Canadians like the Super Bowl and they like gambling. When the two combine, the result is a massive payday for this country’s underground market in sports betting.
Bettors will wager about $150-million on sports this weekend through offshore websites and illegal bookmakers, according to the Canadian Gaming Association, a lobby group for the regulated gambling industry. Over the entire year, Canadians are expected to bet up to $15-billion through those same shadowy channels. The huge amounts being wagered through bookmakers outside the reach of Canadian regulators demonstrate the difficulty in policing gambling in an Internet age, according to economists and lawyers. It also spotlights the grey areas in Canadian law.
Bringing a substantial part of Canada’s unregulated gambling activity back into the legal arena, where it could be regulated and taxed, holds the potential to provide tens of millions of dollars in new revenues for fiscally challenged provinces. But the first step toward that goal is proving to be highly controversial.
Ian McGugan – Globe and Mail – January 30, 2015
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