FROM THE TOP
FROM THE TOP:
NO WAY, PARLAY With single-event sports wagering set to be legalized in Canada, Tim Poole assesses the anticipation that’s building around the potential billion-dollar market. If you were asked to name the most exciting sports betting market in North America right now, where would it be? New Jersey, the poster child for the legal sports betting market ever since PASPA was overturned? Nearby Pennsylvania, where online gaming has been similarly embraced? Could it be Colorado, Tennessee, Virginia, Michigan or any of the recently launched, burgeoning state marketplaces? In the here and now, all of the above and more are generating the kind of buzz that was merely a vision in early 2018. Now, it’s a full-blown reality and myriad headline partnerships, state revenue reports and marketing offers are ensuring legal sports betting is truly making waves on a national scale in the US. Yet, among those with a view to the future, there is awe at the potential of key markets that have yet to even legalize sports wagering. How big, for example, can California or 8 GAMINGAMERICA
New York become in terms of both legal sports betting handle and revenue? You may have noticed, however, that our question referred to North America and not the US specifically. Indeed, looking north, it’s no understatement to suggest sports wagering in Canada could yet generate more excitement than any other up-and-coming market. That’s saying a lot given the prestigious list of aforementioned names. With the news in late 2020 that Canada is on the path to legalizing single-event sports wagering, headlines and optimism were created in equal measure. The industry has not failed to notice the potential uptick in Canada’s sports betting future. For anyone who either works or partakes in sports betting, the notion of there being no single-event wagering will sound completely bizarre. If you want to back the Super Bowl winner,
