Online casino gambling in Canada

The online gambling situation in Canada has caused its citizens confusion for some time. There are questions over legality, but the fact is that you can safely gamble online in Canada. Unfortunately the confusion does tend to make it harder for sites to get the word out, but the community is growing all the time and new sites appear every day, catering to Canadians. The beauty of online technology of course is that no matter where in the world you are, you have the same access to high quality games and technology.

Pros and cons of playing online in Canada

The legal question in Canada arises from the fact that it’s illegal for online casinos to operate within Canada’s borders, or at least in certain provinces. This fact tends to put people off even considering online slots, but the fact is that this only applies to the casino, not to the player. Canadians can play online! The casino is the party that needs to be outside the borders, which of course they are, some only by a short distance. The fact that it all takes place online makes these geographical differences disappear. Legally, you are safe to gamble online and it’s only the website that needs to concern itself with these matters. Online gambling is legal from the age of 18 or 19, depending on province.

The only downsides to this situation are advertising and money transfers. The money situation is that some sites catering to Canadians will struggle to process direct cash transfers, so instead they favour online cash services like Neteller and Skrill. You don’t need to worry much about this, as sites will state clearly what they can accept and more sites are adapting to use more methods all the time. Depositing and withdrawal are simply performed as usual, in all other respects. You should find that most sites offer encryption and other security for online transfers, so it’s worth a quick check on their information pages.

Advertising tends to be limited for Canadian sites due to the legality problem, so you may need to rely on word of mouth and internet searches to find the best sites. The best thing to do is check a site’s credentials once you find it, to make sure they have a licence in whatever territory they are based. You can also check that they accept Canadian Dollars and offer English and French speaking support. Ideally you want phone, email and live chat, which most big sites offer and gives you an option for any situation.

Canadian online play is growing all the time, because while Canada does have land casinos, they are not always easy to get to when the snow is falling and it’s cold out. Between this and the expense of service, food and sometimes accommodation, there’s a booming demand for online slots. That in turn leads to a great selection of sites, with the latest games. Canadian sites can offer everything from 5 reel slots to roulette and live dealers.