WATCH: Sean Mallen reports that a delayed bill about sports gambling has some MPs fuming.
TORONTO – The Super Bowl is one of the world’s single biggest gambling events.
The Canadian Gaming Association estimates Canadians will bet upwards of $150 million on the game—almost all of it done illegally, with the profits leaving the country.
But some MPs are accusing the Senate of delaying a private members bill passed by the House of Commons almost three years ago that would open up betting and allow provincial coffers to benefit.
Passed without objection on a voice vote in March, 2011, Bill C-290 would amend the Criminal Code to allow bets on single games.
The only legal option currently available to gamblers is Pro Line, which requires wagers on a minimum of three games. The Gaming Association believes only about $3 million of the Super Bowl bets in Canada will be made via Pro Line.
The NHL and other sports leagues objected to the proposed change, fearing that an expansion of betting raised the potential of tainting their games. It was an argument that carries weight with Ontario Senator Vern White, a former Ottawa police chief.
“People talk about whether you’d be able to convince an NHL player to throw a game. Probably not. But a guy at the junior league level you might,” he said.
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White says that the Pro Line requirement to bet on three games makes it difficult for criminals to fix the result of any single match.
The bill was introduced by an NDP MP from Windsor, Joe Comartin, who believed it could help create more jobs in the local casino as legal gamers set up the infrastructure to take in sports bets. The bill had all party support in the Commons, including that of Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, the MP from Niagara Falls, also the location of a casino. But because it was not a government bill, senators felt freer to oppose. The Globe and Mail reported that the Conservative leadership in the Senate has been reluctant to bring the legislation for a final vote, fearing that it could be defeated.
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The delays infuriate supporters.
“It just shows how absurd our system is up here because when elected people, accountable to constituents, make a decision it should be respected,” Windsor West NDP MP Brian Masse told Global News.
Ontario’s Finance Minister supports the bill, believing it could deliver millions more in revenue to a province that is billions in deficit.
“For the benefit of ensuring we have those funds for social services and capital projects that benefit the community. So I think they should proceed,” said Charles Sousa.
The gambling industry believes professional sports leagues are opposed because they have not yet figured out a way to profit themselves from the activity.
“People like to do it. The money’s either going to organized crime or offshore legitimate businesses, so why not keep the money here in Canada?” said Bill Rutsey, the president of the Canadian Gaming Association.
Supporters of the bill think they now have sufficient votes in the Senate for the bill to pass third reading, but no vote has been scheduled. It if does not pass before this year’s election, the legislation would die on the order paper and the whole process would have to begin again in the next parliament.
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