HeadsUp Entertainment to Enter Canadian Sports Betting Market

The Canadian sports betting market is about to blow up in a major way- and companies such as HeadsUp are beginning to take notice. HeadsUp, like many other established sports betting operators, are looking to get into the burgeoning Canadian market early before it becomes too crowded with competitors. 

This will make it much easier for the operator to niche down and make its presence felt in the growing sports wagering market. Canada is looking to have single-game sports wagering finally decriminalized in the country’s 10 provinces as 3 territories. Once this happens, HeadsUp among other operators will be able to enter the market and begin offering legal sports wagering.

HeadsUp is currently in talks with 2 sportsbooks software suppliers that will allow it to offer innovative betting products to its future customers. It is also talking to a media partner that will help it stand out in the market. HeadsUp has already launched its media content delivery platform which it is using to target customers and build its player base in anticipation of launching once the green light is given by authorities.

HeadsUp intends to offer a wide array of products for customers to choose from, including online gaming, sports wagering, mobile 50/50, online poker, online lottery, and eSports. 

In anticipation of this new growing betting landscape in the country, HeadUp recently appointed a new president and CEO. Doug Wilson will be in charge of spearheading the operator’s growth in the newly legalized market. If everything goes well, single-event sports betting should be a reality by spring.

Canadian sports betting is changing tremendously

Single event sports betting is going to change the face of the gaming industry in Canada. Once the proposed legislation to make single-event sports betting is passed, Canada will be on its way to becoming one of the most vibrant and successful sports betting markets in North America. It even has the potential to overthrow a lot more mature markets such as New Jersey- it’s just that well-positioned.

If passed, the legislation will give the country’s provincial and territorial governments the mandate to regulate and license single-event sports wagering. The only thing these governments will not have full control over is horse racing, which is fully understandable. Under the terms of the bill, titled Bill C-13, punters in Canada will soon be able to wager in a legal and controlled environment that is concerned about their safety.

Bettors will be able to wager on various online betting platforms as well as in retail sportsbooks where available. With the majority of Canadians in support of a legalized sports betting environment, the country will soon be able to wager on great sporting events and teams such as the Montreal Canadiens or Toronto Raptors.

But it’s been a long road to get here. The proposed legislation couldn’t have come at a better time for the government, which is struggling to fill the gaping tax hole that has been left by the pandemic. Sports betting, once legalized, will provide provinces with the much-needed funds it takes to get on the road to recovery.

Plus, sports betting operators such as HeadUp are going to bring millions of dollars that will go towards employing Canadians that are urgently in need of jobs after being laid off. Stakeholders and advocates of legal sports betting have been fighting to have single sports betting in the country for years to no avail.

This new bill is the 3rd time that advocates have tried to have the industry legalized. The most recent attempt took place in 2016 when Bill C-221 the 2nd proposed amendment to the exclusion of single-event sports wagering in the country was turned down.

So why are things so different this time around?

Things in the North American gaming market wouldn’t have changed had it not been for New Jersey’s spearheading effort to have the industry in the Garden State legalized. New Jersey had been fighting unsuccessfully for years to have the industry legalized. However, they only succeeded in 2018 when the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) in the country was repealed.

This amendment in the law gave individual states the leeway to govern sports betting as they saw fit. It was this repeal that allowed New Jersey to become the first state in America to offer legalized sports wagering. Soon after sports betting was legalized in America, throngs of Canadians started crossing the border to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Michigan just so they could take part in single sports betting.

After years of losing revenue to sports betting in the various American cities where sports betting is legal, the Canadian government now sees how valuable a regulated sports betting industry is not just for the economy, but for the punters themselves.  Decriminalizing single-event sports wagering through the most recent Bill C-13 will prove to be extremely beneficial to Canadians.

Single sports wagering will help to fund state coffers that have been depleted as a result of this pandemic. Indeed, if New Jersey is anything to go by, Canadian provinces stand to generate millions upon millions in revenue, which is needed for recovery after these harrowing times. Case in point, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the state’s 9 casinos and 3 horse tracks that accept sports wagers recorded more than $996 million in sports wagers for December 2020.

In 2018, the industry had a great start managing to generate $16 million in total wagers through the first 2 weeks of legalization. If that doesn’t demonstrate the kind of growth that Canadian provinces have in store ahead, what does? It’s already clear that sports betting in Canada will be successful, but it’s fair to say that not even Canadians are prepared for the massive industry growth that’s about to take place.