Thousands of people fall prey to scams related to casinos daily. It is clear that solution stands in educated players, who know to distinguish what’s right!
Don’t make the rookie mistake of jumping headfirst into an activity that requires your time, personal details, and money before reading your law-protected privileges. Knowing your online casino rights will ultimately lead to a safer and better outcome of your gambling sessions if you make the right choices while learning the right things!
First of all, let’s tackle the top question on everyone’s mind!
It is legal to participate in virtual gambling as a Canadian resident or from inside Canada’s territories. The minimum legal age is dependent on each province’s legislation. The age varies from 18 to 19 years old when the law states you are an adult, and it always coincides with the permitted drinking age. Even if our focus is on your rights, underage gambling is an offence, so stay away from such activities if you’re a minor.
Now, onto the rights you have!
1. You are allowed to access online casinos – it’s legal!
Online gambling is perfectly within the limits of the Canadian legislation for adults!
What you probably don’t know is that there are two main types of licensing. A casino license is like approval of function, given by a regulatory authority to a casino business to ensure the latter is respecting the law and the players.
For the regular Canadian folk, you can either play at a:
- Locally licensed gambling website, checked by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission;
- Externally licensed by any established institution in the domain, like the United Kingdom Gambling Commission or the Malta Gaming Authority.
The license owned by a casino determines pretty much all the things that interest you. When applying for such an approval seal from any top authority in the iGaming industry, the casino proves that everything from games to payments, client handling, disputes, and many more, work in order.
Thus, you are advised to check the casino’s license before signing up. It’s usually in the front page’s footer, at the top of the T&C page, or somewhere else visible on the site.
2. You have control over your gambling funds (almost completely)
3. You have the right to change your mind over your deposits in your gaming account, and cash out should always be permitted with your real-money transfers.
Even so, be in the know about two specific exceptions to this rule!
Exception 1: Sometimes casinos can impose a rule that states that even real-money funds need to be wagered (aka rolled in bets on the lobby games) before they are cashed out. The result means that you are allowed to take back your funds, but there’s no guarantee you’ll “come back” with the same amount.
So read the terms before spending!
Exception 2: If you’ve made a real-money transfer to an online casino with the aim of accessing a bonus, your real funds and bonus funds may be locked until you have completed the necessary bonus wagering. Canadian players should find this information under the “Bonus Policy” section or any other derivative.
Cashing out in such situations may mean losing your money altogether! So always read the rules carefully!
4. You can use your bank cards or e-wallets to fund your gambling
Several well-known Canadian banks will allow you to use your bank funds to access online casinos. Since rules constantly change, we can’t give you a definitive directory, but here’s a shortlist of casino-friendly banks:
- Bank of Montreal;
- TD Bank;
- The Royal Bank of Canada;
- The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
You are also allowed to use more modern payment options like e-wallets to fund your gaming account. Canadians prefer services such as:
- Interac Online & Interac e-Transfer;
- iDebit;
- INSTADEBIT;
- Skrill Moneybookers & Skrill 1-Tap, etc.
As with all rights, there are things you should take note of so you don’t lose your money. You gave to make sure that your bank will not impose fees on gambling transactions. You can check that in your individual contract with the monetary institution.
5. Your privacy is protected – both your data and your online history
You must give proof of identity, funds, and place of residence when you choose to play at a Canadian online casino. The process in which your papers are verified is called KYC, Know Your Customer. The aim is to ensure safety in the gambling community and disallow minor access to gambling products.
It is your right to have your data kept private, away from third-party marketing/data mining services and online bad actors, like hackers.
Thus, a casino must ask you for clear photos or scans of your papers but also keep them somewhere safe.
Your right to privacy extends naturally to your Internet history and traces. So, even if online casinos will stock your necessary Cookies, they need to keep these logs safe and not share them with other companies unless you expressly consent to do so.
Our advice: Even if casinos with great licensing already respect these rules, read the site’s Privacy Policy and see that for yourself.
You have the right to access fair play casino products
Fairness is owed to you when it comes to the outcomes of your games and the statements noted in the casino’s Terms and Conditions. Let’s delve into both of these scenarios and talk more about each one!
Online casino games work on complicated software that is coded with millions of outcomes, no matter if we are talking popular slot machines or table games with Live Dealers. Using Random Number Generators (RNG for short), the games fully mimic the outcomes from land-based scenarios.
Suppose your chosen casino has a good licensing. In that case, this feature is tested dozens of times prior to the casino “going live” in the online space. However, you can have some tricks up your sleeve to solidify your safety.
Our advice: In the footer of the casino’s main pages, alongside the seal of approval from licensing authorities, you might find thumbnails from eCOGRA or iTechLabs. These are two of the most productive and trusted gaming testing agencies, which ensure that the games are not rigged in the casino’s favour.
It takes time and money to have one’s games tested by them. Even so, established software providers and gambling sites use their services to prove an extra layer of safety, which leads to the acquisition of new customers and retention of existing ones.
In the same fashion, the Terms and Conditions of a site need to be transparent and fair, showing no bias for “The House”. When you click on “I agree with the Terms and Conditions”, you are legally binding yourself with an electronic contract with the casino. Thus, the terms there need to be balanced and fair.
And you must always read through all of them carefully.
Similarly, when you are already a user of a gambling site, and the terms change, as it always happens since this feature stands at the discretion of the online casino, two things need to happen:
- You need to be notified of the changes before they take effect via the communication method you’ve chosen (newsletter, email, SMS, pop-up notifications when you’re logged in, etc.).
- You need to have enough time to read them before they start affecting your features and overall experience, and you need to have the possibility to opt out if they’re not to your liking.
Our advice: Do not be fooled into thinking that only the bolded, italics or all-caps paragraphs are of importance to you. That is a myth, and most likely, the lines highlighted represent a limited liability on the casino company’s part. The rest will mean more to you and your time spent gaming.
6. You can bet on single-event sports events! (A 2021 Change)
Canada’s Parliament reached a conclusion at the beginning of the year in relation to online sports betting. Giving the fact that Canadians spend millions of CAD annually on such bets on offshore sites, the C-218 Bill will allow Canadians to do that on local sites.
The Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act was voted with multi-party support and will legalize making a sports bet slip with one event that you wager on.
We know that Canadian folks are very much into sports and live each match at the edge of their seat while supporting their favourite team. Predictions are the most productive bets will be on Canadian favourites such as: basketball, hockey, football, boxing, horse racing, F1, etc.
What is even more advantageous for you once this road is open is the possibility of staking bets on competitions outside the country, like the US NFL or the EU Soccer Championship.
Even if 2021 opened up a whole new chapter when it comes to betting, you are advised to be wary of how much you spend. If you’re a rookie, then don’t stake too much money, and always stake an amount you’re comfortable losing. The same goes for making bets on sports you don’t know well.
Ending thoughts
Online gambling is on an upwards trend in Canada, and it’s only natural that you might want to get in on the fun. But, since it entails a dose of risk associated with your money, you need to keep your wallet safe and read expert guides like this one before playing!
Now that you are more knowledgeable, all there is left to say is “Good luck!” and “Play responsibly!”
