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Taxman targets wealthy gambler
Made millions in legal sports betting
Fri, Nov 17, 2000
By Zev Singer
OTTAWA -- Brian Leblanc has done so well at sports wagering that the federal government wants to charge income tax on his winnings.
During the last few years, legal sports betting tickets have made Leblanc, 29, a multimillionaire.
Although such winnings are supposed to be tax-free, Leblanc has been so successful that the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency now considers betting to be his job.
The agency is attempting to re-assess Leblanc's taxes back to 1996 as well as those of his brother Terry, who does the same type of betting.
"We consider your gambling activities as a business activity and those revenues are taxable for income tax purposes," says a letter Leblanc received this week from the agency.
That's something he'd like to bet on.
In the office of his lawyer, Mark Siegel, Leblanc says he will fight this one all the way.
How can this be considered his job, he asks, when he spends 10 minutes a day making his picks on which hockey, football or basketball teams will beat which others?
"It takes virtually no time at all. I can do it just like that," says Leblanc snapping his fingers.
His system is all about finding the few really good bets -- situations where the odds offered seem to be out of sync with what they ought to be.
Last year, for example, he won $1.7 million when he noticed that the Atlantic Canada sports lottery was setting odds on NBA basketball based on outdated team rosters.
He won't say how much money he's made, but his largest single pay day was $7 million.
Revenue Canada has taxed the income of at least two other skilled gamblers -- a professional pool player and a horse racing bettor.
The pony player was using inside information, and the pool shark wagered on his own games -- big distinctions, says Siegel.
Leblanc has another thing going for him. Unlike other forms of gambling, income tax legislation specifies that lottery winnings are tax-exempt.
That point is acknowledged by Michel Proulx, a Revenue agency spokesman.
Proulx could not comment on actual cases. But in general, he said, "The Income Tax Act clearly states that lottery winnings are exempt."
Proulx also said that sports betting, unlike horse race handicapping, is like a lottery in the challenge it holds for the would-be professional.
Proulx also acknowledged the potential for another consequence should his agency successfully assess income tax charges on sports lottery winners -- the potential for those gamblers to write off their losses as business expenses when they are not successful.
-- Ottawa Citizen
Made millions in legal sports betting
Fri, Nov 17, 2000
By Zev Singer
OTTAWA -- Brian Leblanc has done so well at sports wagering that the federal government wants to charge income tax on his winnings.
During the last few years, legal sports betting tickets have made Leblanc, 29, a multimillionaire.
Although such winnings are supposed to be tax-free, Leblanc has been so successful that the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency now considers betting to be his job.
The agency is attempting to re-assess Leblanc's taxes back to 1996 as well as those of his brother Terry, who does the same type of betting.
"We consider your gambling activities as a business activity and those revenues are taxable for income tax purposes," says a letter Leblanc received this week from the agency.
That's something he'd like to bet on.
In the office of his lawyer, Mark Siegel, Leblanc says he will fight this one all the way.
How can this be considered his job, he asks, when he spends 10 minutes a day making his picks on which hockey, football or basketball teams will beat which others?
"It takes virtually no time at all. I can do it just like that," says Leblanc snapping his fingers.
His system is all about finding the few really good bets -- situations where the odds offered seem to be out of sync with what they ought to be.
Last year, for example, he won $1.7 million when he noticed that the Atlantic Canada sports lottery was setting odds on NBA basketball based on outdated team rosters.
He won't say how much money he's made, but his largest single pay day was $7 million.
Revenue Canada has taxed the income of at least two other skilled gamblers -- a professional pool player and a horse racing bettor.
The pony player was using inside information, and the pool shark wagered on his own games -- big distinctions, says Siegel.
Leblanc has another thing going for him. Unlike other forms of gambling, income tax legislation specifies that lottery winnings are tax-exempt.
That point is acknowledged by Michel Proulx, a Revenue agency spokesman.
Proulx could not comment on actual cases. But in general, he said, "The Income Tax Act clearly states that lottery winnings are exempt."
Proulx also said that sports betting, unlike horse race handicapping, is like a lottery in the challenge it holds for the would-be professional.
Proulx also acknowledged the potential for another consequence should his agency successfully assess income tax charges on sports lottery winners -- the potential for those gamblers to write off their losses as business expenses when they are not successful.
-- Ottawa Citizen
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