Sports Betting in Canada--What it Looks Like, and What's Available

Ever since Canada decriminalized single-event betting last summer, provincially run casinos have been offering sports betting to their patrons for about a year. While sports betting is allowed in all provinces, privatized sportsbooks are not yet able to operate under the current infrastructure. There are some rumors that privatized sportsbooks will become legal in the first quarter of 2022, but seeing how strictly Canada has regulated sports betting, it is still up in the air. For example, you used to only be able to bet parlays in Canada, with that restriction changing just last year.

Regardless of the strict regulation, there are many private sportsbooks that are committed to opening up in Canada. The two books that are leading the charge are PointsBet and Penn National. Penn National Gaming recently purchased The Score, and are planning on opening a sportsbook through that.

Ontario is the first province in the running for legal privatized sports betting, and seeing as how they are the most populous province it kind of makes sense. Ontario also has the most professional sporting teams in Canada, so that opens up the door for lots of potential sports betting. Alberta is the province that would most likely follow suit, due to their 5 professional sports teams as well as its attraction to tourists throughout the year.

If you want to learn more about sports betting in Canada, click here!