Is Manitoba finally ready to go all-in on online sports betting?
The conditions seem ripe.
Revenues flowing to government through Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries are falling, in large part because people are drinking less and spending less money on the province’s limited online gambling options.
Recent warnings about the link between alcohol and cancer, along with rapidly escalating prices, have taken a bite out of sales through Liquor Marts.
MLL transferred $732 million to general revenues in the 2023-24, $8 million less than the previous fiscal year.
At the same time, revenues from online gaming dropped by half a million dollars. Revenues were up $16.7 million at the province’s casinos, but the short-term trends suggest potentially lucrative online gambling will likely remain soft for the foreseeable future.
Put it all together, and you have a compelling case for a change in strategy at MLL, particularly when it comes to online betting.
Gaming already accounts for just over half of all revenue generated by MLL. Perhaps for that reason, Premier Wab Kinew has already acknowledged he would like to see gambling options expand.
Kinew said in 2023 he was officially lifting the “pause” on gaming expansion put in place before the NDP took power. He also said he was open to discussions about adding another First Nations casino.
However, the greatest largely untapped gambling opportunity for the Kinew government is online sports betting.
Ottawa gave provinces the green light several years ago to introduce legalized private online sportsbooks. Only Ontario has taken up the offer, but the gaudy revenues being generated in Canada’s most populous province have caught the attention of other provinces.
In 2023, Ontarians wagered more than $2.5 billion on its broad range of regulated online betting sites, including BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel. Out of that total, the provincial treasury raked in $790 million, Ottawa collected $380 million, and Ontario municipalities got $75 million.
Could Manitoba achieve a pro-rated result like that? Only if it embraced the same free-for-all, open market Ontario has.
Manitobans can currently gamble on sports and other events on the PlayNow website, which is owned by a B.C. Crown corporation that partners with Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Although PlayNow provides people with an opportunity to scratch their gambling itch, it’s pretty rudimentary compared with the shock and awe of the more than 80 Vegas-inspired betting sites offered to people in Ontario.
Would Manitoba consider following Ontario’s lead and launching a free-for-all marketplace of online casinos and sportsbooks? That looks likely. Like all chronic sports gamblers, governments are addicted to the revenues that come from legalized gaming.
It’s also worth noting that of Manitoba’s big three provincial Crown corporations, none are as important to government finances as MLL.
While Manitoba Hydro and Manitoba Public Insurance use the vast majority of revenues to underwrite the cost of providing cheap electricity and automobile insurance, MLL has only one purpose: to serve as a cash cow for government general revenues. That makes fully embracing online betting seem like a no-brainer.
Governments still regulate gambling and are raking in billions of dollars in commissions and taxes. That makes the prospect of expanded online gaming a very real opportunity in Manitoba.
Sports gambling has been legal in some countries, such as the United Kingdom, for more than 60 years. In most other jurisdictions, punters could still get in on sports betting but had to use illegal bookies or try risky offshore sports betting markets to get their fix.
Sports betting entered a new and lucrative phase after a 2018 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down long-standing legal prohibitions. Big hotel and casino corporations launched their own online sportsbooks.
Governments still regulate gambling and are raking in billions of dollars in commissions and taxes. That makes the prospect of expanded online gaming a very real opportunity in Manitoba.
As online options — including offshore gambling websites — become more prevalent, it would be very difficult to protect Manitoba’s cash cow from a slow, steady decline. If the priority is to keep the cash flowing, then legalizing a broader range of online sports betting is the next logical step.
It is important to remember, however, that online betting comes with acute social risks. Online sports betting is among the most pervasive and addictive forms of gambling. As more options become available online, it becomes more difficult to prevent vulnerable youth from getting involved.
If the priority is to keep the cash flowing, then legalizing a broader range of online sports betting is the next logical step.
Recent studies in Canada and abroad confirm sports betting is most popular among people aged 18 to 34 and that the rates of problem gambling are climbing steadily. A 2019 study by Ontario’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health found more than one third of all high-school aged youth had engaged in one or more online gambling activities. More than four per cent reported they were problem gamblers, which was twice the rate of older gamblers.
All of which brings us back to the dilemma facing the Kinew government.
There is a clear path to not only stabilizing but growing MLL revenues, but what is fiscally lucrative is also morally questionable.
If you’re a betting person, bet on the former eclipsing the latter.
dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
Dan Lett
Columnist
Dan Lett is a columnist for the Free Press, providing opinion and commentary on politics in Winnipeg and beyond. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan joined the Free Press in 1986. Read more about Dan.
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