Canada legalizing single-game wagering could generate $25 billion a year in online and retail wagering. At the moment, single-game wagering on casino sites is legal, but it’s not all that black and white. Even though Canada doesn’t lag behind other world leaders in sports betting, the complete acceptance of the new law could put it at the forefront.
With that in mind, let’s see what it takes for Canada to become a billion-dollar industry in one of the most popular wagering markets worldwide.
What Is Single-Game Wagering?
As the name itself suggests, single-game wagering allows the player to place a bet on the outcome of a single game on their ticket. This could be a regular basketball match, a tennis duel between two legends, a hockey game between long-standing rivals, and so much more.
However, for over a decade, single-game wagering has been illegal in Canada under the Canadian Criminal Code. That means that sites like 5dimes sports betting Canada could not accept Canadians betting on a single match. The main reason is to avoid match-fixing and undesirable fraudulent outcomes.
What Is the Legal Situation Now?
Although single-match game wagering has been illegal since 1892, this was the year of change. In June 2021, the Canadian federal government passed Bill C-218, legalizing single-game sports betting in the Great White North. Gone are the days where you had to predict the outcomes of at least two games on one ticket. And although many players rejoiced, unfortunately, there’s more to it.
Namely, even though the law came into effect in late August 2021, the Canadian parliament decided to follow in the neighboring USA’s steps and let each province and territory regulate single-game wagering on its own. That means you need to check the law based on your location — the same might not apply in Alberta and Nova Scotia.
On the other hand, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission (OLG) worked quickly to regulate the industry. Its online sports betting platform, PROLINE+, is the only regulated working sports betting app in Canada that accepts single-game wagers.
All the more, we could see the results quickly — during the first week, OLG announced over $1 million in bets, 75% of which were single-game wagers.
What About Offshore Betting Sites?
As you might know, the Canadian betting scene is a so-called gray area. Namely, betting on offshore sites has never been illegal, according to Canadian law. That’s why players could place bets on platforms based abroad, like the Mega online casino site, and not face any legal repercussions.
Such betting practices have shown that Canadians have spent over $14 billion on sports betting a year. Not only does that number mean that sports betting in Canada is already an unofficial billion-dollar industry, but that the interest in single-game sports wagering is significant.
What to Expect in the Future?
So, now that Canada is no longer a part of the gray sports betting market, we can take a look at some predictions based on SEO agency eTraffic.
- The entire Canadian gambling market could generate approximately $25 billion yearly from sports wagering, and around 80% of that number could come from online sportsbooks.
- Ontario could prove to be the most desirable market out of all Canadian provinces and territories. It could potentially generate $11.1 billion in wagering and more than $800 million in operator revenue every year. That would make Ontario one of the largest markets in North America.
- Depending on the regulatory structure, sports bets could bring in more than $2 billion in operator revenue and between $200 and $400 million in tax revenue annually.
Overall, Canada is on an excellent path to becoming a legal billion-dollar industry, primarily through legalizing single-game wagering.
