Sports betting in Canada: lawmakers race against the clock
A bill to legalise single-event sports betting in Canada has passed a second reading in the Senate and moved to committee as lawmakers aim to legalise the segment before the end of the session.
Canada.- Bill C-218, which would legalise single-event sports betting in Canada, has passed a second hearing in the Senate as lawmakers race to get it approved before the end of the session.
The Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act has been moved to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce.
The bill now needs to get the committee’s approval before it can gain Royal Assent and become law. Any legislation has to pass three hearings in each chamber. The bill has already succeeded in the House of Commons.
The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) has been pressuring the Senate to get sports betting legalised in Canada before the next recess, which starts next June 26.
The bill was introduced last year by Saskatchewan Conservative MP Kevin Waugh to amend the Criminal Code and legalise single-game sports betting in Canada. It was referred to committee on Tuesday night.
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Brent Cotter, an independent senator from Saskatchewan, has spoken in support of the legalisation of single-event sports betting. He said there was more than a 50 per cent chance it would be passed before the session finishes.
Cotter said: “If professional sports leagues see value and safety in the legalization of this kind of betting, it’s hard for us not to be supportive. They’ve got more at stake than we senators do on this.
“If they’re comfortable they’re not damaging their leagues and the integrity of their sports, then I think we should take that as a pretty meaningful statement that we can move this out of the criminal law and into a good regulatory environment that the provinces have done pretty well on with casinos.”
He added: “I’m confident with responsible gaming leadership they can do the same with sports betting.”
