The 2 Solitudes Of Canadian Sports Betting

It's rapidly becoming obvious that there are two contending points of view about online sports betting in Canada, which both sides are digging in on their varying perspectives.


One view is that sports wagering should be the domain of government-owned lotto and video gaming corporations, which have long had legal monopolies for online gaming in many of Canada.


The other view is that private-sector gamers must be brought into the mix as licensed rivals through licensing and policy, an approach that only 2 provinces have actually welcomed hence far.


Those various techniques have actually produced concern and dispute sometimes, but both sides look like they will be set in their ways for the foreseeable future.


Welcome to Canada (Ontario's version)


The 2 provinces inviting private-sector competition are Ontario, which released a managed market for iGaming in 2022 (similar to what's been done in U.S. states), and Alberta, which is working toward something along the exact same lines.


Canadian Gaming Association president and CEO Paul Burns said previously this month throughout the NEXT iGaming and sports betting summit in New York that Alberta cabinet ministers recently authorized a strategy for a brand-new iGaming market.


That plan follows some fits and starts to Alberta sports wagering, as the video gaming industry had actually hoped for a launch as early as late last year.


Burns stated a launch a year from now is a "fair evaluation" for Alberta. The government still has things to do, consisting of legislation that may require passing.


"The structure will look extremely comparable to Ontario," Burns said. "What we're encouraging is to look a lot like Ontario.