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Every year when the NFL football season approaches there are always Canadians looking to open up new online sports betting accounts and would like to understand whether it’s legal to do so. In this article, we will explain the current online wagering situation in Canada, and good news, online sports betting is legal:)
Currently citizens of Canada are free to open up online sports betting accounts anywhere they wish online. The important thing to do is to review and find the best online sportsbook or bookmaker who has been in the business a long time and maintains a great reputation. The objective of BestSportsbooks.ca is to only recommend the sportsbooks with the best reputations and strong financial backing.
For instance, Bet365 is among the ten largest privately held sportsbooks in the United Kingdom. William Hill, Sportingbet, 888 Sport, Bwin and others are also publicly traded companies and among the largest corporations in the world.
These are blue chip sports betting sites that have been in business for over ten years. These sportsbooks are licensed in Europe, serve Canadians legally, and have the strongest reputations for customer service and fast payouts in the industry.
South of the border in the United States, the situation is different. Online sports betting has always been illegal but this does not stop online bookmakers from opening up shop online. This law was reinforced in 2006 and many of these sportsbooks closed shop.
There were some Canadians who were customers with these sportsbooks who had trouble getting their money out or any information at all. Sportsbooks that accept wagers from US residents are operating illegally and can be shut down at any time.
This has happened in the past and will continue to happen in the future as the FBI closely monitors these sports betting operations. We strongly advise not to set up betting accounts at the sportsbook that accept US customers or sportsbooks licensed in Jamaica or Kahnawake.
Making a sportsbook deposit can for some Canadians be easy, for others it may be more difficult. Some Canadian banks issue Visa and Mastercards with blocks for online gaming sites. These banks would rather not take the risk of chargebacks or do not feel gambling is something they want to facilitate. If you are unable to deposit to an online sportsbook using your Visa or Mastercard, no need to worry.
There are plenty of other online deposit options available to you. Most sports betting customers choose to use an e-wallet to deposit and withdrawal funds to and from online sportsbooks. These wallets work just like an online bank account (just like PayPal) where you load and withdraw funds directly from your bank account or credit card. They are very easy to set up, legal and provide great customer service. The most popular sports betting e-wallets include Instadebit, IDebit, PaySafeCard, Click2Pay or Entropay. These accounts are free to set up and most have no or very low transactions fees, fees are paid by the sportsbook and not the customer.
Provincial governments in Canada also participate in the sports betting business through provincial lottery retailers. Pro-line (Ontario) or Sports Action (BC) are popular among Canadians but offer poor odds value when it comes to payouts.
Odds for the same events at online sportsbooks payout more than 50% and offer many more betting options. The best part is you do not need to go to the convenience store to place wagers and money can be quickly deposited back to your personal chequing account. Betting at a reputable online sports betting site has infinite advantages:) Learn more about Proline vs Online Sportsbooks
