Although sport betting exists in Canada, it hasn’t been optimized yet. The government is in discussions to legalize single-game sport betting in 2021 and the process is gaining momentum.

The future of sport betting in Canada

The latest attempt at legalizing single-game sport betting in Canada has legs. The movement started in early of this year as a private member bill sponsored by Kevin Waugh, named C-218, which was later picked up as government legislation in November 2020. The legislation suggests the issue is close to settled.

Ending the federal ban on single-game sport betting should change the landscape of sport betting in Canada significantly. It would mean more chances for bettors to bet legally and might lead to provinces opening up licensing to other operators.

When will online sport betting launch in the country?

Online sport betting has already been allowed in six provinces, including Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia,British Columbia, and Quebec. Surely, these legal products all require parlay bets of at least two events. It’s not made clear at this point whether additional provinces would authorize online sport betting.

There are other online alternatives. However, they aren’t regulated. Offshore casinos take advantage of the fact that single-game sport betting is illegal in the country so serve the market for what bettors can’t join legally.

These offshore sportsbooks don’t pay taxes and aren’t regulated at both the provincial and federal level. Bettors are making an additional gamble every time they wager on these offshore operators since no guarantee winning bets will be paid. Some offshore operators have closed without warning and even without returning customer funds.

Legal betting options in Canada

In Canada, there are legal betting options but they all require a parlay of at least two bets.

Lotteries operate sports betting at the provincial level in the country with all provincial lotteries offering sports betting: Loto-Québec, British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Atlantic Lottery Corporation, Western Canada Lottery Corporation, and Ontario Lottery and Gaming.