Report Shows Canadians Support Sports Betting
An IPSOS Reid study released interesting results regarding support among Canadian adults for single event sports betting in the country.
The study showed that 64% of adults polled said they supported Bill C-290 - a bill put through by MP Joe Comartin - which has the potential to legalize single event sports betting in Canada in provinces that choose to adopt the legislation.
The bill is currently pending a decision by the Canadian Senate after breezing through the House of Commons in March this year. It was introduced into the legal channels by Comartin in September 2011.
Besides having the majority of Canadian adults supporting Comartin's bill, there was an even bigger percentage of support among provincial governments.
The IPSOS Reid study found that 8 out of the 10 provincial governments believed that the current laws governing sports betting in Canada were completely outdated, and needed to be revised and refreshed.
CGA Comments on Canadian Gambling Study
The Canadian Gaming Association published the results of the recent IPSOS Reid study and the President of the association, Bill Rutsey said: "Right now, over $10 billion or more is being wagered through illegal sports betting every year in Canada, and a further $4 billion is wagered online through illegal offshore betting websites.
"We need to bring more regulation and enforcement to this otherwise overlooked problem, and that begins with the passage of Bill C-290," he said.
The Canadian Gaming Association is a strong supporter of Comartin's bill and regularly promotes the benefits of legalizing single events sports betting in the country.
Provincial Governments Support Gambling Changes
For over twenty years, Canadians have been allowed to wager on two or more sports events, or what is known as parlay betting.
With a change in gambling trends around the world, and especially with the growth of online gambling, many Canadian provincial governments have asked that the law be updated to allow single event betting so that gambling dollars weren't lost to offshore sites.
In recent years, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Alberta have all sent letters to the Federal Minister of Justice demanding changes to the current Criminal Code so that it will no longer be a crime to wager on single sports events.
Support for Canadian sports betting has also come from Quebec, New Brunswick and PEI.
Opposition to Comartin's bill comes mainly from sporting leagues who say that allowing this type of wagering could threaten the integrity of sports, leading to match fixing and other problems.
