Esports is one of the fastest growing new developments in recent history, which has managed to attract fans from around the globe. Usually, when a new sport bursts onto the scene in this fashion, onlookers like to start making wagers, and the boom in Esports betting has been immense.
One of the nations in which this has been evident has been Canada, a land that is on the verge of becoming a licensed iGaming market. Similar to the US, the Canadian government elected to allow each of the country’s provinces and territories to regulate themselves, which saw many Esports fans quite concerned.
The reason for this concern was that some US states that had issued licenses had simultaneously banned bettors from placing wagers on Esports, which was quite a surprise considering Esports follow essentially the same system as regular sports. Teams are involved, there are methods of acquiring points, and at the end there are winners and losers.
Out of all of the states that have legalized sports betting in the US, only New Jersey and Nevada have actually legalized Esports betting, which is the vast minority.
According to esports betting experts from https://sportsbooksonline.com/, many states in the US have prohibited esports betting for a number of reasons. For one, betting operators believe that there are greater chances of match fixing in Esports, while other operators have quoted the participation of minors in Esports teams as the reasons they refrain from legalizing this form of wagering.
A fairly ironic set of excuses considering that other sports that are offered could easily fall victim to match fixing, and have a handful of minors participating in events.
As it currently stands, only one of Canada’s provinces has made it clear as to how they intend to approach legal sports betting, and what plans they have made to ensure that the market will be set up for commercial offshore operators.
Sports betting in Ontario is set to launch on April 4th 2022, and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has clearly stated that Esports betting will be available through sportsbooks that have acquired the Ontario license. Esports fans who like to bet shared a very large sigh of relief.
The same however cannot be said for the rest of the country, where the build up to legal sports betting has not been approached with the same haste as Ontario. Currently, provinces like British Colombia, Quebec and Alberta have not yet responded to the fact that they can now offer their residents legal sports betting, and have also yet to comment on how they will approach legality surrounding esports betting.
Canadians not living in Ontario can bet on provincially run sports lottery products, however these products do not offer Esports as part of their overall offerings. It has not yet been made clear as to whether or not the other provinces and territories will legalize esports betting, but this will become clear in time.