NHL enters gambling world, but Canadian fans won’t see impact yet

The NHL announced it is getting into the gambling industry.
The team signed an agreement to provide casino giant MGM Resorts International with data for use in gambling where it’s legal in the USA.
What exactly does the statement mean for Canadian hockey fans?
Not a great deal in the brief term unless they are likely to make a trip south of the border to place a bet.
The U.S. Supreme Court opened the way for expanded gambling last spring as it ruled states could accept sports wagers.
Canada allows parlay, or multi-game, stakes run via lotteries in each state, but doesn’t permit wagers on single events.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters in New York the league’s seven Canadian teams”have been working together with the lotteries who restrain gambling on a provincial basis.”
„I believe that will last,” Bettman said Monday. „I understand there are a good deal of talks about moving to single-game betting instead of parlay, which is what currently exists.
„As the law evolves, you will see our development in dealing with it.” MGM, which struck a deal with the NBA and WNBA in July, is the NHL’s first official sports gambling partner.
The league had been compared to wagering on its own events, but Canadian Gaming Association president and CEO Paul Burns said the shift to U.S. laws forced the NHL to revise its position.
He included the pact with MGM can also be good news for Canadians hoping for the opportunity to one day plunk some cash down on a lawful, single-game bet on home soil.
„It marked a departure for the NHL, especially in Canada,” Burns said in an interview with The Canadian Press. „As the country’s most popular sports league, it was significant when they were not in favour of amending the law.
„Now entering into these kinds of agreements, we welcome it. It encouraged us. Hopefully they will help get the laws changed here in Canada.”
Las Vegas-based MGM is gaining access to proprietary NHL data that could eventually consist of puck and player tracking information when the system goes through a testing phase.
Bettman repeatedly mentioned”fan engagement” from the U.S. among the big bonuses of this bargain for the league.
There were previous efforts to amend the Canadian Criminal Code to permit single-game wagers, including private member’s bill that died in the Senate before the last national election.
Burns said the CGA has business, labor, law enforcement — Canadians bet and estimated $14 billion per year illegally, according to business’s statistics — and municipal authorities on board with getting single-game wagering approved.
The NHL has made it clear it’s also open to this idea.
„The last remaining stakeholder that’d issues and objections were professional sports leagues,” Burns said. „They’ve now changed their rankings.
„We don’t find any impediments to get the Criminal Code amendment performed here in Canada.”

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