[Manic!]

Not to sure what do think about this.

House of Commons passes bill that would legalize single-game betting

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/single-gam...ized-1.5999028

Lawmakers passed a bill to legalize single-event sports betting Thursday, sending the legislation to the Senate and bringing the country a step closer to looser gaming laws.

The bill aims to amend Criminal Code provisions around gambling on single games of football, hockey and other sports — currently illegal except for horse racing — in a bid to win back customers from offshore sites, U.S. casinos and illegal bookmakers.

The legislation has garnered renewed enthusiasm from MPs in all four main parties. But the private member's bill from Conservative MP Kevin Waugh isn't the first to blaze a trail through the House of Commons before burning out.

Similar NDP legislation zipped through the House with all-party support nearly a decade ago but foundered in the Senate and died when an election was called in 2015.

A second attempt by New Democrat MP Brian Masse also failed after the then-Liberal majority voted down his private member's bill in concert with Conservatives in 2016.

The third time may be the charm, after the Liberals rolled the dice last November on their own legislation, which they subsequently dropped when Waugh agreed to incorporate its protections for the horse-racing industry into his bill.

The legislation, known as Bill C-218, has garnered tentative support from a tight-knit horse-racing industry that remains wary of casinos and foreign gambling sites encroaching on its turf.

Las Vegas-style betting on single games would also eat into the multibillion-dollar black market by legally opening the books to gamblers eager to lay down money on individual games rather than wagering on fixed odds around two or more games.

"It's harder to win on three games," Waugh said in an interview. "You could do the Maple Leafs in the playoffs, or Blue Jays or Raptors.

"This will give provincial authorities full jurisdiction for single-event betting. What this bill does is take a line out of the Criminal Code to let them."