Growing Support for Single Sport Betting in Canada

Published on March 21st, 2019 12:50 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Earlier this month, the province of Ontario announced that it was supporting the legalization of single sport betting in Canada.

Ontario's Finance Minister Vic Fedeli sent a letter to Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau in early March in which he asked the Finance Minister to consider an amendment to the Criminal Code that would legalize single sport wagering in Canada.

In sending this letter to the Canadian Finance Minister, Ontario publicly joins other provinces such as British Columbia and Manitoba in supporting single sport wagering in Canada.

Many of the major sports leagues, including the NBA and NHL, expressed their support for Ontario's move.

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Single sport wagering is truly a win/win situation for everybody involved in Canada.

As it stands, sports bettors can only initiate parlay wagers in Canada.

So, if you wanted to bet on the Grey Cup, you would also have to include wagers on two separate events as well.

This obviously creates a chilling effect on the gaming industry in Canada, as people tend to want to bet on just one event at a time. People want to bet $100 on the Grey Cup - they don't want to have to include wagers for NHL games as well that take place later that night.

Tens of millions of dollars flows to offshore sports books as a result of this, which costs Canada valuable jobs. Unions have also spoken out in support of single sports betting, as they are fully aware of the jobs that it would create.

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With the US Supreme Court recently giving a favourable ruling on sports betting, countries like Canada will be pressured to respond, as the industry is so large.

Many countries throughout the world, including the United Kingdom and Italy, currently offer betting on single events, and there is no reason for Canada not to follow.