Sports book in Canada to be government-run soon.

[RaginRonic]

http://www.680news.com/news/national...sports-betting It appears those eager to gamble on sports in Canada may now have more options to place their money. A private member's bill by NDP MP Joe Comartin (Windsor - Tecumseh) passed its third reading through the House of Commons, meaning it will now move on to the Senate for debate. The bill would amend the criminal code so that it would be legal for any provincial government to operate single-game sports betting. Currently only multi-game sports wagering is allowed. In Ontario the Pro-Line gambling service, for example, allows gamblers to wager on a minimum of three games simultaneously, but not single games. Should the bill pass through Senate, which many observers expect it will, casinos would be able to open sports books and allow gambling on individual games. There has been some pressure on Queen's Park recently as OLG casinos have suffered thanks to the high Canadian dollar, among other things. Meanwhile, the government is short on cash and is looking for ways to increase revenue. It's estimated that allowing the single-game betting could add more than 250 jobs and $70 million to the economy of Windsor alone (based on the Caesars Windsor Hotel & Casino).

It means, simply, the general public in Canada is about to be thrown out of the bookie industry entirely. The government is taking it off the street and handing control of it to the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation(consisiting of the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, Loto-Quebec, the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation, the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation, the Western Canada Lottery Corporation, and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, the different lower regional agencies that the ILC is the umbrella agency for).

The mob won't be happy about this at all. =)