Betting in sports is huge in virtually all countries where sports are popular, which includes 99% of the worlds countries. In some countries, betting is illegal, while in some regions it is highly encourage as it provides a source of revenue to the administration. However, the Canadian Sports Betting is somewhat different than other countries.
This is because betting in Canada is illegal in one sense, but legal in another. Let me explain. Technically, you are not supposed to bet on every single sports game. And there lies the catch. It is only single games that you cannot bet on. The terms for multiple bets do not state explicitly that it is illegal.
Parlays the only option
As a result, the only option for Canadian citizens to legally participate in betting is to bet the results of more than two games. This kind of betting is called parlay. This line of betting is called Pro Line in the Canadian Sports Betting World. Now, this is advantageous and at the same time disadvantageous.
In this parlay betting, all the matches that you place your bets on must be in your favor. If so, you stand to win a huge amount.
For example, if you have bet on group of four matches in row and predicted the results of each match and your predictions come out correct, you stand to win four times more money than the average bettor outside the Canadian sports betting system.
The disadvantage
From the previous example, it is not very difficult to see the major drawback of such a system. In reality, the odds are heavily stacked against the gambler. It is very rare that all the matches that you place your bets on will turn out in your favor.
If that is the case, as it is more often than not, then you stand to lose all of your money. This means that the bookmaker is at a distinct advantage here. Generally, outside Canada the vigorish is round about 110% which means that the bookmaker earns around 10% of all the bets placed by all bettors.
However the situation in the Canadian sports betting scene is completely different. The vigorish here is generally accepted to be around 150%, and in some cases, it goes up to 300%. So the average Canadian bettor has to rely heavily on his luck so that his parlay is successful.
Offshore betting
Owing to this distinct disadvantage that bettors are put in by the Canadian system, most people use offshore companies, where betting is completely legal to place bets. Here people can place wagers quite flexibly and have a much greater chances of winning money.
As a result, the Canadian government is actually losing their bettors, which are a good source of income, to online betting agencies.
This is another prominent example of how online betting has helped people all over the world overcome their legal limitations and get into the betting world. This is likely to continue until the government really resets the Canadian sports betting system.