They Shot, They Scored! Canada Passes Single-Game Sports Betting Bill

Canada’s Parliament voted Wednesday to pass the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act.

What To Know: Conservative MP Kevin Waugh’s Bill C-218 passed overwhelmingly through the House of Commons, paving the way for Canadians to take part in single sports betting.

Why It Matters: Although it was widely expected to pass, esports and iGaming companies will benefit greatly from the news as legalization now looks to be a shoo-in. Canada has a number of its own sports betting and gaming media companies ready to take advantage such as Score Media and Gaming Inc. TSCRF and FansUnite Entertainment Inc. FUNFF.

Larger and more established U.S. companies such as DraftKings DKNG, Penn National Gaming PENN and Skillz Inc. SKLZ are ready to enter the arena, and have recently wagered on Canada’s legalization prospects by partnering with the Canadian National Football League.

See Also: Why This Canadian Sports Media Stock Has A Lot Going For It

What’s Next: Now that the vote has passed through the House of Commons, it will enter into the last phase of hearings with the Justice Committee before moving to the senate and then on to Governor-General for Royal Assent.

A similar bill, C-13 which proposed by the government, is slated for its second reading on Feb. 19. Like, Bill C-218, C-13 is widely expected to pass. After the bills are signed, it will be up to the individual provinces to decide how to roll out products to allow citizens to participate in single sports betting events.

Here is the moment Canadian PM @JustinTrudeau voted FOR C-218 (Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act)$SCR $TSCRF pic.twitter.com/bCJPFiBhDR

— Jake Janczak (@JakezJanczak) February 17, 2021