The recent ruling of the US Supreme Court which practically lifted the sports betting ban on a nation-wide level has raised many questions related to the sports betting markets of the States’ neighboring countries, including Canada.
Canada has already legalized sports betting, but a federal ban on single-game sports betting still exists, with the only legal sports betting option currently being the so-called “parlay bet”. Thanks to the parlay bet, Canadian residents are able to place bets on various sports events, or on a single sports event held across a few days. In addition, players are also able to bet on future games with their teams, but the bets must be made far in advance of the event.
According to recent survey data, Canadian players spend millions on parlay bets every year.
Apart from that, Canadian provinces are also allowed to offer sports lotteries, with the latter being required to be offered in the form of a two-team parlay at minimum.
US Supreme Court Ruling Could Make Canada Add Single-Game Betting
As mentioned above, single-game betting is still illegal on the territory of Canada. Back in 2016, there were hopes that a piece of legislation seeking to legalize the betting option could be passed, but unfortunately for its supporters, the bill did not manage to gather the necessary number of votes in the House of Commons.
The fact that single-game betting is suspended in Canada under a federal ban, however, does not necessarily mean that local residents stay away from this type of betting. On the contrary, many Canadians choose to bet with offshore operators who often offer their sports betting services in breach with the country’s legislation and do not pay any taxes to the local authorities. Reportedly, Canadian citizens spend approximately CA$4 billion on online single-game betting options offered by offshore gambling operators.
The legalization of sports betting in the US have given hope that the country could work on the legalization of single-payer bets on sporting events, which on the other hand, could help Canada make some important decisions. For the time being, such a sports betting option has not been made legal in any state in the US, apart from the state of Nevada where it is allowed.
Now, the expansion of the US sports betting market has brought some hopes to proponents of single-game betting in Canada, who obviously think that legalized sports betting would be able to bring some benefit to the Canadian sports betting sector, and especially to the local sports leagues. According to a recent survey, more than 60% of the respondents have recognized the Canadian Football League (CFL) as an integral part of the country’s sporting identity.
The US Supreme Court’s decision could have a great influence on the Canadian Government to consider adding some new sports betting options to the already existing ones in order for the country to becomes more competitive on a global scale. In addition, Canada would get the chance to add some additional tax revenue in case that it gives the nod to single-game betting.
