Betting against all odds

A decade of work later, NDP Member of Parliament Brian Masse thinks he might be close to getting single-sports betting legalized in Canada.

Canadian cities lose out on millions of dollars when  illegal betting takes place during major sporting events, like the Super Bowl, each year. As it stands, gamblers in Ontario looking to legally profit on this year’s Super Bowl must wager a minimum of two games and correctly predict the outcome of each in order to win.

These types of bets are often unattractive to the average sports gambler, leaving them wagering their money illegally.

Masse has been working to eliminate illegal betting by re-introducing Bill C-290, saying Canadian cities are behind the times when it comes to the practice. 

Masse’s reintroduction of the bill includes slight changes to the existing regulations, which would eliminate the Criminal Code section that prohibits betting on a single race, fight, sporting event or athletic contest, mostly by adding the word “or.”

“We would see people come here for the Canadian dollar,” said Masse, noting that legalizing single-sports betting would attract American gamblers.

“That’s attractive for other types of reasons to come here. We also don’t have taxes on earnings. We have some advantages that would work really well.”

Masse said Windsor would be a significant tourism draw as well as an economic generator for the creation of different venues and types of activity due to the city’s proximity to the border.

“It’s much harder to get people back when you lose them,” said Masse, adding that Ottawa needs to act quickly before the practice is legalized in Michigan. 

“The other places that gain them will work hard to keep them. So it’s a matter of time, but unfortunately, we haven’t seen the urgency out of Ottawa that was promised.”

Lakeshore Mayor Tom Bain was once opposed single game betting, but now believes it could be beneficial for the region.

Back in Oct. 2019, Bain claimed single-game sports betting would cause problems with the horse racing in the region. Only a few months later, Bain, much like Masse, thinks it is time to act.

“The longer we sit on it and don’t do something, the more of the market we’re losing,” said Bain. “At the Leamington Raceway, we saw the average American bettor spend significantly more.  Your Canadian better is betting $2-$10 tickets. We had American tickets out at $500.”

While Bain originally feared the legalization of single game sports betting would negatively impact the horse racing industry in Leamington, the recent increase in betting at the track now makes him feel optimistic.

“Leamington Raceway has gone up 22 per cent increase over last year,” said Bain regarding the raceway having gone up the highest of the 14 tracks in Ontario — the next closest track was only five per cent. 

“It’s certainly something we need if we’re going to be competitive with the United States.”

David Oriet has been betting on sports for nearly a decade. While he enjoys betting legally, he added that betting online is much more attractive.

“Nobody wants to dabble in certain sports they know nothing about,” said Oriet.  “It having to be parlayed with another game, of course it forces people to go online and bet there rather than take the loss just over picking a game they know nothing about and losing it that way.”

Oriet believes with the legalization of single game sports betting, Windsor would benefit from Americans crossing the border and placing higher wagers.

“If you only have to focus on one game, you’re going to throw more money on the game,” added Oriet. “With our dollar being so low, we’re only losing out here.”

Masse said he has done the work and the legislation for the prime minister to approve the bill immediately through what’s called an Order in Council. 

“It’s a two-line sentence in the criminal code that needs to be retracted and the word ‘or’ needs to be added in another sentence,” said Masse. “And that’s it. It’s about as simple as you could possibly get.”

The Canadian Gaming Association estimates Canadians are wagering around $10 billion annually on illegal bookmaking operations. An additional $4 billion is wagered through offshore online sports wagering sites.

According to a report by the Canadian Gaming Association, Caesars Windsor would also benefit as an estimated 100 full-time jobs would be implemented if the bill were passed.

Employees of Caesars Windsor are currently under contract which does not allow them to comment.

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