Single-Event Sports Betting in Canada Kicks-Off on Friday, August 27

Sports betting is legal in Canada, but placing single bets isn’t. At least, it isn’t at this moment, but that’s ends in two weeks. Friday, August 27 is the date when Canada will officially lift its single-event wagering ban.

It’s all due to Bill C-218, which Canada’s Senate passed two months ago. The bill amends the country’s Criminal Code, making some big changes in Canada’s gaming landscape. In addition to making single-event wagering legal, the bill will also pave the way to the legalization of online sports betting.

At the moment, the sportsbook business is in control of the state-owned Interprovincial Lottery Corporation, with kiosks all over the country. In addition, there are many land-based casinos, racinos, and bring-and-mortar sportsbooks where it’s legal to bet on parlays. In all those venues, single-game wagering will become legal starting August 27.

Bill C-218 in a Nutshell

Also known as the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, Bill C-218 will open the door to single-event betting in land-based sportsbooks across Canada, which could generate billions of dollars for the industry.

The legalization of single-event sports betting is just one of the several changes the bill will create in Canada’s gambling landscape. Another, perhaps even more important change, is that the bill will enable individual Canadian provinces to decide the legal status of online betting for themselves.

At the moment, this activity falls into a gray area, meaning that it’s neither legal nor illegal for Canadians to bet on the internet. Online betting is not a crime in this country and many online casinos and sportsbooks keep their virtual doors open to the players based in this country.

However, as it’s an unregulated industry, online betting isn’t controlled by any governmental body. In layman’s terms, this means that Canada can’t help you if you get scammed by a shady online betting site.

The good news is that there are several provinces currently working on making this gaming activity regulated. If, or better say when, they do it, only those operators with a local license will be able to operate.

What the Future Holds for Online Betting in Canada?

With Canada’s lawmakers passing Bill C-218, it’s now up to each of the 10 Canadian provinces to decide for themselves whether online sports betting should be legal or illegal. Reports suggest that there are two provinces that will almost certainly give the green light to internet sportsbooks. Those are Ontario and British Columbia.

Being the most populous province in Canada, Ontario has every right to hope for a big revenue once online betting is regulated. It’s estimated that Ontario is hemorrhaging hundreds of millions of dollars to offshore sportsbooks every year, the reason being that that’s the only way bettors from this province can enjoy their hobby – there are no provincial lotteries in Ontario.

Provincial lotteries exist in British Columbia, which is another state that’s reportedly every open to the prospect of legalized online betting. The reason behind BC’s positive attitude probably lies in the fact that the province is generating a lot of tax money through this industry.