{"id":124,"date":"2018-11-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gbc.ng\/canadian-mp-wants-to-tackle-sports-betting-again\/"},"modified":"2018-11-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-11-20T00:00:00","slug":"canadian-mp-wants-to-tackle-sports-betting-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gbc.ng\/index.php\/canadian-mp-wants-to-tackle-sports-betting-again\/","title":{"rendered":"CANADIAN MP WANTS TO TACKLE SPORTS BETTING\u2014AGAIN"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAGS:\u00a0CHRYSTIA FREELAND<\/strong>,\u00a0DAVID CASSIDY<\/strong>,\u00a0SPORTS BETTING<\/strong><\/p>\n

Citing developments in the United States, a lawmaker from Canada has said that the country needs to be a part of the burgeoning sports betting industry.<\/p>\n

In a meeting with Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, the issue of sports betting was brought up by David Cassidy, president of union Unifor Local 444, who said legalization would immediately generate jobs.<\/p>\n

According to local outletWindsor Star<\/em><\/strong>, Essex MP Tracey Ramsey said of sports betting, \u201cWe need to be a player in this. There\u2019s absolutely no reason not to be,\u201d adding that legalization would curb black markets, and provide revenue to deal with gambling addiction.<\/p>\n

She was also quoted by\u00a0Blackburn News<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0as saying, \u201cI don\u2019t really understand the resistance to something that would create jobs, not just in our community but across Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cassidy hinted at the urgency to pass legislation, given that the U.S. had taken several steps forward in this regard. With the U.S.\u00a0Supreme Court<\/strong>\u00a0declaring a federal ban on sports betting as unconstitutional, several states such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania have joined Nevada, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon in allowing legal wagering on sports events, with\u00a0many more states<\/strong>\u00a0expected to follow suit.<\/p>\n

Cassidy, whose union members include workers from\u00a0Caesars Windsor<\/strong>\u00a0in Ontario, singled out Michigan as a state that was set to pass its own sports betting legislation. \u201cRight across the ditch, there\u2019s going to be single sports betting\u2026 We\u2019re going to be behind once again as Michigan goes forward with it,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

Getting 150 additional jobs in Caesar Windsor, according to Cassidy, needed a simple amendment to the present state law. \u201cJust one change of the Criminal Code in one paragraph. This is a decade-old file that needs to be addressed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

An earlier effort to allow for single-game sports betting, authored by MP Brian Masse,\u00a0failed to pass<\/strong>\u00a0in 2016, by a vote of 156-133. At the time, Masse had claimed that illegal sports wagering operations were a CAD10-billion (US$7.6 billion) market annually. \u201cThis is a huge missed opportunity that perpetuates a completely unacceptable yet entirely correctable status quo,\u201d he had said.<\/p>\n

Cassidy said he had already contacted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the proposed measure about a month ago. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be doing lobbying efforts. It\u2019s going to be front and center because we have a lot of members that are in the hospitality sector that [the ban] negatively affects,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In October, MGM Resorts International became an\u00a0official gaming partner<\/strong>\u00a0with the National Hockey League, which is composed of seven teams from Canada. Under the agreement, MGM will get to use NHL league and team trademarks for marketing purposes, and the NHL\u2019s fan database will be merged with MGM\u2019s M life rewards program to facilitate cross-marketing activities.<\/p>\n

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