PayPal is the preferred payment method for many Canadians. They like that the banking option is accepted by most merchants and use it to pay their bills, send money, and buy things online.
However, one thing that PayPal isn’t used for is online gambling. Unfortunately, the popular eWallet is not an option at online casinos in Canada and there are no exceptions to this.
According to this page of Online-Casinos.com, online casinos in Canada do not accept PayPal, but there are various alternative payment methods.
This means that even though you are currently unable to use PayPal for gambling in Canada, there are other possible options. However, before we go into alternative banking methods, let’s look at why PayPal is off-limits at Canadian online casinos.
PayPal Doesn’t Like Gray Areas
When the United States legislation decided to regulate online gambling in 2006, you just knew that Canadians would feel the fallout from that decision. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 stipulated that all online gambling was illegal in the US.
This prompted companies such as PayPal to stop processing transactions from US casino players. This meant that players couldn’t make deposits into their casino accounts. PayPal’s reasoning here was that until gambling is entirely legal in the US, they would not risk their reputation by facilitating illegal gambling.
How is this relevant to Canadian casino players? Well, online gambling in Canada is neither legal nor illegal. It is as gray as an area can be. Payment processing operators like PayPal don’t like black and gray areas and prefer to work in clearly outlined legal frameworks.
Therefore, just to be on the safe side, PayPal made the call not to accept Canadian online casino deposits until online gambling is entirely legal in the country. Their decision was final and, unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about it.
Well, there are lots of things that we can do about it, but neither one of these involves PayPal. Instead, they involve various alternatives, such as the ones listed below.
PayPal Casino Payment Alternatives
Visa
Visa credit cards are a great alternative to PayPal. They allow players to make deposits easily and you would be hard-pressed to find a Canadian casino that won’t accept your Visa deposit.
Most Canadian casinos will also let you withdraw money using a Visa credit card. This is great as it means that you only have to use one payment method for deposits and withdrawals.
iDebit
iDebit is an eWallet service that connects your casino account to your bank account. As a result, it enables you to make fast and safe transfers. If eWallets are your thing, then iDebit is one of the better alternatives to PayPal that Canadian casinos can offer.
EcoPayz
Another eWallet that you can use at Canadian casinos is EcoPayz. This eWallet is your best alternative if you are into anonymous transactions. You only share your financial data with EcoPayz and no one else.
One of the great things about using EcoPayz is that all transactions are lightning-fast. Another is that you can also use it to make withdrawals. These are pretty quick too, but you have to wait for the casino to clear your winnings first. This usually takes around 48 hours.
Interac
Interac is a safe e-transfer payment method that allows you to make instant deposits and withdrawals at Canadian casinos that accept it. It is connected directly to your bank account and this means that moving money back and forth between the casino and the bank is quite easy once the connection is established.
InstaDebit
InstaDebit is very similar to iDebit. The only difference is that if your InstaDebit account is empty, you need to transfer funds to it before you can deposit. In contrast, iDebit transfers are instant.
Citadel
Citadel is an instant banking method, but for it to work, both your bank and the casino have to support it. If that’s the case, you don’t even need to set up an account and instantly make transfers.
eCheck
eCheck deposits are simple automated clearing house (ACH) transfers. They are tried and tested but are slower than other deposit options. ACH transfers may look like they are from a bygone era compared to new blockchain technologies, but they are still very reliable.
Paysafecard
Paysafecard is a prepaid card that you can load and reload and then use it to make safe and anonymous casino deposits. Prepaid cards are great if you have a gambling bankroll and want to keep that separate from other funds.
Neosurf
With Neosurf, you buy a voucher online or in-person and then you deposit digital cash into your casino account using the voucher.
InPay
InPay allows you to transfer money from your bank to your casino account in Canadian currency. The one drawback is that deposits usually take more than 24 hours to get to your casino account.
Vanilla Prepaid
Vanilla Prepaid is a prepaid card that you can use in the same way you use Visa or Mastercard. You only need to buy the card at some of the many Canadian retailers that have it.
