The commissioner of the Canadian Football League is asking lawmakers in Quebec to consider a competitive market for online sports betting sites because it could help "level the playing field" and protect the province’s unique culture.
Local media first reported the interest in an expanded form of Quebec sports betting last week. According to Le Soleil, the Canadian Football League, Major League Soccer, and the National Basketball Association are all supporting an industry-led effort to install a competitive market for online sports betting sites and internet casinos in Quebec.
NBA spokesperson Mike Bass, for instance, reportedly said that “if the Quebec government were to create an open and regulated market, the NBA would support this structure, in the same way it supports the competitive market in Ontario.”
The CFL sent Covers the league’s statement on the matter on Wednesday. In it, CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie says the league has “a deep appreciation” for the unique history and culture of Quebec, as well as the pride in the province for “charting its own course.”
The league says it is likewise aware of the “vital role” sports play in Quebec, including the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes franchise.
“With these things in mind, we respectfully join other major sports leagues in urging Quebec legislators to fully explore the benefits of introducing a regulated gaming environment, one which operates not in the shadows but in public view, which protects the integrity of competition, and which encourages responsible gaming,” Ambrosie says in the statement. “This would contribute to a level playing field across the North American market. It is also an opportunity for Quebec to do what it has always done: to protect and strengthen its culture and serve its people."
The pro leagues throwing their support behind single-game sports betting (after years of opposition) went a long way toward convincing Canadian politicians to legalize it. Let's see what similar support does for a bid to expand legal sports betting in Quebec. https://t.co/8nmiqHVOQ4
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) September 15, 2023
The statement from the CFL could be consequential, as the support of it and other professional sports leagues helped persuade federal lawmakers to legalize single-game sports betting in Canada in 2021. The leagues see sports betting as a way to get people to watch their games and for longer, which could boost ratings and advertising revenues. That's in addition to other financial opportunities with bookmakers that teams and leagues could pursue.
Then again, the statement could fall on deaf ears. With the exception of Ontario, legal sports betting in Canada remains relatively restricted. Quebec, for example, has one legal provider of online sports betting at the moment, provincially-owned Loto-Québec.
In May, though, a group including several sportsbook operators proposed a system (now supported publicly by the CFL, MLS, and NBA) that would be similar to the one for Ontario sports betting, wherein multiple private-sector companies can legally take action from residents rather than just a government-owned entity.
An attractive market
The effort to bring an Ontario-like system of legal sports betting to Quebec is driven by the so-called Québec Online Gaming Coalition, whose members include Bet99, DraftKings, Flutter (parent company of FanDuel), Entain (part-owner of BetMGM), Betway, and BetRivers-owner Rush Street Interactive. The operators have successfully unlocked other markets and are trying their luck now in Quebec, where French is the primary language.
Quebec is also the second-largest provincial market in Canada by population, and it would rank as one of the larger U.S. markets if it were a state, so the interest from private operators is understandable. Billions are also being wagered in Ontario through the new regulatory framework there, which launched in April 2022. A smaller, but still significant, market opportunity may exist in Quebec.
It remains to be seen if the support of the three leagues will be enough to sway Quebec legislators. Loto-Québec has been resistant to the idea and has even alleged some members of the industry coalition are currently taking bets in the province without approval from local authorities.
The statement, in full
Here is Ambrosie’s full statement:
“We in the CFL have a deep appreciation for the unique history and culture of Quebec, and the pride its people and leaders have often taken in Quebec charting its own course. We are equally aware of the vital role sports and entertainment, including the storied Montreal Alouettes franchise, play in the rich tapestry of Quebec life. With these things in mind, we respectfully join other major sports leagues in urging Quebec legislators to fully explore the benefits of introducing a regulated gaming environment, one which operates not in the shadows but in public view, which protects the integrity of competition, and which encourages responsible gaming. This would contribute to a level playing field across the North American market. It is also an opportunity for Quebec to do what it has always done: to protect and strengthen its culture and serve its people."
