The passage of Bill C-218 on Tuesday moved Canada one step closer to legalizing single-game sports betting, and CEO Jim Lawson told tsn.ca that Woodbine is ideally positioned to take advantage of the estimated US$14 billion industry.
“It's good news for us for a number of reasons,” Lawson told TSN. “We have a long-standing relationship with the regulator, AGCO (Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario), experience in any anti-money laundering and responsible gaming and we have the infrastructure in place to drive the operations that will be key to this business.”
Another benefit to Woodbine included in the bill is protection for horse racing, with prohibitions on fixed-odds wagering on the races.
“Betting companies that by their nature and history want to offer horse-racing as part of their sports-betting menu are going to have to come to Woodbine Entertainment,” Lawson told TSN. “We hold the license for sports-betting on horse racing in Ontario and Bill C-218 does not permit fixed-odds wagering on horse racing so they have to do it through pari-mutuel and they will have to do it through us.”
Currently, parlays (multi-event bets) are legal to wager on in Canada; the new bill will make individual provinces and territories responsible for regulating single-game sports wagering.
The bill awaits Royal Assent before it becomes law.
Read more at tsn.ca.
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