And (for real), away we go!
As soon as the members of the Senate gave the thumbs-up to amend the Criminal Code of Canada and allow single-event sports betting, the texts, phone calls and emails started coming fast and furiously for Paul Burns. They came from politicians, government officials, lottery corporations, sportsbook operators, and others.
For the president and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, the 57-20 vote (with five abstentions) in favour of passing Bill C-218 brought a “sense of relief for so many”.
“We’re now able to get on with what we’ve wanted to do for so long,” said Burns late Tuesday afternoon. “From sportsbooks to the CFL (one of a half-dozen sports leagues who told the federal government a year ago they were ready to embrace sports betting - quite a shift in direction from less than a decade ago), they want to get on with it and make it a reality.”
If you haven’t been following the bill closely, the vote represents the last remaining hurdle to single-event sports wagering across the country. Our weekly bit of wordsmithing for The Toronto Star focused on reaction to Tuesday’s announcement.
So, with the bill being signed, sealed and delivered to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for royal assent, we look ahead at what’s to come before Canadians can start placing wagers (and for the folks who, until now, have been using offshore betting operators, they are indeed illegal).
Q: How does the licensing and regulation process work?
A: Bill C-218 gives the provinces and territories the right to implement single-game sports betting into their respective gaming markets. For example, legal sports betting in Ontario has been restricted to putting down money on parlays (two or more games) through Pro Line. Interested parties in operating a sportsbook will be able to apply for a license to operate in provinces that open up their market. This will most likely include a licensing fee and sharing revenue with the provinces.
Q: Who will be applying for those licences?
A: It depends on the province. The Doug Ford government in Ontario, which has been working with the province’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission and meeting with various stakeholders to help create a regulated iGaming program, has indicated there will be an open field. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), which operates Pro Line, will be a player and is expected to be joined by sportsbooks such as theScore Bet, PointsBet (which is opening a Canadian operation), DraftKings, FanDuel, and others.
“It’s going to be open competition and that’s fair to the consumer,” John Levy, founder and CEO of Score Media and Gaming Inc., told The Parleh on Wednesday morning.
Levy has made it as clear as Lake Huron on a summer day that he believes theScore will have home-field advantage in Canada, and especially Ontar-ari-ari-o. And if there was a sliver of doubt. . . . .
We’ve already seen sportsbooks dipping deeply into their advertising budgets on digital media platforms and television, and that will undoubtedly escalate during the summer months. Also be prepared for an avalanche of announcements involving sportsbooks and leagues. CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said the league and its nine member clubs believe legal sports betting could be the golden goose for an operation that lost an entire 2020 season to COVID-19.
There’s been a steady stream of speculation that Rogers Sports & Media and Bell Media would have interest in opening a sportsbook, and ditto for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Torstar Corporation, owners of The Star, announced its plans in March to open an online casino.
British Columbia and Quebec have well-established online gaming platforms through their lottery corporations while the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority told a Senate standing committee that it was anxious to introduce sports betting into the seven casinos it operates across the Prairie province.
Q: When can we begin to place a single bet?
A: Again, it depends on where you live. In a statement yesterday, Ontario Attorney General Douglas Downey said:
“Ontario is working urgently to launch this year in time for the Grey Cup and next year’s Super Bowl, to name just those two highlights of the calendar for sports fans. The legalization of single event sports wagering, with a robust regulatory framework, would create a safe online gaming environment that is responsive to consumer choice while providing responsible gaming and consumer protection measures."
From Burns: “Some provinces will move extremely quickly. Some land-based books will hopefully be open by Labour Day.”
Q: Can we expect to see more sports betting content in newspapers, on websites, on radio, television, podcasts, etc., etc. etc.
A: You betcha. Bell Media, with TSN Edge and the Mystic Mike segment on its hockey broadcasts, and Sportsnet through original written content and partnerships with Oddsharks and Sports Interaction, have dipped their respective toes in the water. theScore is touting its dual-threat content and betting platforms.
We’re curious to see if/how TSN integrates betting into its CFL broadcasts this summer and fall, and we should expect to see Sportsnet providing betting programs alongside its NHL broadcasts - as we’ve seen with ESPN’s NBA broadcasts. And we can’t wait to see what the NFL’s broadcast partners do in the betting space come September. And this wizard of words would be tossed to the curb if he didn’t reference The Parleh’s own fan-first sports betting content.
We’ve only just scratched the surface here, and we’re excited to provide you with information and analysis as news happens this summer.
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