Canada sports betting debate starts tomorrow
Bill C-290 has until the end of the current session on 21 December to become law.
The Canada Senate will begin discussing MP Joe Comartin’s single-event sports betting bill tomorrow which has until the session ends on 21 December to be passed into law.
Bill C-290 was approved by the House of Commons in March and passed a Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee hearing earlier this month.
If passed into law the bill would allow Canadians to bet on single sporting events, currently off limits with wagers only permitted to be placed on multiple outcomes.
It would allow the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), the country’s first operator to launch online sports betting on its PlayNow.com platform, to offer single-event wagering online.
In the last 70 years only eight bills that have been approved by the House have failed to in the Senate. Scott Jenkins, advertising director for Ontario-based casino Caesars Windsor, told CBC News: “We’re keeping a close eye on it. It will be good for our business. It’s certainly something that we’re hopeful gets passed.”
The bill has support from all three major political parties, although some Conservative MPs and Senators remain opposed and believe the bill has not yet faced enough scrutiny. It has been reported that the legislation was introduced late in March’s House of Commons session and was not fully debated.
Conservative Senator Mike Duffy said earlier this month: “I don’t see a public outcry that there are not enough places for people to lose their money.”
Bill C-290 has encountered strong opposition from sports leagues, including the National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association, that believe it could damage the integrity of their matches.
Canadian law has so far only allowed betting on a minimum of three events as an attempt to prevent match fixing and corruption.