Canada: Justice Minister open to legalizing sports bets

The Criminal Code prohibition should be reversed in order to help the dwindling fortunes of gaming establishments, particularly those that are near the Canada-U. S. border and are drawing fewer Americans.

"I have encouraged provinces that ... we have in the past responded to requests to change the laws as they relate to betting," Nicholson said in an interview. "If they want to engage stakeholders then I am prepared to listen." Nicholson is the MP for Niagara Falls, home of two casinos that could benefit from a change in the law.

The Justice Minister, however, suggested there would have to be consensus among the provinces on the issue "because it would affect all of them, of course." Nicholson also cautioned that allowing sports betting would take a backseat to his current priorities, which include getting tougher on drug dealers and young people in trouble with the law.

Some Canadian casinos are already equipped with sportsbooks, which are lounges equipped with giant TV screens and scoreboards. But gambling is limited to government-run lottery schemes that permit betting on groups of sports, rather than one individual match.

The Criminal Code outlaws bookmaking (accepting wagers), a crime that carries a maximum two-year sentence. The code contains a broad range of exceptions, including government-run sports lotteries such as Pro-Line, Sports Action and Sports Select. There is no exemption for betting on any single sporting events or athletic contest.

The prospect of legalized sports betting has been criticized as another way of making money on the backs of gambling addicts. The prohibition is believed to exist to counter gamblers and bookies from fixing matches and thereby threatening the integrity of individual sports, but the Justice Department was unable to provide any specific justification for the measure when questioned yesterday.

Paul Burns, vice-president of public affairs for the Canadian Gaming Association, calls it "a historical quirk of the Criminal Code" that is pushing sports-betting buffs to widespread illegal wagering offshore and online.

Legalized sports betting in Canada would be a likely draw for Americans, who cannot legally wager on games in their home country unless they head to Las Vegas. Nevada is the only state that allows sports wagering.

Burns says the "arcane" prohibition in Canada is similar to a ban on dice games, such as craps, which survived until a decade ago, when it was repealed by Parliament. The gaming association and the province of Ontario, which is home to 10 of Canada’s 66 casinos, have been lobbying the federal government for about a year to lift the sports-betting ban, he said.

Seven Ontario casinos are in border towns, and they are seeking the boost of lucrative sports betting to recover from increased competition in Canada and the United States, a smoking ban that the establishments say has hurt business and a weaker U. S. dollar and tighter border security.

"It helps that [Mr. Nicholson] understands the industry because it is part of his community," said Burns. "There are several thousand people who work in the business in Niagara Falls."