Former MP behind sports gambling legalization says some results are 'deplorable'

The former MP who spent more than a decade pushing to legalize single-event sports betting says he doesn't regret it — but says its implementation is in some ways "sad" and "deplorable."

He also says more regulation is required to curb the volume and methods of gambling advertising in Canada.

Former NDP MP Brian Masse introduced a private member's bill to lift the prohibition in 2019, and one year later, Conservative MP Kevin Waugh re-introduced Masse's bill.

It passed with support from MPs across parties in 2021.

But Masse says, five years later, legalized sports betting hasn't been implemented in the way he had envisioned.

"It's deplorable the way that some of the provinces have actually implemented it. They've allowed the private sector to basically own and operate," said Masse in an interview with CBC News.

"I don't have regrets, but it's sad to see some of the repercussions. We can still avoid them, too. The story isn't done."

For Masse, it was a local issue: Windsor, Ont., casinos compete with those in Detroit. When the United States Supreme Court struck down the federal law preventing states from allowing single-event sports betting, some states legalized it, including Michigan — allowing betting in physical casinos, and putting Canadian casinos at a disadvantage.

"It really was about jobs at our casino, it was jobs at our entertainment industry, it was jobs in tourism," said Masse.

"You could see the modernization taking place. And so we didn't want organized crime to benefit. We wanted it to be accountable."

One of the primary arguments for the legalization of sports betting was that it would be to create a legal, regulated space at the expense of black market gambling.

But five years later, advertisements