Michael Naraine, Assistant Professor of Sport Management at Brock University; Cheri Bradish, Professor of Sport Business at Ryerson University; David Finch, Professor and Associate Director of the Institute for Community Prosperity at Mount Royal University; and David Legg, Professor in the Department of Health and Physical Education at Mount Royal University, recently co-wrote a piece in The Conversation about the legalization of single-game sports betting in Canada and what it means for Canadian sport.

They write:

“Single-event sports betting was recently approved by the Senate of Canada via Bill C-218, which is big news for the Canadian sport industry.

The passage of this bill, almost 10 years in the making, will dramatically change the sports landscape in this country given that annual betting by Canadians is already estimated to surpass US$10 billion a year through offshore betting websites and illegal gambling operations.

The influence of this bill — and related activities that will include sport marketing and media partnerships and related activation — will be enormous for an industry that has been severely and negatively impacted by COVID-19.

Many industry insiders representing professional sport teams and leagues are already planning for what they describe as being one of, if not the most, transformational sport disruptions in the modern-day industry. Experts note that the potential for this market is large, given it could be a US$4 billion revenue opportunity.”

Continue reading the full article here.