Alternatives to PayPal Casinos in Canada
Learn why you won’t find a PayPal casino Canada iGamers can access, and where to turn for a worthy payment alternative.
There was a time when PayPal was the only trusted way to pay for anything online. Credit and debit cards were accepted, but security wasn’t what it is today. If an online account was compromised, all of your banking information went with it. PayPal guaranteed their user’s security. If anything went wrong, as it sometimes did, PayPal covered it, and they took that guarantee very seriously. I know – I had to call on them more than once in the early 2000s.
Nearly two decades down the line, universal security measures are far tighter. Almost everyone banks online is one way or another, and there are a lot more safe, secure and trusted ways to move money. But for many people who lived through the most precarious days of internet eCommerce, it’s hard to let go of that way of thinking. For them, PayPal remains the one and only way trusted to make a safe payment.
This doesn’t present a problem for everyone who remains committed to PayPal. But if you happen to be a fan of internet gambling, and if you happen to live in Canada, you’ll find that PayPal is no longer willing to accommodate your deposits and withdrawals.
No PayPal Casino Canada Players can Trust
In recent years, several online payment processors decided to abandon the entire North American iGaming market. It wasn’t that they didn’t want their business. Quite the contrary, US and Canada made up the bulk of their revenue from the global internet gambling sector. The problem started with the United States, when the Department of Justice chose to declare a prohibition against online gambling.
PayPal, being the good and upstanding business that it is, wasted no time bowing out of the US market. Canadian customers were still accommodated for years, right up until the US flip-flopped. The federal government changed its mind, saying states could individually legalize and regulate iGaming as they saw fit.
Well, some states were very picky about what companies could and could not participate, and that included payment processors. Those states said that if any company does anything illegal outside the US, they can’t operate within the US. And with that, PayPal fled the entire North American market.
But Online Gambling Is Legal in Canada, Right?
Yes, online gambling is perfectly legal in Canada. We can access locally regulated iGaming sites, or the multitude of internationally regulated ones. We can even place straight-up, single-game sports bets with overseas bookmakers, despite the fact that single-event betting is illegal on Canadian soil. For us online players, and the offshore websites we visit, it’s not illegal at all. Only local operators are prohibited from offering it. But… PayPal’s attorneys saw a “grey area” of the law, and said “Better safe than sorry!”
PayPal wasn’t the only one, either. Two other major online payment processors, Neteller and Skrill, also tucked their tails and fled the North American market, all so that they could access US states where it’s expressly legal and regulated.
PayPal’s iGaming Policies in US and Canada
If you take the time to read the fine print on the PayPal website (I know, who does that, right? Well, I did), you’ll find that it’ snot even prohibited for Canadians to use PayPal at online casinos. Here’s what the company’s policy states, first for US customers, then for Canadian:
PayPal’s US Gambling Policy reads:
“PayPal prohibits transactions for gambling activities by merchants and account holders in the U.S. and any jurisdiction where gambling activities are illegal, and by merchants whose services are accessible to account holders in the U.S.”
PayPal Canada’s Acceptable Use Policy, under Activities Requiring Approval, reads:
“Activities involving gambling, gaming and/or any other activity with an entry fee and a prize, including, but not limited to casino games, sports betting, horse or greyhound racing, fantasy sports, lottery tickets, other ventures that facilitate gambling, games of skill (whether or not legally defined as gambling) and sweepstakes, if the operator and customers are located exclusively in jurisdictions where such activities are permitted by law.”
It’s that last few words that matter most; “permitted by law”. Canadian law does not prohibit online gambling with internationally regulated websites, but because the government does not expressly legalize this activity, it’s not considered “permitted”. Therefore it falls into that “grey area” of the law; something PayPal isn’t willing to risk its multi-billion dollar global business on.
Alternatives to PayPal Online Casinos Canada
As we’ve already discussed, other popular online payment processors like Neteller and Skrill are also out of the question. But don’t worry, there are several safe, secure and favorably fast ways to get your money in and out of an online casino.
EcoPayz Web Wallet: If you’re determined to stick with the eWallet vertical – and I don’t blame you, if that’s what you like – Canadians can still use EcoPayz. Formerly known as EcoCard, this company has been around more than 15 years. It’s quick, convenient, cost effective, and quite honestly, the only reliable web wallet left for Canadian iGamers.
Instant eCheck: I’ve been a fan of eChecks, or Instant eChecks as some casinos call them, for many years. It’s like writing a paper cheque, but without the pen and paper, and as the name implies, deposits are instant.
Interac Online eTransfer: In the last year or two, Canadians have come to trust Interac deposits more than any other method. Founded and facilitated by the nation’s largest banks, it’s as secure as any form of online banking can be, it’s free, and you don’t even have to sign up. If you already have a bank or credit union account in Canada, odds are you already have access to Interac.
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