Canadian Gambling Laws In The News

There are two important gambling related legal issues in the news in Canada. The first is the Quebec provincial government’s attempt at IP-blocking offshore gambling sites. The second is the federal single sports betting bill.

The Canadian Radio & Television & Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has issued an interim opinion that the IP-blocking plans of the Quebec provincial government do not conform to federal law. The CRTC was responding to an application filed by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in July this year requesting the regulator to prevent the implementation of Bill 74. The bill was approved in May by the Quebec provincial government and compels Internet service providers to block online sites that offer gambling activities and that were not approved by the Loto- Quebec gambling monopoly.

A press report from Montreal stated that the preliminary opinion offered by regulator was that Quebec cannot lawfully block access to certain websites without the approval of the CRTC. Under the Canadian federal telecom law only the CRTC can legally order such an action. This opinion was released after a public hearing in Gatineau in Quebec earlier this month. A fifteen-day window has been opened by the CRTC to allow all interested parties to submit their opinions on the matter. The CRTC will issue a final opinion after evaluating these opinions.

September 21 will be a crucial date for Canada’s sports betting bill named Regulated Sports Betting and Safe Act, popularly referred to as C-221. The House of Commons will vote on whether or not to move the bill forward. The main objective of the bill is to allow single game wagering. If the vote is positive then the bill will be moved to the Human Rights and Committee of Justice for more deliberation. The path ahead is long. The bill would have to come back to the House and if passed it would be referred to the Senate. It must be kept in mind that the Senate has blocked all prior attempts regarding sports wagering legalization. If the vote is negative then the bill will be rejected altogether and the legalization of sports betting would be delayed by several years.

The bill was introduced by New Democratic Party member MP Brian Masse. It has strong support in his constituency of Windsor. President Matt Marchand is in favour of the bill because it would provide much-needed support to the local economy. Canadian casinos would get a competitive advantage over rivals across the border in Ohio and Michigan if they could offer Canadians a sports betting service.

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