Canada Sports Betting – Legality, Launch Dates, And FAQ

Canada Sports Betting – Legality, Launch Dates, And FAQ




Sports, and sports betting, are very popular in Canada. Hockey is, of course, the marquee sport in the country, but most American sports are also closely followed by Canadians. NFL games have been on tv in Canada for decades and most Canadians sports fans have a favorite U.S. team in addition to a favorite Canadian Football League (CFL) team.


Best Canadian Sports Betting Apps

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NBA basketball is a hit among many Canadians, with the Toronto Raptors being an obvious fan favorite, particularly after their 2019 NBA Championship. Lastly, the Blue Jays may play in Toronto but they are Canada’s MLB team, with all their games 윈윈벳 broadcast nationwide.


Our friends to the north have a much different sports betting history and structure than we do here in America. Betting on sports is wildly popular in the country, but, until August 27, 2021, single-game wagering was not explicitly legal. It was not explicitly illegal either, so many Canadian bettors ended up wagering with European bookmakers and other offshore operators.


Canadian legislative leaders worked diligently to amend the criminal code to eliminate any ambiguity and authorize provinces to allow single-event wagering in their jurisdictions. This idea had been kicked around for a while but has finally become a reality. Read on for more on the single-game legalization efforts passed by Parliament in June 2021, a detailed look at the Canadian sports betting scene, the existing gaming industry in the country, and what we expect the sports betting landscape to look like in Canada when it is fully operational.


1

Sports Interaction

 4.2

Read Review

Now Available in Canada

Experienced within Canada

Vast Number of Available Bets

BET NOWT&Cs Apply

2

bet365 Sportsbook

 4.5

Read Review

Available in Canada

Open to Ages 19+

Fast Deposits and Withdrawals

BET NOWT&Cs Apply

3

888sport

 3.8

Read Review

Now Available in Canada

Huge Array Of Betting Markets

Wager On eSports

BET NOWT&Cs Apply

4

TonyBet Sportsbook

 4.2


TonyBet is Active in Canada

Live Betting Options

Wager On eSports

BET NOWT&Cs Apply

5

Casumo Sportsbook

 4.0


Bet Now from Canada

No Shortage of Betting Options

Bet on eSports

BET NOWT&Cs Apply

Canada Passes C-218

Efforts to legalize single-game betting in Canada have been ongoing for several years. The idea was debated around in Parliament since 2015 and before. One could argue that sports betting being legalized in the United States is what finally created the momentum to fully legalize sports betting in Canada. Similar to the U.S., the major sports leagues and other stakeholders who were once opposed to legalization changed their mind and publicly expressed their support for the bipartisan legislative efforts in Parliament.


C-218 was the most recent legislative effort to legalize single-game betting. It was a simple bill that would change the criminal code to make it explicitly lawful for provinces to administer and regulate single-game sports betting. It included an exemption for the horse racing industry and enjoyed a great deal of support from almost every major stakeholder group. The bill passed the House of Commons, Canada’s equivalent to the House of Representatives, in February 2021, but its fate in the Senate, Canada’s equivalent of the Senate (pun intended), remained unclear until June 23, 2021, a day that will forever be celebrated by Canadian sports bettors.


After weeks of debate and consideration, time was running out for the Senate to vote on C-218 prior to its planned summer recess. There was also the possibility of an election in the fall that would derail the bill and leave its supporters back at square one. All that, and more, led to some tense moments for Canada sports betting proponents. But on June 23rd the stars aligned and a vote was held on the bill. After a few hours of debate it ultimately passed with the final vote tally coming in at 57-20 with 5 abstentions.


What C-218 means for sports betting in Canada

Basically, passage of C-218 meant that single-game wagering would be legal and live in Canada, ideally before the end of 2021. Currently, the 10 provinces and 3 territories (Yukon Territory, Northwest Territory, and Nunavut) each offer parlay-style sports betting, casino games, and lotteries run by one of five lottery commissions operating in the country. Some provinces with smaller populations have grouped together to form a collective lottery commission, hence why there are five commissions for ten provinces. It will be relatively easy to add single-game sports betting to their existing regulatory structure if the provinces choose to do so. Each province will make their own decision.


The most likely immediate outcome of the passage of C-218 is that existing lottery commissions will add single-game betting to their existing online sportsbooks. For example, the British Columbia Lottery Commission (BCLC) offers the impressive Play Now website and app, which features online lotteries, keno, a casino, online poker, bingo, and a sportsbook. The online sportsbook would look familiar to anyone in America aside from the decimal/European pricing (1.91 instead of -110). All the major sports worldwide are featured and the technology appears to be industry standard. BCLC support C-218 and has publicly stated it will add single-game wagering to Play Now when it is legalized on August 27, 2021. The other four provincial government-run sportsbooks will likely follow suit.


Canada sports betting by province




After C-218 was passed in June, the federal government waited several weeks to announce that the law will take effect on August 27, meaning that provinces can legalize single-game sports betting as of that date. The federal government will not be regulating sports betting; each province can legalize, or not legalize, single-game wagering and regulate it as they see fit. Here is an update on what each province has publicly said about their plans to legalize sports betting:


Ontario

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), created iGaming Ontario, which will oversee the iGaming marketplace in the province. iGaming is generally defined as anything that is wagered on over the internet, including sports betting 스보벳 and online casino gambling. iGaming Ontario will be responsible for crafting agreements with outside sportsbook operators who wish to enter the province. This is in addition to the Ontario government administering its own sportsbook operation, PROLINE+, which will operate like any other sportsbook. PROLINE+ goes live on August 27, 2021, and will have a head start on any potential outside competition, which won’t be entering the Ontario market until some point 2022.


But the best news of all came in late January of 2022, when the AGCO and iGaming Ontario announced their intention to launch the province’s legal online gaming market on April 4, 2022, making the province the first to set such a date. In their announcement, iGaming Ontario stated that on April 4, private gaming operators, registered with the AGCO and that have entered into an operating agreement with iGO, can start offering their games and services to players within the boundaries of Ontario. You’ll be claiming Ontario sportsbook bonuses in no time.


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