Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell makes a save against the Tampa Bay Lightning as Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews looks on during the second period of game two of the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 4.John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
Canada reformed its law against gambling in 1969. Before that, outside of horse racing at the track or a community-minded bingo, gambling was a societal ill cast to dark corners. The legal shift led, first, to provincially run lotteries. Casinos and a lot more eventually followed, to the profit of a lucky few gamblers – and governments across the country. The house always wins.
Sports gambling remained a rare restriction. Betting on the Toronto Maple Leafs was technically illegal – and given their history, perhaps ill advised. But like cannabis before the 2018 legalization of weed, those interested in making such wagers could always find an illicit way to do so.
Last June, while most minds were otherwise occupied with a pandemic, Parliament legalized what’s known as single-event betting. While the change slipped through with little notice, the fact that such gambling is now legal – and that this just might be the year to bet on the Maple Leafs, the Calgary Flames, or the Edmonton Oilers – is obvious to any sports fan. The airwaves are inundated with pitches from sports betting sites. For decades, it was sports leagues that opposed such gambling, haunted by the spectre of match-fixing and the long shadows of those icons-turned-villains of baseball, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose. “It was really frowned upon,” Wayne Gretzky told The Globe last year of sports gambling in his playing days.
The lure of profits changed the calculus. Sports leagues and broadcasters lobbied Ottawa. Now, besides the many, many ads, betting is even part of sports broadcasts, with odds and bets discussed before and during games. In fine print at the bottom of the screen – squinting required – you might notice “play responsibly” or see a phone number to call if you’re in gambling trouble.
Legal gambling – like alcohol or cannabis – isn’t the problem. Long experience shows that outlawing them is senseless. Canadians already bet an estimated $4-billion a year on sports through so-called grey market sportsbooks. The regulated profits of a legal market can benefit everyone, like lotteries or casinos. Ontario, which already pulls in more than $2-billion a year from gambling, predicts it can rake in another $800-million annually from sports betting.
But alongside such profits comes responsibility. For alcohol sales, the rules include health warnings and prohibitions on advertising that glorify the product. In weed, despite the many stores, advertising is effectively prohibited. Gambling, however, it seems like a free for all, with ads and broadcasts coaxing people to bet, bet, bet. Consider Mr. Gretzky, who promotes BetMGM. In one ad he talks of the chance to “defy the odds.” Every bet has “a potential for greatness.” If you missed the point, a finger clicks a “PLACE BET” button.
None of this is to say gambling is bad. It can be fun. It can be social. When taxed, it bolsters public treasuries. But caution – more than currently observed watching the NHL playoffs – is warranted. Ottawa’s move to legalize single-event sports betting was a brief bill dubbed the “Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act,” yet it had no mention of safeguards.
Research shows gambling is similar to alcohol. People who indulge do so, in general, responsibly. A gambling disorder – money squandered, depression, thoughts of suicide, substance abuse – is limited to about one of 50 people. But research last year found that “sports bettors are at a greater risk of problem gambling.” Part of the reason is “gambling motivations.” Think of the conviction the home team is going to win. (Leafs? Flames? Oilers? This is going to be the year!)
Last year, the Canadian Centre of Substance Use and Addiction published guidelines to reduce gambling risks, similar to advice on drinking (15 a week, tops). The centre said do not gamble more than 1 per cent of your household income, per month – that’s just $125 on an income of $150,000 a year – and don’t gamble more than four days a month.
Amid the deluge of gambling commercials and broadcasters pumping hot bets, does anyone remember seeing news of the above guidelines? The smart money says “No.”
As with legal alcohol and cannabis, society needs to mitigate the dangers of legal gambling. Governments tend to quietly enjoy the revenues but are less enthusiastic about cautioning enthusiasts. Every gambler should know the advised limits, and people who can’t stay within the limits need help. Allowing legal betting on the Leafs, Flames and Oilers was the right thing to do, but no wager is ever consequence free.
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