TORONTO -- Canada鈥檚 move to legalize single-game sports betting could have a significant financial benefit by keeping the approximately $4 billion per year that Canadians spend on offshore 鈥榞rey market鈥� betting within the country, says the federal justice minister.
鈥淚t's a matter that's particularly important for border economies like Niagara, like Windsor for example, where people could just go across the border and place bets on the Super Bowl or on Grey Cup or even on a World Cup soccer game,鈥� Justice Minister David Lametti told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning on Friday.
鈥淪o we're making that available to Canadians by legalizing it, regularising it, and making sure that the money stays in the legitimate part of the economy.鈥�
He said the money will go into provincial coffers, and that he hopes provinces will use some of the proceeds to fund programs for people with addictions.
The legislation received royal assent in June, and is set to be enacted on Aug. 27.
