Does Canada Allow Sports Betting Online?
The good news for Canadians is that single-event sports wagers became legal this August, but, the provinces can regulate and tax sports betting as they see fit. Previously, parlay betting, with more than one event on the ticket, was allowed through provincial lotteries. Now, Canadians can bet on individual games.
Conservative MP Kevin Waugh drafted the sports betting bill, which quickly received backing from all four main parties.
TheNational Hockey League, Canadian Football League, and other professional sports leagues applaud the newly passed legislation. It has also been embraced by Canada's horse racing community.
Conservative Senator David Wells predicts that by legally allowing single-game sports betting, the billions of dollars spent at offshore sportsbooks will soon be flowing into provincial government tax coffers.
Canadian provinces will begin regulating sports gambling in the same way as US states. The new law allows provincial lottery agencies to offer single-event sports betting.
Canadian Sports Betting Driven Offshore
This parlay betting rule caused Canadian sports bettors to place their bets on illegal offshore sportsbooks. Out of C$14.5 billion in Canadian sports bets every year, only C$500 million was wagered legally through a provincial lottery.
Obviously, these offshore bets were placed online from within Canada. As of now, it's up to each of the Canadian provinces to decide whether to legalize single-event sports betting at all. Furthermore, it's up to each province to decide whether those bets can be placed online.
Ontario
iGaming Ontario has been created by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to administer the iGaming market in the province. Ontario defines iGaming as any type of gambling done online, including casino gaming and sports betting. For more on online casino gaming, click here. Sportsbook operators will need to deal with iGaming Ontario if they wish to enter the provincial market.
However, the government of Ontario already has its own online sportsbook, PROLINE+, which went live in August. Commerical, online sportsbooks won’t be able to enter the market in Ontario until 2022.
Quebec
Loto Quebec has offered parlay sports betting for many years and began offering single-event betting on the very first day it was legal to do so. Single-event betting in Quebec is now available both at Loto Quebec online and at retail locations. So far, it's unknown whether commercial sportsbooks will be allowed to operate in Quebec.
British Columbia
This progressive, western province has long been in the fight for single-game sports betting. Like Quebec, the provincial lottery commission began offering single-game betting the first day it legally could. Play Now is the online sports betting website British Columbians can use for legal, single-game betting. Currently, Play Now is the only legal sports betting option in the province, but in the future, commercial operators could be allowed to enter the market.
The Prairie Provinces
The sparsely populated provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan formed the Western States Lottery Corporation to run lotteries and sports gambling. Currently, Sport Select runs a parlay sportsbook for the three central provinces.
Alberta also has its own provincial online casino, Play Alberta, and an online sportsbook is already in the works. Commercial sportsbooks are also poised to enter the market in Alberta ASAP.
Manitoba and Saskatchewan haven’t yet decided whether they'll offer single-event wagers, but odds are, they will eventually.
The Atlantic Provinces
The provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, and Labrador, have combined to offer lotteries administered by Atlantic Lottery. Atlantic Lottery also offers parlay sports betting, and the agency is poised to offer single-event wagering as soon as it's legalized by the provinces. However, the Atlantic Provinces are still up in the air as to whether or not to legalize single-game betting.
The Prospects are Good for Nationwide Online Sports Betting in Canada
C-218 only went into effect on August 27, 2021, so it's very new. Canadian provinces are moving as fast as they can to legalize single-game sports betting, and align their online lottery products.
As you can imagine, commercial online and mobile sportsbooks are also eager to enter the Canadian market. Some of the major online sportsbooks that have already announced their interest in the Canadian market include:
- theScore Bet – Ironically, this Canadian-based company already is live in New Jersey, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, and Illinois. Perhaps soon it will be operating somewhere on Canadian soil.
- FanDuel – This online sports betting giant already offers Daily Fantasy Sports in Canada.
- PointsBet – The company recently appointed a Chief Commercial Officer for its future Canadian operation.
- DraftKings – Like FanDuel, this monster sportsbook currently offers Daily Fantasy Sports in Canada, and is also a member of the Canadian Gaming Association.
- Caesars – Like DraftKings, Caesars is already a member of the Canadian Gaming Association, and owns a casino resort in Windsor, Ontario.
- Hard Rock – Also a member of the Canadian Gaming Association, Hard Rock owns casino resorts in Ottawa and Vancouver.
- BetMGM – Parent company, MGM International, is currently seeking to build a casino resort in Calgary, Alberta.
