Canadians Split over Single Game Sports Betting
A recent survey commissioned by Harris/Decima has shown just how split people are over the issue of single game sports betting in Canada.
When asked whether this type of betting should be allowed in Canada, 35% of those questioned said that it should, while 35% opposed it. The remaining 25% said that they had no opinion and therefore did not approve or oppose single game betting in Canada.
The three day survey took place at the beginning of this month, which saw 1,000 Canadians questioned from across the country by telephone. The survey has a 3.1 percentage point margin error.
The survey was commissioned in light of the success of NDP MP Joe Comartin's private members' bill which has the potential to allow single game betting in Canada.
Comartin launched his attempts in response to the problems faced by casinos in areas such as Windsor, which have seen a massive drop in customers due to increased competition from US casinos.
As such, Comartin is aiming to introduce betting on single-game sporting events at these casinos and the idea, according to him, "is they're going to put this in the border casinos to attract Americans."
Ontario Supports New Gambling Law
The survey showed that support for single game betting was highest in Ontario and the Prairies, and Ontarians were more aware of Comartin's attempts as the bill grew from local casinos' needs.
The vice president of Harris/Decima, Richard Leigh-Bennett said that those who opposed single game sports betting also opposed gambling in general.
"If you look at the chart that says 'Legalized gambling is a good way to raise revenues for the provinces', you've got 40% who disagree with that," he said.
The highest support came from young Canadians and those with higher incomes.
Stronger Awareness Needed About Gambling Bill
The majority of those people who were contacted for the poll had never heard of Comartin's bill. According to the results of the survey, only 14% "could clearly or vaguely recall hearing about this bill, while 84% could not recall the bill."
Twenty percent of Ontarians recalled the bill.
When asked about their favorite gambling pastimes, Canadians said that purchasing a lottery ticket was their number one activity, with 67% saying that they had bought one in the past year.
27% said that they had visited a casino and 17% had wagered for real money with friends or colleagues. 11% said that they played electronic gaming devices or VLTs, 6% bet on sports through government run groups and 2% said that they wagered online.
