Canada Betting Sites, Bookmakers and Free Bets
Many people associate Canada with hot summers and long cold winters. The Canadian geography is as diverse as its 36 million residents. Betting on sports in Canada is one of the interests of Canadians among other activities.
Canada betting activities are quite common throughout the country and there are a couple of bookmakers that offer these services. The world in which Canadian bookmakers operate is muddled and confusing, matching Canada’s gambling laws. Almost all Canadian betting sites walk a fine line between legal and illegal operations.
It doesn’t help when most gambling sites in Canada aren’t sure where the line is. If they don’t know, how could players wish to try their hand playing at betting sites in Canada possibly be expected to? Fortunately, that’s where we come in.
- 1Everything you need to know about Canadian sports betting sites
- 2Online betting Canada was better
- 3There are a limited number of bookies in Canada
- 4Best Sports Betting Sites and Canadian Bookmakers
- 5Most Popular Sports in Canadian Betting Sites
- 6The Legality of Canada Bookmakers
- 7Sports Betting Bonuses and Free Bets at Canadian Bookies
- 8How did we pick the best Canadian bookmakers?
- 9The short history of legal betting sites in Canada
- 10Facts about Canadian bookmakers
- 11Best payment methods to use at Canada bookmakers
- 12FAQ about betting sites Canada
Let’s continue with a list of international betting sites that accept members from Canada. This fact also makes them best Canadian betting sites because you can still use your own currency, in some cases even crypto betting is accepted, get bonuses, and place bets for Canadian teams/leagues. (However, if you are looking for Euro bookmakers and betting sites, we can help you in that regards too.) Without further due, we present you our list of best betting sites Canada. Pick one and enjoy!
Top 10 Betting Sites for Canada in 05 November 2024 – Updated List
Everything you need to know about Canadian sports betting sites
We will tell you everything you need to know about Canada betting in this guide, a list of the best online bookmakers Canada included. Each province and territory are responsible for their own gambling laws. So, for example, Canada bookmakers can be legal in some states and illegal in another. Or, the answer to is cricket betting legal in Canada can be yes in state A but no in-state B – the situation of gambling sites in Canada is very much like the United States.
Until the online gambling industry began to flourish in the early 1990s, Canadians who were looking to bet on sports events were relegated to playing provincial sports lotteries or finding local Canada bookmakers. In other words, betting markets were very limited and there were no competitive odds. When the Internet sports betting boom arrived, Canadian punters were overjoyed. No longer were they forced to play parlays with the terrible odds that government lotteries offered. Online bookmakers Canada were offering much better.
Best Sports Betting Sites and Canadian Bookmakers
Most Popular Sports in Canadian Betting Sites
Canadians enjoy a very wide range of sports. With so much water around, sailing, rowing, and a host of other water sports such as swimming, diving, and water polo are sports enjoyed by players at Aruba bookmakers also, because if its proximity to water. With many mountainous regions there, skiing and snowboarding have a large following. You can find all of them in a Canadian sportsbook.
Basketball, baseball, American football, and rugby have a large following as do soccer, tennis, golf, figure skating, and auto racing. The most widely followed sport in Canada is hockey which has a rich history here. Hockey on USA betting sites is also a popular sport . All these regularly form wagerable markets at the best betting sites in Canada.
The Legality of Canada Bookmakers
Sports Betting Bonuses and Free Bets at Canadian Bookies
With the top brands in the sports betting industry competing for their share of the lucrative Canadian sports betting market, you can be sure that there are plenty of deposit bonuses for customers to claim, especially at Canadian Dollar bookmakers. Mozzart welcomes their customers with a €25 free bet. 22bet offers their new customers a 100% match up to $122, while SportsBet.io provides cryptocurrency and FIAT currency bonuses to its members with no promo codes required. Other notable sites with big bonuses which are worth a punt include STS Sports, 1xBet, and Tornado Bet.
Bookmaker Canada sites in the country also regularly hand out other promos and betting bonuses to punters. It is not uncommon to find a host of free bets at Canada’s finest online sportsbooks. These can include money-back deals, no deposit bonuses, and much more besides. There are many more great bonuses by top bookmakers waiting to be claimed by Canadian citizens. Check Gamblingjudge.com for the best promotions from the Malta bookmakers to Australian betting sites and many other world’s most highly respected online bookmakers.
How did we pick the best Canadian bookmakers?
The short history of legal betting sites in Canada
When John Cabot first set foot in Canada in 1497, local tribes were already playing many gambling games using sticks and bones. Cabot brought card games with him and even used them as a way to communicate with the locals. Until 1892, the most popular game in Canada was, believe it or not, a weird card game called “Faro”. A game that the Germans invented in the 15th century and soon forgot, became very popular in Canada for some reason. In 1892, with the Criminal Code, all forms of gambling were banned at the federal level. However, upon the objections of the states, this ban underwent many changes in the following years. For example:
- In 1900, it became legal to hold bingo games for charity.
- In 1910, pari-mutual horse racing betting was legalized.
- In 1925, it was decided that gambling games could be organized in pairs.
- In 1969, lotteries became legal.
- In 1985, it was decided that states were free to legalize gambling.
In this context, the legal status of both gambling and Canadian bookmakers as of 2024 is as follows:
- Every province in Canada has legalized both land-based and online gambling. The extent of this may differ from state to state. For example, Quebec allows online casinos and bookmakers in Canada. More conservative states continue to allow only Canadian bookmakers and ban online casinos.
- Canada does not have a federal-level gambling regulator. In other words, it is not possible to get a single license and serve the whole country. Each state has its own regulator and licensing system. One state’s license is not valid in another. For example, Canadian bookmakers licensed in Alberta can only operate in that state.
- Therefore, international operators do not enter the Canadian market locally because they have to get a license from each state. This is both expensive and inefficient. Fortunately, Canadian laws are quite liberal and there is nothing preventing Canadian citizens to play at offshore operators. In other words, you can choose a site outside of Canada to benefit from services such as in-play betting or matched betting Canada.
For all these reasons, the best Canada bookmakers are bookmakers by country which provide the best possible service on topics such as deposit bonuses, betting odds, and live matches.
Facts about Canadian bookmakers
Tip
- Although based in Canada, the only regulator not affected by Canadian gambling laws is the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. This commission is located in the Kahnawake region, where the Mohawk Indians live, and is completely independent in its internal affairs. It is free to make its own legal arrangements in all matters (including gambling). A license from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission is used by most Canadian bookmakers, including the Kahnawake bookmakers, and these sites can accept members from almost anywhere in the world.
- Each province in Canada has its own licensing system, and theoretically, a private company could also obtain these licenses. In practice, however, nearly all legal Canada bookmakers and sports betting exchanges are semi-official monopolies administered by the provinces. It has been made almost impossible for a third company to obtain these licenses.
- By law, a peace officer has the right to confiscate anything he finds in an unlicensed gambling den and does not need a warrant for it. But oddly enough, “telegraph devices” are excluded from this. This is because Canadian gambling laws are outdated and many of them are not updated. It is not possible to confiscate telegraph equipment as it would be contrary to freedom of communication.
- According to an academic study, the most popular type of gambling in Canada is scratch cards. 41.50% of players play this game regularly. The popularity of table games in casinos is only 17.10%. Horse racing bets, on the other hand, attract only 3.50% of the player base.
- The province with the most legal gambling options in Canada is Ontario, and the majority of the country’s land-based casinos are located here. This state is also the only region where slot machines are more popular than sports betting.
Best payment methods to use at Canada bookmakers
FAQ about betting sites Canada
At the federal level, no – other than a special type of sports betting, gambling (including online gambling) is illegal in Canada. However, every state is free to legalize gambling and at the moment, all states in Canada legalized it up to a certain point.
No. Due to legal problems, Neteller no longer serves in Canada. In order to continue its operations, the company had to obtain permission from each state. Instead of dealing with it, Neteller decided to end its service entirely.
The answer to this question depends on which state you live in and what you want to do. The federal age limit is 19. However, in the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec, you must be 18 years old.
If Canadian bettors make a profit from betting options such as live betting and mobile betting, they do not have to pay any taxes. However, if they are getting interested in their winnings, they have to report it to the Tax Office using a T5 form.
Free bet is among the most common bonuses and promotions you can find on online sportsbook sites, so we can say that almost all top bookies make this offer. However, to take advantage of the best betting offers Canada, we recommend that you choose from the sites we recommend.
In general, we can say that water sports and winter sports are quite popular - ice hockey in particular. Football, basketball, and ice skating are also popular in the country. You can find the largest number of betting Canada options (and the best odds) for these sports.
Get ready to play at top betting sites Canada
If you are looking for the best betting sites in Canada for any sports from e-sports betting to basketball, you are in the right place. We have listed and reviewed the most popular and new betting sites in Canada for you and selected the best ones. We have been in the sports market for years and we know how to choose the best sports betting offers. You can trust us. We’ve evaluated Canadian bookmakers against our high-quality standards and identified the ones that make the best offers for you. That’s not all: we also have lists for different payment methods (i.e., new online bookmakers iDeal) and different currencies (i.e., our article about currencies of bookmakers), so we can offer you a choice no matter what you’re looking for. Whichever bookmaker Canada you choose, we wish you the best of luck: we’re sure you’ll start winning in no time!
Other related articles you might like: