Social Construction of the Sport-Gambling Relationship: A Case Study of Bill C-290

Bill C-290, a federal Private Member\u27s Bill introduced on September 28, 2011, aimed to legalize single event sports betting in Canada. This bill passed unanimously through the House of Commons but has been challenged by Senators and remains in limbo to date. Parliament transcripts, newspaper accounts, and interviews were analyzed to identify select rationales that stakeholders, politicians, and media members used to frame their position on Bill C-290. The social construction of this bill was documented and analyzed using duality of structure. Employing critical policy analysis, dominant rationales from existing literature were used to categorize arguments supporting or opposing single event betting. Findings indicated that the most common rationales in support of Bill C-290 - that regulated sports betting would assist in protecting sport and in limiting the impact of organized crime - did not adequately address the most powerful argument against Bill C-290 - that sports betting jeopardizes the integrity of sport