Before voting on approval, the Senate will sit for a final reading of the bill, to scrutinize possible required amendements to the bill (which would necessitate returing to the House of Commons for another vote on the amended bill before returning to the Senate once again for final approval.
The bill was passed April 22nd 2021 by the House of Commons- and new amendments may require debate. If this is not the case the bill may receive required receive Royal Assent to become Canadian law just in time for June 23rd when lawmakers break for summer.
If enacted into law Bill C-218 will update Canada’s Criminal Code to allow for the legalization of single-event sports betting
Over two days (Wednesday and Friday of last week) the Senate Committee heard testimonies before going through the bill clause by clause.
Witnesses included:
-
Canadian Senate Committee Advances Bill C-218 To Legalize Canada Sports Betting
- Randy Ambrosie, Commissioner, Canadian Football League
- Chief Gina Deer, Mohawk Council of Kahanwàke
- Stewart Groumoutis, Director eGaming, British Columbia Lottery Corporation
- Zane Hansen, President & CEO, Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority
- Shelley White, CEO of the Responsible Gambling Council
“IT WILL ALSO ENSURE THAT PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS HAVE ACCESS TO THE TOOLS NECESSARY TO PROPERLY REGULATE SPORTS BETTING AND IMPLEMENT CONSUMER PROTECTION AND PROBLEM GAMBLING PROGRAMS TO PROTECT CANADIANS.”
Canadian gamblers are estimated to wager up to $4B annually on international betting sites (Source: Canadian Gaming Association)
