The future of gambling: Single event betting

On November 26, 2020, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada introduced Bill C-218, or the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act (the “Bill”), which proposes the decriminalization of single event sports betting. If passed, bettors will be able to place bets on the outcome of one single sporting game. This means that when placing a single bet, the bettor simply needs to select a team, decide the amount and place the bet.

Proposed Criminal Code amendments

At this time, the Criminal Code (the “Code”) prohibits all forms of gambling with the exception of parlay betting via provincial lotteries.

• A parlay in sports betting combines multiple wagers (at least two) onto one ticket. In other words, the bettor must predict the outcome of two games correctly in order to win. Rather than betting on teams individually, the multi-game bet must be combined into one wager and the bettor only wins if all the selected teams are successful.
• Parlay betting provides bettors with lower odds of winning and higher reward. This is in contrast to single-game betting, which provides bettors with higher odds of winning and allows bettors to be more strategic with their picks by using advanced statistics and metrics. Currently, Canadians can only participate in single event sports betting via international betting websites.

The Bill will repeal paragraph 207(4)(b) of the Code, making it lawful for each province and territory to offer and regulate single event sports betting.

207(4) In this section, lottery scheme means a game or any proposal, scheme, plan, means, device, contrivance or operation described in any of paragraphs 206(1)(a) to (g), whether or not it involves betting, pool selling or a pool system of betting other than (b) bookmaking, pool selling or the making or recording of bets, including bets made through the agency of a pool or pari-mutuel system, on any race or fight, or on a single sport event or athletic contest.

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