Single-game wagering ‘welcome amenity’
‘This will save jobs in our community and create more,’ MPP Gates says
The federal government’s push to legalize single-game sports betting is welcome news to Niagara Falls politicians who have long been advocating for it.
Niagara Falls city council has supported efforts to allow such wagering at Canadian casinos since 2011. And in 2016, Niagara regional council backed amendments to the Criminal Code to make it legal to bet on single-sporting events.
“It made perfect sense,” said Mayor Jim Diodati. “The only disappointing thing is we were ahead of the curve, and now we’re playing catch-up because now (many) U.S. states have it and sports (leagues) are endorsing it.”
The federal government announced legislation Thursday to amend the Criminal Code and decriminalize single-game sports betting.
If approved, it would permit provinces and territories to regulate and license betting on single games of football, hockey and other sports — an activity that’s currently illegal.
Currently, sports bettors in Canada are limited to ProLine-style betting, where they must wager on two or more games rather than the outcome of a single game.
The Canadian Gaming Association estimates $14 billion is lost annually to the black market and foreign gambling websites.
“The question is, do you want the $14 billion to come back to Canada or do you want it to continue to go offshore?” Diodati said. “I think any person applying common sense would understand this is simply about getting that $14 billion back into Canada, instead of leaving every year.”
Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates said he’s “happy” any time he sees legislation that could allow single-sports betting to become a reality.
“I hope this time it really happens,” he said.
In 2018, the United States Supreme Court struck down the federal law preventing states from allowing single-event sports betting.
Since then, 19 states have legalized single-event sports betting, including border states like New York and Michigan, taking potential business away from casinos in Niagara Falls and Windsor, said Gates.
“If we finally allow people to bet on single-sports events and make this easy change, we can build our tourism sector faster than ever before and we’ll need that once we defeat COVID-19. This will save jobs in our community and create more, not only in Niagara Falls but across Niagara.”
Niagara Casinos president Richard Taylor said they’re open to looking at single-game sports betting, should it become law.
“Head-to-head sports wagering would certainly be a welcome amenity for our casino operation as it would create a competitive market between Ontario and our competition in New York,” he said.
Diodati said legalizing singlegame sports betting would allow Niagara Falls casinos to create destination packages around major sporting events, such as the Super Bowl.
“They can turn it into a weekend, including dinners and rooms and shows. It just gives them one more tool in their tool box.”
He said that will be especially important to help casinos recover from the impact of COVID-19. The casinos have been closed since mid-march.
“They’ll be looking for everything and anything that will help them with what they’re offering.”