With very little fanfare, Canada recently legalized single-event sport gambling (betting on the final score the game, the first team to score, the number of fouls, that kind of thing). The theory behind it is that legalization will reduce the incidence of illegal sport gambling, which it is argued, is the real problem. It will supposedly bring in new tax revenues, create new jobs, and provide fun for all the family.
However, everything we can learn from other jurisdictions in America, Britain and Europe that have gone down the same route suggests that that will not actually happen, and that actually encouraging gambling in this way will usher in a whole host of other problems.
Gambling has always been linked to organized crime and "the mob" - it is thought that the mob makes more money out of gambling than it does from drugs - and establishing a legal avenue for gambling is not going to change that. Take a look at what happened when cannabis was legalized for many of the same reasons: illegal pot dealers are still doing very nicely, thank you. For one thing, illegal gambling is more profitable than legal gambling, and it can also be more attractive to the punters (lower commissions, no taxes, and lots of easy credit).
Much gambling is now done online rather than in physical premises (known in the trade as "frictionless gambling"), which makes it even easier and more convenient for potential gamblers, especially teens and young people, to get involved (and hooked, because, let's not forget, gambling is an addictive activity). You've probably seen endless advertising for online gambling sites during any sports event you may have watched recently, and the level of advertising is ramping up. Many sports teams and leagues are actually sponsored directly and openly by gambling companies.
It is relatively easy to combine the legal and the illegal. Many apparently legal online gambling sites have a back door (or "trap door") which takes users to illegal sections of the websites, which operate under different rules. The average teenager is walking around with effectively a whole casino is their pocket, disguised as a cellphone, and young people are particularly vulnerable to becoming addicted.
In Britain, which legalized single-event sport gambling in 2007, it is estimated that there are now some 1.4 million problem gamblers (the gambling industry, of course, claims it is much fewer, but they would, wouldn't they?), including tens of thousands of teenagers. The number of people receiving therapy for gambling issues is clearly a fraction of the real number of addicts. More than one person kills themselves each day in Britain over gambling (mainly over accumulated debts).
With sport gambling comes match fixing, which is already rife (yes, even in Canada), and more sport gambling will necessarily lead to more match fixing, like night follows day. We may end up with the unedifying spectacle of two teams trying to outdo themselves in scoring home goals (yes, it has happened!). Match fixing has even found its way into non-traditional sports like online gaming and e-sports, which is becoming increasingly popular.
Most of these problems existed before sport gambling was legalized, of course, but they are likely to become worse as it becomes more acceptable (and they are certainly not going to suddenly get better). If the government is going to encourage this kind of behaviour, then it also needs to institute some enhanced regulation of the industry. Experts say that: jail sentences for mob-connected bookies need to be beefed up; match-fixing needs to be made specifically illegal under the Criminal Code; gambling ads should be prohibited where children can see them (as they are in Britain now); official partnerships between bookmakers and sports teams, players, leagues and media companies should be decoupled; and education and health professionals should be educated more about the dangers of gambling addiction.
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