Can Canada Take Lessons From European Nations Who’ve Legalised Sports Betting?

Canada is another step closer to legalizing single-event sports betting, with a new bill proposing to overturn a federal ban on this kind of wagering recently securing approval in the House of Commons.

Currently, Canadian law only allows for parlay bets, meaning wagers must be placed on multiple selections, all of which have to come good for the parlay to win. If Bill C-218 becomes law, however, the market will potentially be opened up to sportsbooks offering single-event bets. It will signal the start of a new era, just as the overturning of a similar federal law in the US did in 2018.

Although technically outlawed, single-event gambling has not been impossible in Canada. Speaking in parliament, MP Kevin Waugh pointed out that single-event sports gambling is a $14 billion dollar industry in Canada, with the money going into the pockets of off-shore betting sites and black market bookies.

Summing up the problem with illegal betting, Waugh said, “There are no consumer protections in place. There are no problem gambling programs offered and no guidelines that bookmakers are required to follow. This also means that the economic benefits are not being felt by Canadians.”

While Canada may be poised to enjoy a big cash injection through the legalisation of single-event sports betting, what about the issues that come with opening up legal gambling? Canada will inevitably want to look at other nations which have long since allowed it, and learn lessons from the challenges and controversies they’ve dealt with.

Problem gambling and young fans

One of the issues with opening up sports betting is the potential risk of a rise in problem gambling. According to a study by the University of Guelph, sports bettors are at a higher risk of problem gambling compared to other types of gamblers. However, the problem isn’t so much with sports betting itself, as it is with the typical personalities of people who enjoy betting on sports. According to the researchers, sports gamblers tend to have a more optimistic, idealistic attitude towards gambling compared to non-sports gamblers.

Since the US Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PAPSA) in 2018, a whole string of states have chosen to allow legal sports betting, yielding useful data on gambling patterns. A large-scale study by the American Gaming Association shows that 69% of sports bettors are male, with 45% in the 23-34 year old age bracket.

The takeaway from such research is that gaming authorities and charities in Canada may need to focus particular attention on younger, male gamblers who can so often fall into risky behaviour patterns. At the same time, lessons should also be learned from countries like the UK, where the widespread availability of betting sites on platforms like smartphones has seen a steep rise in women problem gamblers. Experts have highlighted that social stigma rooted in expectations that women are level-headed “caregivers” can lead to females flying under the radar when it comes to gambling addiction.

The UK has a long-established sports betting market, with gambling being further opened up with the Gambling Act 2005. An issue that has caused concern is the potential targeting of adolescents by gambling firms. A recent University of Stirling study showed that 96% of 11-24 year olds had seen some sort of gambling marketing in the previous month.

While there have been attempts to mitigate the issue – for example, by banning gambling adverts during live sports games broadcast before 9pm – controlling the problem on social media has become more of a challenge. Social media accounts for betting companies may feature content that’s interesting to young sports fans, especially when it comes to esports. This is another potential minefield that legislators in Canada may have to navigate.

Normalization of sports betting

Canadian lawmakers may also want to consider the significant controversy around how marketing sports betting can inextricably link sports with gambling within the culture. One of the countries with the highest gambling losses per adult is Australia. In 2017-18, this stood at a huge $1,292 AUD per adult for the year, with sports betting losses seeing the largest percentage increase. A 2017 article in the Harm Reduction Journal explored the normalisation of gambling in sports, and concluded that marketing aimed at young men was strongly linked to this mindset.

Many participants in the Australian study talked about how sports commentary links the game with gambling, using specific betting language and focusing on performances and stats. Some sports broadcasts rely on odds given by bookmakers, even crossing over to them during the broadcast to give live odds. In the words of the report, “Most participants stated that crossing to bookmakers throughout the match had become such a normal part of the game that they rarely thought to challenge the presence of these forms of promotions”.

In the UK, there’s been fiery debates around gambling companies advertising on soccer shirts. Eight Premier League teams currently advertise gambling companies on their team kit, while money from the gambling industry is also poured into lower-level leagues. Campaigners in the UK have long been voicing strong opposition to this influence, though they have had pushback from figures within football who cite the lifeline that lucrative sponsorships have brought the sport, particularly during the economic catastrophe of Covid-19. A new era of sports gambling in Canada may well bring such debates to the Great White North.

Creating laws and setting limits

Another challenge is getting gambling legislation right. For example, the UK’s Gambling Act 2005 was written at a time when online sports betting was still evolving, before the rise of smartphones made it accessible in an unprecedented way. The UK is set to update its gambling laws in 2021, and it’s speculated that there may be sweeping changes regarding online stake limits, deposit payment methods, and advertising. There will also be a review of VIP and loyalty schemes, which often target sports bettors, and can carry a higher risk of fraud and problem gaming.

Right now, many companies operating within the industry – including sites aimed at Canadian bettors – make a point of applying their own regulatory standards. For example, affiliate site BestOnlineCasino.ca vets its listed operators, making sure they meet compliance standards before recommending them to users.

Reputable online casinos and sportsbooks also have their own policies and tools to help people gamble responsibly, from deposit limits to algorithms that can detect risky behaviour.

The upshot is that, if and when Canada brings in single-event sports betting, it will have other countries’ experiences to draw on, and legislators will no doubt be looking around to see what kind of laws have been introduced and what’ll need to be included from day one.

As such, it could be argued that Canada has a significant advantage over other countries which implemented sports betting years or decades ago. While places like the UK have had to tweak and adapt legislation over time (with the UK Gambling Commission recently slapping online casinos with new rules on how slot games operate, for example), Canada will have a much clearer view of the ramifications of sports betting. It’s clear that the lawmakers know the potential impact of legalisation, but now it’s up to them to ensure they build a framework for safe and fair gambling in the country.