Canadian Gaming Association CEO Bill Rutsey has issued comments regarding the Canadian Senate's alleged stalling of MP Joe Comartin's Bill C-290, which calls for the legalization of single-event sports wagering in the country.
Rutsey's comments have come courtesy of an article by iGaming Business. The report states that after having passed the House of Commons in 2012, Comartin's proposed legislation has been stalled in the Senate.
“Bill C-290 has been in the Senate of Canada for 469 days, and during this extended period of time Canadians have gambled nearly $18-billion through illegal offshore online sportsbooks or local bookmaking operations…" said Rutsey.
“Canadian lottery jurisdictions need a level playing field," added British Columbia Lottery Corporation President and CEO Michael Graydon. "We need the opportunity to protect our players and ensure the hundreds of millions of dollars currently heading offshore stays in Canada to the benefit of our communities.”
Last fall, the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel recommended that --- in order to help the provincial racing industry transition away from the now-scrapped Slots-at-Racetracks program -- the horse racing industry be permitted to offer new gaming products. One of the panel's recommended options was to introduce sportsbooks to Ontario racetracks and allow wagering on single sporting events.
• The panel recommends that the horse racing industry be permitted to offer new gaming products. Options include: a racing-specific lottery; sports book (betting on single sporting events, which could be legalized if pending federal legislation is enacted); and a new pari-mutuel product called historical horse racing (which involves betting through an electronic terminal on the outcome of past races, which are not identified to the player). These new products could potentially generate revenue that could be used to offset the need for direct public funding, enhance live racing in Ontario and return revenue to the treasury.
(With files from iGaming Business)
For anyone who understands
For anyone who understands the political process, this is not uncommon. The Senate is a way of burying legislation that politicians promise. Then they have an excuse for not delivering on a promise they had no intention of fulfilling in the first place.
The Senate is a wasteland. It serves no purpose and costs tax payers more in a year than horse racing needs in a decade to survive.
Georg Leber-ICR Racing