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Yet the House of Commons adjourned on Friday until Feb. 16. Bill C-13 won’t come up for debate until Friday, Feb. 19.
In the meantime, sports-betting companies are preparing themselves for legalization and trying to get themselves on Canadians’ radar. On Thursday, for example, Boston-based daily fantasy sports firm DraftKings Inc. — which operates a digital sportsbook in several U.S. states — said it had struck an agreement to expand a marketing and content deal with the National Football League to Canada.
Another interested party is Woodbine Entertainment Group, which has a fair amount of gambling infrastructure in place that it is hoping to put to use for sports betting. The company has racetracks in Toronto and Milton, Ont., as well as off-track and remote wagering that it offers via brick-and-mortar locations and its online HPIbet platform.
All told, the company handles more than $1 billion in Canadian wagers a year, including single-event bets that are allowed under horse racing’s “pari-mutuel” pooling system, according to Jim Lawson, chief executive of the horse-racing operator.
“We could turn on sports wagering within a month if we had to,” the CEO said.
The company formerly known as the Ontario Jockey Club wants to play a role in single-game betting, as it expects legalization will eat into its own gambling revenues. Woodbine is talking partnership possibilities with a number of gambling companies that intend to come to Canada, although its CEO is not naming names at this point.
