Ontario MP pushes for single-game sports betting
Craig Pearson, Canwest News Service
Published: Thursday, July 03, 2008
WINDSOR, Ont. -- Betting on individual sports games may become legal in Canadian casinos if Joe Comartin has his way.
The Windsor-Tecumseh MP estimates such a thing could generate as much as $3 billion in gross wagering a year. "It's very important for Windsor and Niagara Falls, in particular, because it will give us a significant competitive advantage over the casinos on the other side of the border," Comartin said Wednesday. "Given our current economic situation here, there's a potential for a reasonable number of additional jobs, both at the casino and elsewhere in the city."
Las Vegas-style sports gambling is only an idea at this point and a bill has yet to be introduced. It would require an amendment to the federal Criminal Code, which prohibits betting on individual games.
Ontario casinos already have sports-book infrastructure, thanks to TV screens and scoreboards. But betting is limited to the government-run lottery Pro-Line, where bettors select the outcomes of three or more sport contests, known as a "parlay" ticket.
This proposal would allow betting on individual hockey, baseball, football, basketball, soccer and other games, at casinos and race tracks.
Comartin said that he and others are lobbying the federal government to make the legal change - as it did to allow dice games in casinos - in part to help border cities hurt by a strong loonie and a tight border,
Comartin, who has considered introducing a private member's bill on the idea, first approached federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson last year. "When I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago, he seemed favourably disposed to the idea," Comartin said. "But there is some opposition somewhere, either in cabinet or the Prime Minister's Office."
"But it seems more political than it is in principal. Some in the Conservative party may be worried about the impact it would have on their core vote."
Though Comartin does not know how much business expanded sports betting might attract, he notes that the Canadian Gaming Association says at least $700 million was wagered on online gaming in Canada last year. He also said the CGA shows $100 million was bet on the Super Bowl alone in Canada and the in U.S., and pegs the illegal gaming industry in North America at about $380 billion.
Expanded sports betting would take a bite out of that, Comartin said, and provide governments with a share. "If all the provinces take it up, it's going to be well in excess of $1-billion," Comartin said. "I would have to say if it were actively promoted by the casinos, it would probably be in the $2-billion to $3-billion range."
In the U.S., sports-book betting is currently only allowed in Nevada. In Las Vegas, bettors wager on everything from golf to tennis. Professional sports leagues oppose sports-book betting in cities with professional teams, which is one of the reasons why Las Vegas does not have a pro sports franchise.
Though Toronto has professional sports teams, it does not have a casino. Niagara Falls, Orillia and Windsor all have casinos, but no pro sports teams.  |