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As a Canadian professor of gambling law, explaining our sports betting system to people in other countries is an impossible task.

The Criminal Code, which is federal, bans single-sports betting.

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However, the provinces can conduct and manage lotteries as they see fit. Some choose to run two-team parlays and in-game wagering online while Ontario chose a minimum of three-team parlays with betting only at retail stores.

While we don’t legally allow online wagering on single-sport betting, it takes thirty seconds on your cell phone to open up an account overseas, fund it with a Schedule A credit card and place a single-sport bet. All these complications cause reduced government revenue and confusion in the marketplace.

Ontario Finance Minister Vic Fedeli just asked the federal government for an amendment to the Criminal Code that would legalize single-event sports wagering in Canada. He cited the exact same reasoning I did when the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for sports betting: lost revenue to Ontario border casinos.