Bill Could Bring Online Gambling To Manitoba
Ontario MP Joe Comartin's gas authored a private member's bill designed to legalise betting on single sports games in the Canadian province of Manitoba.
On Tuesday this week, Comartin's Manitoba online gambling bill passed its second reading in the Canadian Parliament with no opposition. This means it is now goes in front of a Justice Committee. But before the final vote, the bill must pass a third reading.
If passed, Comartin's online gambling bill would see the legalisation of single sports betting on baseball, basketball and football at racetracks and casinos in Manitoba, and would likely result in job creation in the Niagara Falls and Windsor areas.
Presently Canadians are legally only allowed to bet on games offered by casinos or lotteries. But despite this, single sports betting - such as the Super Bowl - is highly popular in Canada and commonplace at bookmakers, many with links to organised crime, as well as over the Internet.
Paul Burns, Vice President of the Canadian Gaming Association said, "This really isn't new. The customers are doing it now, but the (provinces) aren't getting the money."
Manitoba Monitoring Online Gambling in Other Provinces
Comartin said that Manitoba is monitoring the success of online gambling in Canada's other provinces before committing itself. This is true for the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan as well.
"Manitoba Lotteries is continuing to monitor what's happening with online gaming in other jurisdictions in the country," said a provincial spokesperson. "At this time Manitoba has not made any decision to enter into the online gaming business. We're going to keep an eye on what other jurisdictions are doing and will use those observations to influence our decision."
British Columbia and Quebec are two other Canadian provinces that have made great strides in terms of online gambling. There, gamblers are free to play online poker, and certain online casino games. In 2012, Ontario is expected to join the list of provinces that offer online gambling.
Burns has suggested that Manitoba could also shortly join that list - the only question being when. He said that the $1 billion a year Canadians wager at offshore gambling sites could be better spent locally at licensed and regulated sites.
A spokesperson for Comartin's office has said that the new bill simply seeks to modernise a law that was put in place decades ago to protect the integrity of sports in Canada.
