The NHL announced this week it’s getting into the industry.
The team signed an agreement to provide casino giant MGM Resorts International with information to be used in betting where it’s legal in the USA.
So what does the announcement mean for Canadian hockey fans?
Not a great deal in the short term unless they are likely to make a trip south of the border to put a wager.
The U.S. Supreme Court opened the way for expanded gambling last spring as it dominated states could accept sports wagers.
Canada allows parlay, or multi-game, bets run via lotteries in each province, but does not allow wagers on single occasions.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters in New York that the league’s seven Canadian teams”have been operating with the lotteries who restrain gambling on a national foundation.”
“I believe that will continue,” Bettman said Monday. “I understand there are a lot of discussions about moving to single-game gambling as opposed to parlay, and that’s exactly what now exists.
“As the law evolves, you will realize our evolution in dealing with it” MGM, which struck a deal with the NBA and WNBA in July, is the NHL’s first official sports gambling partner.
The league had long been compared to wagering on its events, but Canadian Gaming Association president and CEO Paul Burns said the change to U.S. laws compelled the NHL to revise its position.
He included that the pact with MGM can also be excellent news for Canadians expecting for the opportunity to a day plunk some cash down on a legal, single-game bet on home soil.
“It marked a departure for the NHL, especially here in Canada,” Burns said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “As the nation’s most popular sports league, it was important when they weren’t in favour of amending the law.
“Now entering into these types of agreements, we welcome it. We are encouraged . Hopefully they will help get the legislation changed here in Canada.”
Las Vegas-based MGM is gaining access to proprietary NHL information that could eventually include puck and player tracking information once the system goes through a testing phase.
Bettman repeatedly mentioned”enthusiast engagement” in the U.S. among the big bonuses of the deal for the league.
There have been previous attempts to amend the Canadian Criminal Code to allow for single-game wagers, for example private member’s bill that died in the Senate prior to the last federal election.
Burns said the CGA has firm, labour, law enforcement — Canadians wager and estimated $14 billion per year illegally, based on business’s statistics — and municipal governments on board with acquiring single-game wagering approved.
Now the NHL has made it obvious it is also open to the thought.
“The final remaining stakeholder that’d concerns and objections were professional sports leagues,” Burns said. “They have now changed their positions.
“We do not see any impediments to acquire the Criminal Code amendment performed here in Canada.”
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