The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) President Bill Rutsey has urged Senators to vote in favor of the private members bill C0290 - An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Sports Betting) currently awaiting its third reading in the Senate.
The bill in question would allow punters to wager on a single sporting outcome instead of the current legal requirement where they have to select at least two or three winners.
Initially introduced by NDP MP Joe Comartin towards the end of last year, the bill was supported by individual provinces and experts covering legal, regulatory, law enforcement and problem gambling. Comartin spoke before the State Senate Committee and the bill was unanimously approved in the House of Commons in March 2012.
In the CGA statement it is said that single event sports betting in Canada, estimated to excess $10 Billion annually, is lost illegally through bookmakers linked to organised crime, with $4 Billion of it going through offshore internet websites that are not regulated by Canadian provincial regulators.
"We have a clear choice: either allow billions to go offshore and through illegal book making operations or offer Canadians a legal alternative, supervised by our provincial regulators, capturing revenue for government and creating good-paying, permanent new jobs," said Rutsey.
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