Gamblers in Manitoba can now legally bet on single sporting events at PlayNow.com.
In a release Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries (MLL) said new federal legislation passed Friday will now allow Manitoba’s only legal gambling site to officer single-event sports betting.
“We are very pleased to be part of this evolution of sports wagering in Canada,” MLL president and CEO, Manny Atwal, said in a release.
“Single-event sports betting has long been available through unregulated gambling websites and we have been looking forward to providing Manitobans with a safe and secure option for some time.”
In June the Senate approved Bill C-218, a private member’s bill that amends Criminal Code provisions around gambling on single sports games — currently illegal except for horse racing — in a bid to win back customers from offshore sites, U.S. casinos and illegal bookmakers.
Up until now the only sports wagers that were legal in Canada were parlay bets, where gamblers need to put money on the results of multiple games.
More than two dozen U.S. states have moved to legalize single-event sports betting after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal ban in 2018, potentially siphoning off customers from Ontario casinos in Windsor and Niagara Falls.
Similar legislation zipped through the House of Commons with all-party support nearly a decade ago but foundered in the Senate and died when an election was called in 2015.
–With files from The Canadian Press
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