Canada single-event sports betting bill heads to Senate after Commons approval
| By Robert Fletcher
A bill seeking to legalise single-event sports betting in Canada is to move to the Senate for further discussions after it was approved by the country’s House of Commons.
Bill C-218, also known as the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, secured approval at its third reading in the Commons last night (April 22), following passage at its second reading in February.
Approval clears the way for the bill to progress forward to the Senate, edging the country one step closer to legal single-event sports wagering.
Sponsored by Conservative MP Kevin Waugh, the bill was re-introduced to parliament in November last year, with the aim of repealing paragraph 207(4)(b) of Canada’s Criminal Code.
The Code currently states that sports betting is only legal if players bet simultaneously on at least three games or more, meaning consumers are not able to legally bet on single games, events or matches.