A bill to legalize single-event sports betting in Canada has been introduced in the House of Commons.
Kevin Waugh, a Conservative MP who represents the Saskatoon area, introduced the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act with the aim of making single-event sports wagering lawful. The bill defers the enforcement and regulation to individual provinces on account of the matter being considered a provincial jurisdiction.
"This is a provincial jurisdiction so it still rests for Ontario to deal with this if it, in fact, does pass the House of Commons, if it does get the reading it needs in the Senate so I'm thinking maybe the fall," Waugh told CKLW AM 800 in Windsor.
As such, should the bill pass, it would be up to provincial governments to determine what establishments — be they racetracks, casinos or otherwise — can offer sports wagering.
Waugh joined the Danielle Smith Show Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 26) to further discuss the bill.
A similar bill passed the House in 2012, but failed to pass in the Senate.
(with files from CKLW)