Canada pushes for sports betting legalisation

As the segment blooms in the US, stakeholders in Canada met to push for sports betting legalisation at a federal level to keep up with the neighbouring country.

Canada.- It’s been over a year since the SCOTUS revoked PASPA and cleared sports wagering to launch in the US. However, Canada wants to pass sports betting legislation as well, as a recent meeting shows.

Stakeholders in the lottery and gaming industry met with lawmakers in Windsor to push for the segment.

“The government needs to act quickly. The threat is imminent,” said Paul Burns, president of the Canadian Gaming Association. “Michigan will be up and running soon. New York has started, other states in other parts of the United States have moved exceptionally quickly to pass bills.”

After sports betting legislation has repeatedly failed in Canada, Burns explained the landscape has changed. According to the official, with pro leagues on board with the segment, it’s a matter of political will before it turns legal.

MP for Windsor-West Brian Masse explained lawmakers are working on it. 

“At the end of the day, it could be a matter of weeks if there’s the political will to do that. They have a couple of different options to go to for it. That’s not likely, but that’s the technical answer to the question in regards to the processing,” said Masse.

Casino’s take

Kevin Laforet, regional president at Caesars Windsor – where stakeholders met – assessed the sports betting landscape in Canada. 

“The provinces would go to the regulators, and they would set up the systems,” he explained. 

“It’s really unfortunate (that Michigan may launch sports betting before Canada). We had a chance where we could have had a competitive advantage, and now we’ll be playing catch-up,” said Laforet. “It’s going to be a challenge for us. We’ve got 35% of our business coming from the US, and they have to drive by three Detroit casinos to visit us.”