The Canadian gaming industry is losing billions of dollars in sports betting revenue to the black market each year due to federal prohibitions and a recent legalization push in the U.S. could further threaten the viability of casinos in this country, proponents say. Casino boosters in Canada, are hoping the recent legalization of single-event sports betting in U.S. border states like Michigan and New York will force the Liberal government to act now to save casino jobs.
Especially at places like Caesars Windsor and the Niagara Falls-based Fallsview, which depend on a steady stream of U.S. gamblers to stay afloat.
Canada’s gaming industry employs about 180,000 people — many more than the automotive manufacturing sector.
The black market and offshore sports betting market is valued at $14 billion a year, according to the Canadian Gaming Association. But Sports bettors in Canada are limited to “parlay” bets meaning they have to place bets on more than one game, and pick the winning team in each contest, to see any sort of windfall. The odds of a winning bet are low.
Canadians gamble roughly $500 million a year in parlay bets through lottery games like Pro-Line.
An estimated $14 billion in annual sports betting, $10 billion through the black market through bookies and $4 billion more through off-shore online outlets, according to figures from the Canadian Gaming Association, is wagered by Canadians through illegal channels, beyond the regulatory control of the government. The biggest draw of these other outlets is the fact that they allow bettors to gamble on just one game.
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