More than 2,000 jobs would be created if the government made single-game sports betting legal, says Unifor..Blacklock’s Reporter said betting on single sporting events in Canada has been illegal since 1892..“By creating a legal and regulated market for single-game sports betting in Canada we can help protect thousands of good unionized jobs in gaming locations across Canada and potentially create many more,” said Jerry Dias, national president of Unifor told the federal justice committee..Bill C-218 would repeal a current ban on “bookmaking, pool selling or the making or recording of bets” on “any race or fight or on a single sport event or athletic contest.”.Currently horse races are the only single sporting event that permit legal betting..Parliament in 1969 legalized lotteries and casinos but retained the ban on bookmaking..“The key point is, and I think we all realize this, Canadians are gambling,” testified Dias..“It’s $14 billion a year we’re spending. And if we’re not going to spend it in Canada, we are going to spend it abroad. It isn’t any more complicated than that.”.The bill follows a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that opened up Vegas-style bookmaking in American states. The Court struck down a 1992 Professional And Amateur Sports Protection Act that limited single event sports betting to Nevada..“What would happen to Unifor gaming sector workers if this bill doesn’t pass?” asked Conservative MP Chris Lewis (Essex, Ont.)..“It has to pass,” replied Dias. “All it will do is put us at a greater competitive disadvantage with the U.S.-based casinos.”.“What are the estimates for additional jobs in this sector?” asked Liberal MP Randeep Sarai (Surrey Centre, B.C.)..“We are estimating as a minimum it will create at least 2,000 jobs across the country,” replied Dias. Unifor currently represents 11,000 casino and lottery workers..The Department of Finance in a 2019 Access To Information memo said it worried over the social cost of legalizing bookmaking..“I understand the potential economic benefits allowing single events sports betting for provinces and municipalities,” wrote then-Deputy Minister Paul Rochon..“However, it is important to consider the social costs of gaming..“Opponents of various private members’ bills have claimed that allowing head to head betting would undermine the integrity of sport, worsen the gambling addition problem in Canada and would not do enough to divert resources from criminal organizations..“This view stems partly from the perception that illegal bookmakers directly extend credit to bettors and typically offer better odds than legal bookmakers, thereby perpetuating the black market for betting.”.Similar repeal bills have failed to pass Parliament since 2012..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter.com/nobby7694
More than 2,000 jobs would be created if the government made single-game sports betting legal, says Unifor..Blacklock’s Reporter said betting on single sporting events in Canada has been illegal since 1892..“By creating a legal and regulated market for single-game sports betting in Canada we can help protect thousands of good unionized jobs in gaming locations across Canada and potentially create many more,” said Jerry Dias, national president of Unifor told the federal justice committee..Bill C-218 would repeal a current ban on “bookmaking, pool selling or the making or recording of bets” on “any race or fight or on a single sport event or athletic contest.”.Currently horse races are the only single sporting event that permit legal betting..Parliament in 1969 legalized lotteries and casinos but retained the ban on bookmaking..“The key point is, and I think we all realize this, Canadians are gambling,” testified Dias..“It’s $14 billion a year we’re spending. And if we’re not going to spend it in Canada, we are going to spend it abroad. It isn’t any more complicated than that.”.The bill follows a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that opened up Vegas-style bookmaking in American states. The Court struck down a 1992 Professional And Amateur Sports Protection Act that limited single event sports betting to Nevada..“What would happen to Unifor gaming sector workers if this bill doesn’t pass?” asked Conservative MP Chris Lewis (Essex, Ont.)..“It has to pass,” replied Dias. “All it will do is put us at a greater competitive disadvantage with the U.S.-based casinos.”.“What are the estimates for additional jobs in this sector?” asked Liberal MP Randeep Sarai (Surrey Centre, B.C.)..“We are estimating as a minimum it will create at least 2,000 jobs across the country,” replied Dias. Unifor currently represents 11,000 casino and lottery workers..The Department of Finance in a 2019 Access To Information memo said it worried over the social cost of legalizing bookmaking..“I understand the potential economic benefits allowing single events sports betting for provinces and municipalities,” wrote then-Deputy Minister Paul Rochon..“However, it is important to consider the social costs of gaming..“Opponents of various private members’ bills have claimed that allowing head to head betting would undermine the integrity of sport, worsen the gambling addition problem in Canada and would not do enough to divert resources from criminal organizations..“This view stems partly from the perception that illegal bookmakers directly extend credit to bettors and typically offer better odds than legal bookmakers, thereby perpetuating the black market for betting.”.Similar repeal bills have failed to pass Parliament since 2012..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter.com/nobby7694
