Bankruptcy Gambling Canada
In this week of March Madness, we are addressing a common issue related to sports… gambling debt! Many of us travel to Las Vegas and bet on sports or play games in Native American casinos here in California. Here in the Inland Empire, places like San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino, Pala Casino Resort and Spa, Morongo Casino, Resort and Spa, and Pechanga Resort and Casino are all very popular places to visit, relax, have fun, and, unfortunately, rack up gambling debt. Whether you lose money, owe money directly to the casinos from credit lines, or if you used credit to play in the casinos, you should be able to discharge the debt with a bankruptcy filing (keep reading if you want to know when the gambling debt is not able to be discharged). Gambling debt is considered one of the unsecured debts which can be discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. This means that if you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can have the gambling debt totally cleared. But this does not mean that you should go ahead and use all of your credit to gamble as much as you can and then just file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after you’ve lost all your credit lines. The reason is explained below.
It is not legal to pre-meditate a bankruptcy. You should not plan to file for bankruptcy as a strategy to get out of debt after gambling because this is not allowed. A bankruptcy court and bankruptcy trustee can deem your debt non-dischargeable or unable to be discharged if you have signs of pre-meditating a bankruptcy. You may think that this is difficult to prove, but, actually, all that the bankruptcy trustee needs to do is examine your most recent spending in the past 90 days to see if there was any spending that looks like it was planned spending with a bankruptcy filing planned ahead of time. For example, if you bought a new TV last month and also racked up a $10,000 gambling debt, and are hoping to file bankruptcy today, it would be fairly obvious to the bankruptcy court that you had a bankruptcy planned all along because the debt was incurred so close to when you filed. These recent debts may be deemed unable to be discharged.
The reason why the Canadian bankruptcy system imposes these requirements is to discourage the abuse of credit for gambling. Therefore, if you have significant gambling debt and are contemplating filing for personal bankruptcy, please contact us so we can review your individual circumstances. However some debts cannot be discharged by filing bankruptcy. What happens to your debts when you go bankrupt in Canada is not as easy as some claim. Generally, bankruptcy discharges only unsecured debts like credit card debt, unsecured lines of credit, payday loans, or past due bills. Secured debts are not discharged in bankruptcy.
- First and foremost, if gambling is the primary driver of your reason for bankruptcy, it's possible you have a problem. Your first stop then, should be getting help to put the brakes on your gambling. Next, contact a good bankruptcy attorney. In North Carolina, call the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt at +1-888-234-4190.
- Do Gambling Wins & Losses need to be disclosed in Bankruptcy? When a Debtor files for personal bankruptcy, there are many schedules and statements that they are required to complete. One such statement is something called the statement of financial affairs.
Remember, bankruptcy trustees are just people like you. Your file will be examined by a normal person who can spot these types of spending patterns and will not let you get away with planned spending for a pre-meditated bankruptcy. Otherwise, if you have genuine gambling debt and you are unable to pay it in the time allotted for you to repay the debt, a bankruptcy should be able to discharge the debt.
Someone out there is probably also thinking that once the bankruptcy is filed or discharged, you might want to go ahead and start gambling again immediately after the debt is discharged. You really shouldn’t put yourself in this difficult situation because you won’t be able to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy again for 8 years. Now you are stuck with the debt until you can file again 8 years from now. After a bankruptcy, your main focus should be on building up your savings and improving your credit scores. Going right back to gambling after a bankruptcy can be even more risky because you don’t have the opportunity to file another bankruptcy to clear the debt. You will most likely face a lawsuit and collections activities.
If you are riddled with gambling debt or any other type of debt, contact Bankruptcy Law Professionals at 855 257-7671 to schedule a free consultation.
Related posts:
After almost a decade of attempts by individual members of parliament, Cabinet has taken up the mantle of gaming law reform, and yesterday the Minister of Justice introduced legislation to decriminalize single event sport betting in Canada. If passed, Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (single event sport betting), would permit provinces and territories to regulate and license single event sport betting on any sporting event except horse racing. This is an important development in gaming in Canada that will create a new and regulated sector in the industry.
The proposed amendments would give provinces and territories the discretion to manage single event sport betting in their respective jurisdictions and offer Canadians an opportunity to place bets in a regulated environment either online or in physical facilities. This is a long-awaited announcement. The gaming industry, professional sports leagues, labour unions, provincial governments and opposition parties have been calling for this change to Canada's Criminal Code for years. The federal NDP first introduced a private members bill proposing the change in 2011.
This is the second major announcement for Canada's gaming industry this month. Ontario's pandemic-recovery budget bill (released November 5, 2020) included a suite of revisions to the legislation regulating online gaming/gambling in the province. Notably, these revisions would grant the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) the authority to conduct and manage online gaming through a subsidiary, in addition to continuing its role as provincial regulator. In its budget bill, Ontario prompted the federal government to pay heed to the issue of legal single event sport wagering. We wrote on this in Pandemic Payoff: Can the AGCO, and the Potential for Single-Event Wagering, Reinvigorate Legal Online Gaming in Ontario?
The proposed amendments to the Criminal Code were also driven by the rapid legalization of legal sports wagering in the United States—including border states Michigan, New York and Washington. In May 2018, a United States Supreme Court decision overturned a federal law prohibiting states from authorizing sports gambling (Murphy, Governor of New Jersey, et al. v. National Collegiate Athletic Association et al.). We previously wrote on this in What Are the Odds for Single Event Sports Wagering in Canada?
The federal government says that decriminalizing single event sport betting in Canada will strengthen Canada's economy, support jobs and reduce criminal activity. The revenues generated from provincial and territorial-operated gambling could be used by provinces and territories to fund programs and services, as they currently do with other lottery revenues. The government says it is also proposing to engage with provinces and territories and with Indigenous communities and organizations that have expressed an interest in discussing how gambling is regulated.
Interested businesses and prospective service providers should take note and prepare for the passage of this legislation, including through engagement with the applicable provincial regulators.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
Injunction To Remove Allegedly Defamatory Social Media Posts DismissedBankruptcy Gambling Canada Login
Bankruptcy Gambling Canada 2020
Bankruptcy Gambling Canada Online
ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law