is that around CA$14 billion is being generated by Canadians who bet online on illegal platforms going into black markets bookmakers.
Ontarioās Stance
Due to the lack of single-event betting Ontarioās region has been suffering by losing players who travel south to Niagara Falls and New York in order to bet legally. Meaning that the province is losing hundreds of dollars of potential revenue. Windsor West NDP MP Brian Masse has introduced a new bill on single-event sports wagering with the help of Conservative MP Kevin Waugh in order to make Canadian casinos keep up with the competition.
BCLC Partners with Scientific Games
British Columbia Lottery Corporation extends its already successful partnership with Scientific Games, which is one of the leading gaming content providers around. And now their joint focus is on improving the online sports betting platform PlayNow.com. Scientific Games is famous for its OpenTrade sports betting solutions which proved to be a huge hit among gamblers and quite reliable over the last years. The user-friendly interface will be more than welcoming for new and experienced betting enthusiasts.
Source: “BCLC Supports Legalization of Single-Event Sports Betting“, BCLC, February 1, 2021
