Discover the best payment methods for online gambling in Canada, including credit cards, bank payments, digital wallets, crypto, and pay by phone options.
Online gambling searches in Canada have surged to unprecedented levels since the government’s legalization of single-wager betting in 2021. However, it’s important to note that Canadians have been engaging in online casino games for over a decade. While certain provinces offer the option to play slots or lotto games through government-controlled websites, many individuals opt for offshore casinos due to their wider game selection, generous bonuses, and expedited payouts. To get started, simply create an account and make your initial deposit using one of these five widely used payment methods:
Image courtesy of Michał Parzuchowski
Credit/Debit Cards
If you love to shop online using your credit card, you’ll be glad to know that almost every online casino supports credit/debit cards. Below are the three most popular card options:
- Visa
- MasterCard
- Maestro
Whether you use Visa, MasterCard, or Maestro all comes down to preference. You qualify for bonuses regardless of your chosen card provider. Also, you get the same security options.
The only difference is that credit cards are more secure than debit cards. Debit cards take out money from your bank account. If a hacker breaches your card information, they could empty your bank balance.
With credit cards, you lose money loaned to you by the credit card company. The best credit card companies don’t charge you for money lost through online scams. That being said, avoid gambling using borrowed money. It could lead to more debt.
Bank Payments
Bank payments have a reputation for being slow and expensive. But this isn’t always the case. It all depends on the bank payment platform you choose:
- Traditional Wire Transfer
Traditional wire transfer involves sending money from your bank to the casino’s bank account manually. It takes 1-5 days for the casino to receive your money if you follow this route. This is why almost no one uses bank transfers for online casino deposits.
- IDebit
iDebit is an online banking provider that acts as an intermediary between your bank and online casinos. iDebit provides safe, instant deposits. For clarity, payments made to online gambling sites through iDebit are free of charge.
Against that backdrop, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that iDebit is one of the most preferred payment options for online casinos. You can find a list of top iDebit online casinos in Canada on this dedicated review page.
- E-Checks
An e-Check works like a traditional paper check. When you authorize this payment, money is deducted from your checking account and transferred to the casino’s bank account.
Authorization takes place through an online form. You fill in the details, including the deposit amount. Your favorite casino adds its bank account details. After this, your bank deducts money from your account and sends a receipt to you.
Although funds processed through an e-Check may take 2-5 days, they come with a 100% assurance the casino will receive the money. As such, the casinos will usually debit your deposit amount immediately.
Digital Wallets
If you’re like many Canadians, you use e-wallets for online shopping payment methods. They’re fast, cheap, and secure. Most of them don’t even charge you fees while paying for services at online casinos.
Now, there are dozens of mobile wallets out there. But these are the best companies to use for online casino payments:
- Google Pay
Google Pay is Google’s attempt to compete with PayPal. The wallet is available in 30+ countries. Canada is one of them. GPay works like PayPal. You add funds through a credit/debit card. Or you can use it as a link between your credit card and an online casino.
That being said, GPay works with a limited number of online casinos. Most of these sites are safe and reliable, though. They also give you a bonus if you’re a new customer.
- Skrill/Neteller
Both Skrill and Neteller come from the same company—Paysafe. Neteller started in Canada in 1999 while Skrill launched in the UK in 2001. For a long time, Skrill and Neteller were the best e-wallets to use for online casino deposits.
In the mid-2010s, some casinos stopped awarding customers bonuses if they deposited through either e-wallet. The accusation was that Skrill and Neteller had lax verification rules. And this allowed people to abuse bonuses.
With that said, it’s now possible to get a bonus if you deposit through Skrill or Neteller. However, you must dig deep to find a good promotion.
Crypto
Although crypto started in 2009, it didn’t become popular until Bitcoin exploded in value. Then celebrities started tweeting about it. In the past few years, crypto has skyrocketed in popularity, price, and use.
Should you use crypto for casino payments? If you like Bitcoin and altcoins, find a good crypto casino. You’ll receive bigger bonuses and you may have access to blockchain-based games. That said, below are the most accepted crypto options:
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Litecoin
- USDT
Bitcoin is the biggest cryptocurrency by value. However, it’s not the fastest option. If you want quicker transactions or lower costs, consider using an altcoin like USDT or Solana.
Pay by Phone
Pay by Phone casinos allow you to play slots and poker on credit. However, you need the right payment provider for this arrangement to work. Also, you need to be creditworthy.
- Boku
Boku is an American startup that serves as a great option for payment methods. It requires your cell phone number to send you an authorization message every time you want to ‘deposit’ money to a casino. To complete the process, you need to reply with ‘Y.’
Unfortunately, Boku has low limits for casino Pay by Phone customers. You’ll be lucky to receive a casino credit worth $200 or more per month.