The Canadian gambling landscape is fast changing. The coronavirus proved that Canadians love gambling and they’ll go to the web if they’re not allowed to visit physical casinos.
According to the recent numbers, British Columbia’s online gambling hit new records in the last few days with several new players entering the market.
The popularity of sports betting is growing in Canada. We can see from the latest google trends data that search on Google for “betting apps” and has hit an all-time high (Canada only) in August after growing throughout lockdown (Data here).
Here is how the graph looks
While big names like Uniform appear to be calling for the safe re-opening of physical casinos in the country, it might be a while before you’re allowed to gamble at a physical location. This will only drive more customers to online and betting apps, such as the Sports Interaction app will only get more popular.
Till then, we suggest that you try your luck online while waiting for legal single-game sports wagering to come to the country. The efforts have been on-going for a while and we have seen quite some success.
Sadly, the pandemic caused things to slow down but it’s believed that we will see things change next year.
What’s the current situation in Canada?
Hopes were high for 2020 but recent changes suggest that things may not go in the right direction until next year.
MP Kevin Waugh came up with a surprise when he introduced Bill C-218. The bill, co-sponsored and supported by Brian Masse, intends to redact a paragraph from the Criminal Code.
If approved, this change will allow wagers on the result of a single sporting event. Originally introduced in February 2020, the bill never reached a second hearing due to things coming to a halt.
Things are expected to pick up now that coronavirus is said to be under control in the country.
Paul Burns, Canadian Gaming Association president, spoke on the matter a few months ago:
“In the House of Commons, there is support from Members of all parties. We expect over the summer and into the fall the business of the House to pick up (not sure yet) so the current Bill could be passed. It is frustrating, however, we believe it’ not a matter of if, just when the amendment will pass.”
We expect the efforts to resume on September 23rd once the Parliament fully resumes. Once this happens, supporters of legal, full sports betting will have to work even harder to get what they’ve been working for.
Nothing for States to Worry About
The Canadian legal system is largely based on the British system and does not operate like the neighboring US system.
PM Justin Trudeau went for prorogation to come up with a neat plan of action to manage the pandemic and stop it from reappearing as things slowly get back to normal.
The decision has swept Bill C-218 off the table. However, since the bill isn’t very complicated, it’s believed that reintroducing it will not be very hard. Nonetheless, the changing political scenario may affect things.
Many experts believe the country will go for an ‘early election’. If this happens, we might have to wait longer to try single-game gambling. We will keep you posted with the latest news!
