No Good Online Sports Betting in Canada Poses Bigger Problem

Canada Online Sportsbooks & Casinos: One thing leads to another…

The largest, most populated provinces in Canada have recognized the need for a competitive, internet-based gambling market. British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec each offer their residents a safe and secure, home-grown online casino venue, complete with a wide range of gaming options. For Canadian casino fans, it’s more than enough. But what about those who also enjoy sports betting?

The argument has been circulating for years, but never so vigorously as it has since May of this year. That’s the month the US Supreme Court overturned a 26-year old law banning sports betting across most of the country.

Canadians are no longer content to play their Pro Line parlay tickets. They want good odds, on single event bets, and they know exactly where to get them. And while they’re at it, they’re taking advantage of other online gambling needs that they could have gotten right here in Canada. But why should they?

Best Canada Online Sportsbooks Aren’t in Canada

The law may not permit Canadians to bet on single sporting events here at home, but there’s no legal recourse for betting over the internet with internationally regulated sportsbooks. Logging onto these websites gives punters access to all the games they could ever desire to bet on, in all ways imaginable, and then some.

For years, a small margin of Canadian sports fans used offshore sportsbooks to place their bets. Now that it’s legal to do so for our neighbors to the south, the attraction is so much stronger. And with mobile gambling set to surpass traditional desktop betting, it’s more convenient than ever before, as well.

The end result is simple. With no good online sports betting in Canada, more and more people are accessing international betting sites than ever. But that’s only part of the problem. International sportsbooks aren’t just taking a toll on our Pro Line ticket sales. They’re detracting from the clientele at those provincially run online casinos our government officials spent so much time and money establishing.

One Thing Leads to Another…

So many of today’s premier online gambling websites are a multi-channel affair. Take Unibet for example. It’s a one-stop-shop for all your iGaming needs. There’s Unibet Sports, Unibet Casino, Unibet Poker, Unibet Bingo, etc., etc., etc. A lot of today’s major brands offer the same multi-channel set-up. When a Canadian joins one of these websites to gain access to good online sports betting odds, what’s to stop them from using the other verticals?

Think about it. Bob from Ontario could use Unibet Sports to bet on the Toronto Blue Jays, and then log into PlayOLG.com for his blackjack gaming, but why should he? Bob is a busy man. With Unibet, he could make a single deposit into a single account, then bet on both with just a few taps of his finger. Bob would also have access to larger deposit bonuses, bigger tournaments and a throng of additional promotions that home-grown operators simply can’t stack up to.

The only argument Canadian provinces can pose is that Bob should game with them, because his losses will end up in the provincial tax coffers. Bob doesn’t want to hear that. Bob wants to hear that. He doesn’t want to hear how his losing will benefit others. He wants to focus on winning. And with offshore online sportsbooks and casinos, his odds of winning are so much better.

We Need Good Online Sportsbooks in Canada

As you can see, the need for more liberal sports betting laws goes so much deeper than most of our government officials, and even regulatory bodies, realize. It’s not just sportsbook revenue we’re losing out on. It’s not just a mere fraction of Canadians taking advantage of offshore internet gambling websites.

One thing leads to another, and the problem will only get bigger. Instead of missing out on higher revenue, provinces are going to start losing revenue all across Canada. Online sportsbooks are what the people want, and until the government gives it to them, they’re going go out and get it—along with everything else they want to wager on—elsewhere.