Canadian Casinos Feeling Pinch on Sportsbetting

Canada's casinos are feeling the pinch of both offshore sportsbooks, and there are fears that the industry could suffer more with the legalization of the activity in several US border states.

There have been states like New York and Michigan that have legalized sportsbetting, making it easy for Canadian punters to take a quick trip over the bridge (or through a tunnel) to get wagers in, and casino executives worry that the punters will not be visiting casinos within Canada's borders. This also extends to American gamblers, who will now have less incentive to jump across and play at their locations, as there are better options domestically.

Because of this fear, there are some MPs in Canada that are looking to change laws to allow for sportsbetting within the country. A previous vote in 2016 went against legalizing the activity, but with the rapid changes down south, it may be time to reconsider the activity, at least according to MP Brian Masse.

"We are in a lose-lose position right now," said Masse. "We would have been ahead of the curve if we had actually defined our own destiny, but instead U.S. courts, as expected, moved ahead and left us behind. The consequences for Canada are very high."

There are more than 180,000 people working in the betting industry in Canada, so finding ways to compete will no doubt be a high priority moving forward.

We'll be following developments in Canada and will update readers as we learn about any proposals and changes as they occur.