Leagues Joint Letter Asks for Sports Betting in Canada

In recent weeks, the discussion about online sports betting has also become increasingly loud in Canada. The liberalization of the market is currently finding numerous supporters and a change in the law does not seem unlikely at this point in time.

Online betting very popular among Canadians

Last year, the USA showed the way and declared a law, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which was passed in 1992, to be invalid.

The PASPA had previously dictated an interstate ban on sports betting, but had recently received immense headwind. After it was finally declared unconstitutional, the US states were able to begin liberalizing the sports betting & canadian online casino.

Canada could already take the same path as its southern neighbors this year. More and more voices from politics, sports and business are in favor of legalizing sports betting.

In theory, sports betting is currently illegal in Canada without exception. However, the relevant articles in the Canadian Criminal Code have not been modernized since the 1980s.

These articles state that the operation of a common gaming house or common betting house is prohibited and can be punished with a prison sentence of up to two years.

However, the terminology used when the law was passed referred specifically to land-based gambling houses and betting offices. The applicability to online gambling is therefore hardly possible today. Since the boom of online casinos and bookmakers, there has not been a single criminal prosecution in the entire country.

For this reason, in practice, thousands of Canadians now place their bets on the websites of well-known online bookmakers on a daily basis without much hesitation. Especially popular are tips on match results from Major League Soccer or the National Hockey League.