Canada’s rules for sports betting to be spread across multiple matches and games are now in place and the residents can finally start betting on single events from August 27. David Lametti, the Justice Minister, announced the news on Thursday at the Fallsview Casino Resort (Niagara Falls), around 40 days after Bill C-218, also known as the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, was passed by the Parliament.
Canada Casinos and Sportsbooks Expect To Have Massive Betting Action
On Wednesday, Yahoo Finance Canada reported that Ottawa will uncover the details of the plan regarding the legalization of betting on single sport events in the country. The news of this announcement was criticized by politicians who supported the legislation, as well as an industry group. The criticism was directed towards the time that the cabinet of Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, took just to set a date for the new law to be put into effect.
However, the announcement was cheered by Canadian online sportsbook operators, as well as casinos, because they are now expecting to handle around $28 billion in sports betting five years after wagering on single events is legalized.
Lametti stated that both territories and provinces will now be able to offer betting options to single events to visitors, such as the Stanley Cup Finals game seven, the Super Bowl, or the Grey Cup. Thanks to these amendments in the Criminal Code, territories and provinces will be allowed to use their revenue to fund education or health care, the same way that they do with lottery revenue.
The role of the federal government in the legalization of this type of gambling is now over because cabinet ministers set a start date. Territories and provinces will be able to start allowing this new form of wagering on sports, starting on August 27.
Issues Concerning Bill C-218 Emerged
Lametti is currently undergoing consultations to determine what the relationship between the Indigenous people and the provinces will be with the latest laws. This issue actually sparked a significant debate in the Senate in June.
According to Lametti, the only missing part is the Indigenous component. Historically, tribes were left out of the talks, even though they have well-run and sophisticated gaming operations. Lametti hopes that the Senate will consider that part of the file as well.
Province-run lottery corporations in British Columbia and Ontario might well be the first ones to market with these new products. Both the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. and the British Columbia Lottery Corp. stated that they will launch single-event betting on August 27.
Ontario’s government stated that these new policies will create an extremely competitive market for private companies. However, one company, FansUnite Entertainment, is actually not eyeing the market, even though it is in a good place to capitalize on the expansion.
Canadians Will Not Have to Travel to the US to Bet on Single Events
The news of the legalization of single events is also a win for brick-and-mortar casinos in cities across Canada, including those that are close to the US border, such as Niagara Falls. Many Canadians live close to the border and US casinos that allow betting on single events are nearby.
Dave Cassidy, the president of Unifor Local 444, represents the Caesars Windsor casino workers, and he said that with these new gambling products, sectors that have been hit hard by COVID-19 will create new jobs. At a separate virtual press conference on Thursday, he stated that 100-150 new jobs will open at Caesars Windsor alone.