NHL joins pro baseball in opposing single- game betting bill
OTTAWA — It ain’t over ’ til it’s over.
The National Hockey League has become the latest professional sports league to voice last- minute opposition to a bill that would legalize betting on individual games.
That has prompted parliamentarians spearheading the proposed legislation to question the sports leagues’ motives, setting up a fight that could have dramatic ramifications for the country’s gambling scene.
The Criminal Code only allows legal betting on three or more sports games at a time.
Bill C- 290 would change that so provinces could set up rules and regulations for single- game betting.
Parliament is on the verge of approving the bill after it quietly passed through the House of Commons and into the Senate with all- party support.
Those in favour of the bill, including casino owners and gaming associations, say the change would create jobs, generate revenue for government, and help fight illegal offshore gambling.
But Toronto Blue Jays president Paul Beeston and a lawyer from Major League Baseball threw a wrench in the works last week when they appeared before a Senate committee to strongly oppose the bill. The baseball representatives said the change would increase the threat of players throwing games and lead to fans questioning calls on the field, while leading to more cases of gambling addiction.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly has added his voice to the debate, saying in an emailed statement to Postmedia News: “We too oppose the proposed legislation and we hope to have the opportunity to voice our concerns to the Canadian Senate in the near future.” Daly is now scheduled to appear before the Senate committee on Nov. 8.
National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern has also taken a disapproving view of the legislation.
“My position, generally, has been that we’re not in the business of encouraging governments to cause their citizens to bet on sports where that situation doesn’t currently exist,” Stern told reporters in a teleconference on Oct. 25.
“We know that gambling exists out there around the world, but we accept the status quo, and we understand that governments who are basically hungry for money will do just about anything regardless of its demonstrated impact on its citizens.”
Stern would not say whether the NBA planned to appear before the Senate committee. But the last- minute interventions have prompted sharp rebuttals from the bill’s sponsors.
Conservative Senator Bob Runciman, bill C- 290s co- sponsor in the Red Chamber, said witnesses from gaming associations, gambling- addiction centres and others have indicated the bill will have a positive impact.
NDP MP Brian Masse, one of the bill’s co- sponsors in the House of Commons, was critical of the leagues. “I would suggest Major League Baseball really needs to focus on performanceenhancing drugs and other issues that dominate their field.”