CFL HOPEFUL FOR REVENUE GAINS FROM SINGLE-EVENT WAGERS IN CANADA

The CFL is ready to welcome single game sports betting with open arms this season. Bill C-218, which legalized single-event sports wagers in Canada this August, is being viewed as a lifeline by the financially strapped Canadian Football League.

CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie has been an outspoken advocate of passing the legislation. He’s even gone so far as testifying before the Senate on the matter. “The ability to grow our fanbase has never been more important or crucial to our future,” Ambrosie stated.

The league was hit especially hard by the pandemic, resulting in a cancelled 2020 schedule, and modified 2021 season. Industry insiders estimate that in the lead up to the pandemic, the CFL regularly lost between $10-20M a year. During the cancelled 2020 season, experts believe the league sustained losses upwards of $60M.

With legislation now passed, the league is looking forward to a full season of legalized sports betting and additional revenue streams. “This may be one of the single greatest opportunities the CFL has ever faced and it couldn’t happen at a better time,” Ambrosie said. “We see this as a recipe for a quicker recovery.”

The CFL hopes that single-game betting will further engage their existing fanbase, while bringing in a new crop of viewers as well. Conservative estimates project revenues of $2M for each franchise and more than $20M for the league itself. These figures are expected to grow exponentially as additional sportsbooks begin to enter the marketplace.

Ontario, like most provinces, continues to work out the framework for private entities to obtain the required gaming licenses to operate. At the moment, the Ontario Gaming & Lottery Corporation (OLG)’s PROLINE+ arm remains the sole avenue to legally place single-game wagers in the province. Despite the limited options, that didn’t stop viewers from placing bets in record numbers during the 2021 season.

Action peaked during the Grey Cup in Hamilton this year. Sources say that the number of bets placed during the game were up 35%, while total money wagered was up 150% compared to the 2019 season.

With sportsbooks like FanDuel, Caesars, and DraftKings champing at the bit to enter the Ontario marketplace, it’s obvious why the CFL is so bullish on the future of gambling in Canada.

The CFL hopes that the passing of Bill C-218 will help not only its bottom line, but its ratings as well. “We know in conversations with our broadcast partner, for example, that improvements in ratings are not just how many people watch a game but how long they watch it for,” Ambrosie said. “If somebody stays for that last three minutes of the game because they have a $5 bet, it’s actually going to help us improve our ratings.”

Ambrosie has already begun planting seeds in order to capitalize on the emerging sports betting market. In a press release issued in the lead up to the Grey Cup, the CFL announced a partnership with Genius Sports LTD.

The tech company will be tasked with selling the league’s data and video to sportsbooks internationally. Echoing previous CFL mantra, the release stated “Genius Sports will help the CFL to capitalize on the growth of the North American sports betting market, maximizing revenue and engagement opportunities.”

With the 2022 CFL season slated to kickoff on June 9th, Ambrosie and Co. are all in on the new legislation.

Written by Kyle Skinner, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert. You can learn more about our author's expertise here.