The first step to safe gambling is finding licensed and reputable casinos. Fortunately, we have already done it! On our website, you will find the top Canadian online casinos of 2023. All presented casinos have been hand-picked and reviewed by our experts. They are ranked by games range, payoff ratio, available bonuses, and given an overall score so you can easily decide where you want to play. Check out for yourself, follow one of the links below, and give them a try!
Best Casino Payment Methods In Canada
Thanks to the information technology boom, there are lots of payment methods available for online transactions apart from traditional plastic cards. All casino payment methods have their strong and weak points, showing different levels of security, complexity, and speed. Let’s find out what payment options you have.
Credit/Debit Cards
Good old plastic still occupies a spot in most people’s wallets despite the increasing popularity of mobile banking. Most people use their Tangerine or MBNA cards for shopping online, which does not differ much from using those to deposit in the casino. This payment method for casinos is most commonly used and you will hardly ever find a casino that won’t accept a credit or debit card. And there are some good reasons for it.
As mentioned before, people are used to paying with plastic online. It is fast, and offers exceptional fraud protection, as all unauthorized withdrawals can be reported to the issuing bank which will investigate the case and initiate a chargeback. You can also increase safety by setting a daily or monthly online payment limit. In addition, some credit cards might reward your activity with cashback, bonus points, and other promos.
Sure, there are also drawbacks. When entering card credentials online there is always a slight chance that they can get leaked. So it’s better not to use your main card which holds most of your savings. Another problem relates specifically to using credit cards. If you won’t practice responsible gambling it’s easy to lose control and accumulate large debt which will be hard to pay back.
Almost every Canadian online casino supports credit and debit cards. Various types of cards are allowed, including the most popular Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.
E-Wallets
Digital wallets are special applications, that store your card’s payment information in an encrypted format. When paying with an e-wallet you don’t have to manually enter your card number, due date, and CVV, but verify yourself through the wallet which will handle the transaction. This way there is no need to carry a plastic around or memorize your credentials, and also your card info gets more protection.
As you see, electronic wallets act as a build-up on regular credit and debit cards. They make paying easier, more secure, and flexible. For example, a website can display a QR code for payment, which you can then read with your device and make a transaction with a single touch. E-wallets are among the best casino payment methods in terms of comfort.
Make sure to use reputable and verified applications. Such well-known wallets as ApplePay and Google wallet will keep you safe, as well as the Interac e-Transfer feature. Also, keep in mind that some of the older online casinos might not yet support this technology.
Pre-Paid Cards
Pre-paid cards function similar to regular credit and debit cards, with one large difference — you can not exceed their balance. Those cards don’t have a dedicated bank account and only allow you to put some money on them and then spend it. This payment method for casinos is a great way to control your budget. Once a month you can load a prepaid card with the exact amount you allow yourself to gamble on. Also, there are limited losses if hackers get their hands on such cards.
The downside of prepaid cards is that they tend to have higher commission rates than regular ones. Those include monthly fees, transaction fees, and sometimes there is even a fee for checking the balance.
We recommend using the KOHO Visa prepaid card, which has zero fees for owners of KOHO or KOHO Joint accounts and offers 0,5% cashback on certain purchases, and the Mogo Visa platinum prepaid card, which has no monthly or transaction fees beside charging 1,5% ATM fee in Canada and 3% abroad.
Bank Wire Transfer
If you want to deposit or withdraw a hefty amount of money and need maximum speed and security, then a wire transfer is ideal for you. It’s arguably the fastest and the safest among casino payment methods, as money is moved directly between your and the casino’s bank accounts through SWIFT, Fedwire, or other similar networks. Banks provide the highest security level for such transactions, with multiple encryption levels and several authorization procedures. Though wire transfer has the lowest transaction fees, as the transfer does not involve third-party services, it will take your funds much more time to get to the destination compared to other payment methods.
The majority of the casinos support wire transfer. To use it you must know your bank account details and comply with the casino’s rules, such as the minimum deposit amount. It’s better to use wire transfers only for domestic transfers, as Canadian banks charge up to C$40 flat fees for international transactions.
Mobile Payment
Mobile payments are relatively fresh in the world of online casino payment methods, but they are already widely used because of their prominent advantages. With them, you simply deposit from your phone bill, and money becomes immediately available. Moreover, this method offers increased security and anonymity, as the only data you share is your phone number.
Boku is one of the popular services that manage mobile payments. It allows to transfer up to C$30 a day with no fees. Mobile payments require to be extra cautious, as by paying with a phone bill you can easily lose track of money and pay more than you can afford.
Cryptocurrency
Now it’s time for something more exotic. Though cryptocurrency only recently became mainstream, many casinos have already added Bitcoin, Etherium, and more popular coins to their casino payment methods. If you are already familiar with crypto, how to buy it, and where to store it, then paying with it will be no problem for you. For everybody else, there are some easy steps you need to take first:
- Register a crypto wallet (it’s as easy as registering on PayPal).
- Connect your wallet to the crypto exchange and buy coins for regular money.
- Select crypto (for example Bitcoin) in the casino’s deposit methods and use your wallet to pay.
There are both digital and hardware crypto wallets out there. If you don’t want to spend extra money we recommend the ZenGo wallet, it offers remarkable protection while supporting 70+ types of assets and is free to set up. In case you want extra security, you can purchase a hardware wallet and plug it into your PC only when you need to make a transaction. It resembles a flash drive and will cost you about 100 CAD.
Instant Banking
Instant banking is a pinnacle of fast and safe internet banking. Introduced in the early 00s, it allows direct transactions between bank accounts without the need for card credentials, thus eliminating the chances of data theft. In addition, the data transfer is encrypted to guarantee maximum safety.
Most of the casinos allow and even favor this payment method, as it doesn’t require handling the cardholders’ data making transactions much easier and safer to process. The fact that many casinos offer bonuses for using instant payments makes it one of the best casino payment methods.
The best services for instant banking in Canada are Citadel and InstaDebit. Both services allow fast and safe money transfers directly between bank accounts and are available on desktop, mobile, and as an app. Another interesting service is flykk, which uses direct debit funding for fast and secure deposits.
This table will help you understand the difference between online casino payment methods:
| Banking Type | Banking Method | Time to Deposit | Time to Withdraw | Requires 3rd party account | Fees | Reviewed casinos |
| Credit/Debit card | Visa, Mastercard | Instant | 1-5 days | No | None | 62 |
| Credit/Debit card | American Express | Instant | 1-5 days | No | None | 7 |
| Cryptocurrency | Bitcoin | Instant | NA | Yes | Exchange conversion fees | 12 |
| E-wallet | Apple Pay | Instant | 1-5 days | Yes | None | 4 |
| E-wallet | InstaDebit | Insatnt | up to 10 days | Yes | C$1,95 to deposit/ C2 form instadebit to bank | 30+ |
| Instant banking | Citadel | Instant | 1-3 working days | Yes | C$ 1,50 per transaction | 4 |
| Pre-paid cards | Paysafecard | Instant | NA | No | None | 42 |
About Online Casino Payment Methods Fees, Limits, And Transaction Time
We have learned about the best casino payment methods, but the variety of ways of payment still leaves a lot of questions: how does the casino determine the fees, why are some payments processed faster than the others, and is there a way to increase withdrawal limits? To fully understand which payment method is better for you, let’s break down casinos’ fees, limits, and deposit processing time.
Fees
To transfer money from one account to another the transaction needs to be processed and approved. A service handling the transaction takes payment for their work, and that is why there is a transaction fee.
In most cases, the casino will take the burden of paying transaction fees, but there are some exclusions. Fees can be reduced if you make a deposit greater than a certain amount, if you are a VIP club member, or as a welcome gift for making your first deposit. Also, some casino payment methods come cheaper than others or are preferable for the platform. In that case, they may also come free of charge.
Limits
Withdrawal limits are casinos’ way to encourage you to gamble on your winnings instead of heading straight to cashout. They also provide casinos financial stability in case several players hit a jackpot at once. They limit the amount a player can withdraw by applying time or amount limitations. The maximum withdrawal amount usually has nothing to do with the casino payment methods that you choose.
There are three types of withdrawal limits:
- by amount: a casino may limit the amount of money you can withdraw in one go. Say you want to move C$3000 to your bank account, but the maximum limit is C$1000. In that case, you’ll have to break it down into three payments.
- by period: in this case, you can withdraw as much as you want in one go, but the number of times you can make a withdrawal is limited to several per day, week, or month.
- combined: the last variant is a mix of the previous two. For example, a casino can only allow withdrawing no more than C$2000 two times a week.
Some games also feature top-up limits to provide a better experience. For example, on many poker tables, the amount and frequency of buy-in are limited, to prevent wealthier players from going all-in on each hand and ruining the game for the others. Special withdrawal limits can also apply to gambling bonuses and are listed in the corresponding T&C.
Transaction time
While deposit processing is almost always instantaneous, withdrawal time frames are different for different casino payment methods and can take from a few minutes to several workdays.
The fastest ones are modern fast banking technologies — e-wallets, mobile payments, and instant banking. Thanks to automation and the lack of need to verify card credentials, they take less time to process and will have your money delivered in 24 hours tops.
The next are credit and debit cards. The need for card data verification and increased transaction process complexity compared to e-banking will have you waiting from 1 to 5 workdays until the money will appear on your account.
The most time-consuming payment method is a wire transfer. The depositing process can take up to 10 days because of elevated security measures. And when it comes to withdrawal, it can take a whole month. Wire transfer is mainly used for moving very large amounts of money when low fees and maximum security are more important than being time-effective. For this reason, casinos’ minimum and maximum withdrawal limits for wire transfer are from 5 to 10 times higher than for other casino payment methods.
Before Making A Payment
Now, that you know in and outs of different transaction services and have chosen the best casino payment methods for your needs, you are ready to start making deposits and become a winner! But before that, there are still a couple of vital procedures you need to go through. Let’s go over them so they don’t become an unpleasant surprise.
Verification Process Explained
The casino business is heavily regulated. Not just because of the need to not allow the underaged to gamble, but also because casinos are recognized as a business with a high risk of money laundering. To protect themselves from deceptive players and using someone paying methods without their consent, licensed online casinos always have a thorough identity check. Yes, there is no chance to proceed as a guest.
The initial verification before signing up is relatively easy. You will be asked to provide your name, address, age, and payment method. But before you try to make a withdrawal you’ll have to provide additional personal details and documents. Here is a list of most commonly asked documents:
- Scan of an ID or driver’s license — it must show a page with a photo and a page with the registered address.
- A utility bill — a gas, water, or another bill issued by the government and not older than 3 months. Also, your bank can issue a special address statement on demand if you have trouble providing any of those documents.
- Proof of payment method — you must provide a photo of the payment system you are going to use to prove that you possess it. When taking a photo of a credit card you can hide the last three digits of the number, or submit a bank statement instead.
All said documents are submitted to customer support, they process the information and then notify the user about the result of their check. If the customer doesn’t pass the security check the initial deposit amount will be returned excluding any winnings and bonuses. By Canadian law, the casino retains the right to repeat the verification process and confirm previously submitted information when they need to do so.
To avoid any problems and unpleasant situations it’s better to go through the whole verification process before making a deposit. This way you’ll be sure there will be no trouble with receiving your winnings.
What Are Pending Withdrawals
When you request a payout there is always a pending period, during which the withdrawal can be canceled and money will be returned to your casino account. The reason for that is that online casinos process withdrawal requests manually to verify that no shady activity is taking place. Each request ends up in a queue of other payouts and has to wait until its time comes.
One can argue that the true goal of this delay is to tempt a gambler to reverse a payment and gamble with their winnings, eventually losing them. To help people prone to such actions many casinos offer their clients to prohibit reversing withdrawal after it has been requested. In that case, the initiated withdrawal will always go through, unless being canceled by the casino for security reasons.
The most advanced casinos have an automatic withdrawal feature. It is usually available to VIP gamblers and has many restrictions. For example, it can only process payout made to the same casino payment method the deposit came from, need a player to be fully verified, and doesn’t work with the money that comes from bonuses.
How To Choose The Right Casino Online Payment Methods
Сhoosing the best casino payment methods is a question of personal preferences. Each method provides different speeds, security, and comfort, and people with different needs can value one over another. So, to make it easier to pick the right payment system, let’s go through key points that characterize them and distinguish those that have an edge in each separate aspect.
Security
If you want maximum security there are two primary casino payment methods — bank transfers and crypto-wallets. Using a credit or debit card for payment will keep your money secured, and using them via a reputable e-wallet or instant banking will provide additional protection by concealing card credentials. For extra-large deposits and payouts, wire transfer is the most recommended option.
For more tech-savvy gamblers crypto wallets offer even more protection thanks to blockchain’s nature. However, not all casinos accept crypto.
Fees
Most casinos do not charge fees for deposits and withdrawals regardless of which casino payment methods you choose. You may though encounter transaction fees when transferring money from your bank account to the e-wallet or pre-paid card, which vary between 1% and 3% depending on the service provider.
Customer Support
Handling a situation with customer support is always easier when they are familiar with the problem. When you use the most common casino payment methods, like credit or debit cards, all possible issues are well-known and will be resolved fast. New and exotic payment methods may though raise an eyebrow.
Registration Process
While you’ll have no problem registering with bank cards, some of the newest e-wallet services and banking options may not yet be supported by the casino, so always check if a casino supports your payment method. Also, keep in mind that during the security check you’ll have to prove that you are the owner of the payment system. If you are not sure how it’s done for your payment service better contact customer support in advance.
Account Limit
In terms of maximum deposit amounts, online casino payment methods go into the following order:
- Wire transfers: up to C$50 000
- Credit/Debit Cards: up to C$ 20 000
- E-wallets: about C$5000
- Pre-paid cards and vouchers: under C$1000
- Mobile payments: under C$30 per day.
Remember to be cautious when paying with credit cards and with your phone bill. In both cases, you can end up paying money you don’t have and having to pay interest on the used amount.
Helpful Tips On Managing Your Budget
Though picking the right real money casinos payment method can save you some money, the real deal is practicing responsible gambling and knowing when to stop. The urge for playing the odds, again and again, can become unbearable, but luckily there are ways to help it. Here are some tips on improving your bankroll and developing useful habits.
Set Up A Maximum Deposit Limit
Most casinos support their clients’ money management and allow them to set their own deposit limits, lower than those set by the casino. It is a great way to restrict depositing more money after a bad gambling day, and also syncing your gambling with your income.
Cash Out Your Funds Frequently
As your funds increase there comes a temptation to go for a high bet, which may put an end to your winnings. To prevent it make it a habit to regularly withdraw a part of the money on your casino balance. Do it persistently — choose a day of the week and a percentage of the money you will withdraw no matter how little is left.
Look For Special Deals And Bonuses
Welcome bonuses and loyalty program rewards offer a great opportunity to gamble at the expanse of the casino. Look out for deals and bonuses that will grant you free spins and bonus money. It’s much more fun to gamble when you don’t risk your own money!
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are a number of popular payment methods for online casinos, each having its strong and weak spots. Always go with those that are most comfortable for you to use and that you fully understand. And whichever method you choose, always check the reputation of the service you are going to use. The safety of your funds depends on it.