Canadian lawmakers are getting ready to embrace single game sports betting for the first time in their country’s history. It’s a nod to the reality that sports betting is big business and has the potential to raise revenue in a pandemic-stricken economy where revenue is as scarce as hen’s teeth.
According to a report from the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, Federal Justice Minister David Lametti is readying legislation that will allow licensed casinos the authority to offer single game wagering for the first time in many decades. Thought several Canadian provinces allow sports betting in the form of parlays or daily fantasy sports, single game wagering has long been a no-no. Of course that’s left a vacuum that the black market’s been more than happy to fill. A situation that Lametti acknowledged saying that as much as $14 billion in un-taxed dollars is filtered through the black market.
News of the potential legislation was welcomed by Paul Burns, the president of Canadian Gaming Association who pointed out that 2020 has been a brutal year for land-based casino operators. “It’s just been a horrendous year for our businesses.”
“It doesn’t cost the federal government a thing but it gives us another product, another channel, to help us attract customers back to our businesses when it’s safe to do so.”
It’s also been pointed out that Canadian gambling operators’ ability to compete with their US and black market competitors has been hampered by their inability to offer sports betting. In these pandemic-ravaged days, casinos and the governments who count on tax revenue are going to need every weapon they can up with in the fight for survival.