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By Logan Lehmann

Gambling

Sports betting in Saskatchewan: a growing pastime?

Aug 18, 2022 | 12:40 PM

Over time, Canada has seen the number of people who gamble climb each year.

On Tuesday, Statistics Canada revealed that the activity is becoming increasingly popular with the passing years according to a survey done back in 2018.

StatsCan announced that nearly 65 percent of Canadians, or 19 million people, aged 15 or older reported engaging in some form of gambling from when the survey was conducted.

As for Saskatchewan, 75 per cent of adults have gambled within the last year, with each person spending roughly $850 every year. And in 2018, more than three million people visited a Saskatchewan casino.

Since the Government of Canada assented the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act in August 2021, the country now allows the use of single-game sports betting in the country, which means the number of gamblers may change in our province. However, there is one issue.

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Sports betting is legal in Saskatchewan through Sport Select but residents may have to wait a little longer for single-game sports betting options.

While Sports Select is currently the only regulated form of sports betting in the province, bettors can still place single-event bets online with offshore betting sites. It is illegal to operate an online sportsbook in Canada without a license, but there is no law in Canada’s Criminal Code that forbids Canadians from placing their wagers with offshore websites.

As for the rest of Canada, it’s too early to tell if sports betting is becoming the nation’s favourite way to gamble but it is something that the government is keeping an eye on.

“Given recent developments in the gambling industry, it will remain important to keep track of these trends in the near future,” the 2018 study said. “(The study) can serve as an important baseline of gambling behaviour in Canada permitting future monitoring of changes in gambling behaviour over time and as a result of the new legislation.”

There are no concrete plans to implement single-event wagering in the province.

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logan.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @lloganlehmann