How a small-time Vancouver bookie helped turn sports betting into a multibillion-dollar industry

Michael Roxborough was a small-time bookmaker in Vancouver in the early 1970s. He set up an office at the Vancouver Stock Exchange. Now, sports betting is legal in Canada and a multibillion-dollar industry. Forbes Magazine once called the stock exchange the "scam capital of the world".

Experts worry about influence of Ontario’s sports betting ads. They are concerned they could reach audiences outside the province and entice them to play on unregulated gambling sites.

Roxborough started as a bookie in Vancouver. He moved to Las Vegas in 1975 and set odds at the Stardust Casino. In the 1990s, he opened Las Las. Vegas Sports Consultants, which provided odds for casinos around the world. Roxborough used data-driven approach to oddsmaking and technology to distribute lines and info to casinos. He sold the company in the late '90s. Today, the industry is multibillion-dollar industry.

Last year, Canada passed Bill C-218, allowing for single-game betting. Deloitte Canada report suggests the sports betting industry could grow from $500 million to $28 billion within five years of nationwide legalization in 2021. Ontario allowed for multiple operators in a provincially regulated market back in April. Online betting sites licensed in Ontario are not licensed to operate in B.C. Lottery Corporation started taking single game wagers back August.

Roxborough fell in love with gambling at the Hastings Racecourse in East Vancouver. A new generation is learning about it through advertising. Luke Clark with the Centre for Gambling Research says ads can contribute to the normalization of sports betting. There are supports in place for problem gamblers. There is a program where they can voluntarily exclude themselves from gambling facilities.