February 1, 2010

Bettors can wager with bookies, on the web, why not in Niagara Falls or Windsor?
By Paul Burns, Special to the Toronto Sun

It’s all set: New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts. The football game of the year will be analyzed and discussed to exhaustion by experts and fans right up to the kick-off Sunday night.

Who do you like? The line on the game by the Vegas books has the Colts by five-and-a-half.

But wait … here in Canada, if you want to place a bet on the game, you should also brush up on English Premier League soccer or maybe risk a wager on the Saturday night Leafs game, which could make you a loser before the five-hour Super Bowl pre-game show even starts.

Sound ridiculous? It is.

Under Canadian law, we are unable to bet on the outcome of a single sporting event. Wagering with the provincial sports lotteries, you must choose the outcome of three or more events, a parlay wager. No straight-up bets allowed.

So the key word in sports lotteries is “lotteries” — skill and knowledge of your sport of choice is not required.

Last year, it was estimated more than $10 billion was wagered on the Super Bowl, but with Las Vegas (the only legal sports wagering jurisdiction in the U.S.) taking in approximately $95 million in wagers, and Canadian lotteries doing significantly less, where did everyone go to place their bets?
Chances are it was with the guy around the corner, or a friend of a friend. You likely know a local bookie.

But it’s become even easier than that. The Internet and one of the hundreds of sports betting sites like Ladbrokes and Bet365.com are increasingly the choice of Canadians. We’re spending $1 billion annually on Internet gambling sites with sports betting being the leading choice after poker.

Why can’t we go to a casino and place a bet at a legally-regulated sports book? Why must Canadians turn to organized crime or an out-of-country online operator to place a wager?

Canada’s gaming industry is highly regulated and delivers a safe and responsible environment to place wagers.

Our current laws on sports wagering were formed when gambling was far less widespread and the technology of the day was a pencil and telephone. It’s time to have a rational, educated discussion on modernizing our sports wagering laws.

Even the professional sports leagues are beginning to realize their moral objections to gaming aren’t cutting it any more. NBA Commissioner David Stern recently mused in a http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/ian_thomsen/12/11/weekly.countdown/index.html Sports Illustrated article that it may be time for the NBA to rethink its position — and the NBA is even reconsidering its position of vetoing NBA games on the Ontario sports lottery.

Sports books in Las Vegas casinos are not massive money makers — the profit margin is approximately 5% — but they bring people into the city and into casinos who want a legal outlet to wager on sports.

That $95 million wagered in Las Vegas last year brought more than 200,000 visitors who generated another $100 million-plus in economic impact in one weekend.
Wouldn’t the communities of Windsor, or Niagara Falls, love to have that kind of activity on any February weekend?

- Burns is vice president of the Canadian Gaming Association, which represents casino operators, equipment suppliers and other elements of Canada’s gaming industry