Duncan eyeing sportsbooks?

A private members bill seeking to legalize single-game sports betting in Canada passed its third reading in the House of Commons on Friday.

Currently, wagering on a single sports game is prohibited in Canada under the Criminal Code. It is also prohibited across most of North America, only allowed in the state of Nevada.

Bill C-290, introduced by MP Joe Comartin (Windsor-Tecumseh), will now be sent to the Senate for consideration and approval. Upon approval, the legislation must receive Royal Assent before coming into force.

"We are very encouraged by the progress made to date, as well as the strong support that the bill has received from all the major parties," said CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association Bill Rutsey in a news release. "We look forward to working with the Senate as it evaluates the bill, in order to reinforce how important it is to provide Canadians with a legal and regulated product for wagering on individual sporting events."

If the legislation is passed, provinces will then be free to decide whether or not, and in what format, they want to offer single-game sports betting. Currently, in Ontario Pro-Line sports wagering exists where wagers must be made on a minimum of three games at the same time.

Single-game sports betting is expected to benefit casinos -- and possibly racetracks -- that would be allowed to open their own Las Vegas-style sports books, particularly the ones located near the U.S. border attracting American customers.

“I have written to the federal government a number of times to push for changes to single-sport wagering in Ontario. Ontarians who like gaming like single-sport wagering,” Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, the MPP in the same Windsor - Tecumseh riding of Comartin, was quoted as saying in a Toronto Star article. “Today’s vote in Ottawa is a step toward modernizing gaming in Ontario and will help OLG’s casinos remain competitive.”