Betting Laws in North America: Canada & US

The Rule of Law: All are Equal Under it

“Be you never so high that the law is above you”. It was Aristotle who was one of the first known to refer to the notion of the rule of law, the idea that one should only be punished if they broke a pre-established legal doctrine, and that even if you’re a government minister, CEO, or High Politician, you have as many legal rights as every other person who passes you on the street.

The notion of the rule of law is one which has stood on its two feet through the teachings of numerous legal scholars, such as A.V Dicey, Chief Justice Francis Blackburne, and Most Recently, through Legal Scholar Tom Bingham in his writings on the rule of law, as well as through numerous legal Doctrines, such as Habeas Corpus and Magna Carta.

The Point I’m trying to Reach, is that we are all under the rule of law, no matter who we are, and no matter what walk of life we come from. We are governed by our laws, but more importantly, we are protected with fairness and equality by the overall rule of law. As a result, one can see that each sector of our lives is regulated by the law, and this rings true within every country.

Countries such as Canada and the U.S are no exception, each of which has different laws regarding different aspects of people’s lives. The same can be said for gambling and sports betting, as these countries both have differing laws on these subjects. Within this article, I will be going over the different laws and regulations surrounding these countries and their requisite legal systems, their structures, and different stances on the topics of gambling and sports betting.

The Structure of Both the U.S and Canadian Legal Systems

To be able to delve into the specific aspects of the U.S and Canadian legal systems, one must first thoroughly examine their structure and fundamental makeup. Both America and Canada, are known as federal states, meaning they are a unity of smaller states. America has fifty states, whilst Canada is split into provinces and territories, where provinces can exercise constitutional powers. As a matter of fact, this informative breakdown of Canada sports betting laws states that legalities are at the discretion of the different provinces, and can vary from one location to another. Pretty much the same can be said about the U.S States.

The American Stance on Sports Betting

While gambling is legal in the United States, it is prohibited to bet over state lines or through the internet. Certain states have the authority to outright prohibit the practice. Most states, even those with lotteries managed by the state, allow some kind of gambling. Casino-style gambling is less common. With a state-tribal compact, gaming may be conducted on Native American Trust Land, as permitted by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.

Many Americans bet on sports online using offshore sportsbooks even though sports betting is illegal in their own country. This is because online sports betting and gambling are illegal in many jurisdictions. Although many jurisdictions permit pari-mutuel wagering on horse races, others, like North Carolina and Florida, are battling to make such wagering legal. North Carolina will put the issue to a vote in the next midterm elections in 2022, and if successful, the necessary Bill will be enacted. Today, Colorado, Arizona, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Illinois, Tennessee, and West Virginia are the only states where internet sports betting is permitted.

The Canadian Stance

The gambling regulations in Canada have evolved over many decades. Sports betting has a long history in Canada, dating back to at least the 1800s. Despite being illegal for a time, Canadians continued to partake in this pastime right up to its decriminalization in 1985.

The Internet, however, was the single most influential factor in the evolution of Canadian sports betting legislation, as the federal government struggled to keep up with the proliferation of unlicensed sportsbooks, which generated much more tax money.

As a result, they enacted the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act. The passage of this law, which made it possible to gamble on individual games in athletic events, marked a turning point for the gambling sector. When initially proposed in 2021, this policy received widespread support; for example, states like Ontario quickly established sports betting regulatory bodies and permitted third-party operators to manage sportsbooks across the province.

A Tale of two Stances

When it comes to looking at the way these two legal systems stand, one can easily see that America’s stance on Gambling and sports betting is much more scattered. The U.S has eleven out of fifty states which allow online sports betting, whilst Canada’s provinces all allow online sports betting to varying degrees, with Ontario Being the Posterboy for Sports Betting and Gambling.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes