BREAKING NEWS! Single Game Sports Betting Has been Legalized in Canada!
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Huge changes in the laws regarding placing single event bets with sportsbooks in Canada are here at last! The passing of legislation in the Canadian Parliament over the last couple of weeks, and the formal introduction of the new law on August 27, 2021, has forever altered the world of Canadfian sports booking!
The bill, which had cross-party support from Parliament, is expected to expand the sports betting for real money options that are available to those that are looking to make wagers on sports such as soccer, ice hockey and basketball. What is the law and what could it affect for everyday gamblers in Canada?
What Has The Law Changed?
It could be a groundbreaking deal for gamblers in Canada, the law will allow single-game bets to be made on all sports markets. It will come as a surprise to international bettors, as these are the common bets that gamblers make on a weekly basis with the biggest fixtures throughout the season. However, the old gambling laws in Canada meant that Canadians were only been able to wager money on parlays.
In betting terms, the new law means that gamblers will be able to wager their money on more markets for each respective fixture, including the over/under and next goalscorer markets. The new law effectively decriminalizes the previous single-event betting law. The law that was in place stated that gamblers weren’t able to bet on a single outcome of a sporting fixture, and instead, bettors needed to bet on outcomes of multiple fixtures. While these longer formed bets have remained popular with sportsbook fans, there was an urgent need for the online bookmakers to remain competitive with the offshore sites that offer a wider selection of markets to their customers.
Is Gambling Popular In Canada?
The answer to this question is unshakably yes. Gambling is a huge industry in Canada, but the offshore sportsbooks and the markets that they offer has had a huge impact on the number of bettors that are joining offshore sites. That means Canadian money is slipping out of the country, and that has had a negative impact on the revenues that Canadian bookmakers have been able to take. That has been especially felt during this year due to the coronavirus pandemic having a detrimental effect on all businesses. Changing the law is believed to ensure that the Canadian sportsbooks will be able to play on a level playing field with their offshore competitors. There was opposition against passing this bill to enable single-game betting in the past, with some claiming that the opportunity to do this could lead to match-fixing in the biggest leagues.
However, that stance softened over the previous couple of years with a number of the biggest sporting leagues joining forces with casinos such as MGM Resorts to boost the popularity of sports betting in the United States. To emphasis the amount of money that the changing of the law could have for bookmakers in Canada, it’s important to understand the money that is going towards offshore sites by Canadian gamblers. It was reported that $10 billion was being spent by Canadian gamblers through the black market, while an additional $4 billion was being spent by Canadian bettors to offshore sportsbooks. It isn’t hard to see why there was a driving force behind these numbers, as gamblers want to maximise their potential returns by wagering money on the single-match markets that are offered elsewhere.
So, What Will the New Law Change, and How Soon?
The biggest concern that the industry has is down to the fact that horse racing in Canada relies on pari-mutual wagering. However, the industry appears open to discussions, which could mean that it is promising for gamblers. Meanwhile, all of the other major sports leagues in North America have already supported the bill, with the NBA, NHL and MLB all signing on to show their support.
The provincial casinos and sportsbooks are already changing their online sports betting formatting, with some already up and running with live betting and single game wagering! Individual provinsial gaming authorities have the job of screening the many off shore sportwsgbooks wishing to enter the very lucrative Canadian sports betting market. Asd in the USA, momentum will caryy these changes forward and we can expect a huge increase of choice in which online books to play at, from Canada and all around the world!
Pat Burns, who is the president of the Canadian Gaming Association, admitting that there is finally light at the end of the tunnel after years of advocating. It will have a profound impact on the gambling industry in Canada now that the law has passed, as it will finally give the bookmakers in the Great White the opportunity to compete with the offshore sites.
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