Question Period Note: Sports Betting in Canada

Since the decriminalization of single sport betting in Canada in 2021, there has been a significant increase in the number of Canadians making bets, as well as an increase in the ways in which they can access online betting platforms. Gaps in the current regulatory approach in Canada allows for numerous illegal offshore gambling operations in the country, and the potential for the manipulation of sport competitions.

Sport betting, and related illegal activities pose a risk for sport competition manipulation.

It also poses a real risk to Canadians, including athletes, and can erode public confidence in the integrity of sport.

Our government is committed to collaborating with provincial and territorial partners, and other stakeholders, to address issues related to sport betting in Canada.

Since the decriminalization of single sport betting in Canada in 2021, advertisements for online gambling and sport betting, particularly during the broadcast of live events has increased exponentially.

In June 2023, Senator Marty Deacon introduced Bill S-269, calling for the creation of a national framework to regulate sport betting advertising.

The proposed bill, which as of August 2024 is at second reading in the Senate consideration in the Senate committee, would calls for limitations on how, where, and when betting could be advertised to Canadians.

Sport betting is closely linked with match-fixing. According to the European Commission, “Match-fixing is an international phenomenon and is often linked to gambling, with criminal networks exploiting unregulated gambling markets. This presents a major threat to the integrity of sporting events, with those involved in sport subject to considerable financial temptations and pressure to influence sporting objectives and outcomes.”

Canada is currently limited in its ability to prosecute match-fixing as there are no specific provisions in the Criminal Code that prevent such activity.

As a Host Country of the 2026 Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup of Soccer, with the United States and Mexico, the Government of Canada is exploring how to leverage the event to advance domestic and international initiatives to address match-fixing.

On March 28, 2024, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) published the first draft of what is being called the Canadian Program to Prevent Competition Manipulation (CPPCM).  

The first draft of the CPPCM has been designed to protect against efforts to improperly impact sport competitions by establishing rules and clearly defining violations. It is supported by education, enforcement, and sanctions that are applicable to all individuals who are subject to the CPPCM.

The CCES consulted the sport community from April 17 to May 31, 2024, to subsequently adjust the first draft of the CPPCM. Work on the updated CPPCM is ongoing.

On April 17, 2024, Jontay Porter from the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) received a lifetime ban from the NBA for violating gambling rules. The NBA found that Porter violated its rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on league games. Porter was charged with a federal sports betting felony in the State of New York and pleaded guilty in July 2024.

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