Published by Programme B
The gambling laws in Canada are very liberal and the rules are not nearly as strict as in the US, especially regarding the minimum age at which you can gamble. Canada has a lot more options in online gambling – just take a glance at the 2022 review of VIP-Casino – which of course contributes to rapid growth in the Canadian online casino gambling industry.
What’s the legal gambling age in Canada?
Legally, you must be 19 to enter the top online casinos Canada, with the exception of Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec, where the legal age is 18. These gambling age laws also apply to the online gambling industry, so similar to land-based casinos, you must prove your age to start betting. For a complete list of all legal gambling ages in Canada, per province, see the map and table below. When it comes to the legality of online gambling in Canada, there is no simple answer. The fact is that it is a complicated issue, a gray area if you will.
Security and Controls from Canadian Casinos
Online casinos are certified and regulated in one of three ways. These certifications mean that the online casinos have met various standards of quality, security and legality to ensure that they do not take advantage of players (intentionally or unintentionally). Canadian law does not prohibit betting over the Internet. However, it does require that the service is licensed or managed by the provincial government to be considered legal. This has not stopped thousands of unlicensed offshore sites from offering their services to Canadians. Let’s clarify the legal status of online gambling in Canada to reassure all potential players. In short, it is illegal to operate an online casino in Canada without a license, however, it is perfectly safe and legal for Canadians to gamble at an offshore casino. While it may be difficult to operate an online casino from Canada, finding a Canadian online casino to play at, ironically located in Canada, is not difficult at all.
Legal online Casinos in Canada
Although there are a lot of gray areas when it comes to gambling in Canada, there are legal Canadian online casinos. It is not hard to find some reputable legal online casinos in Canada, but it is helpful to know what you are looking for. Most likely, there will eventually be a liberal form of regulation in Canada where online casinos will be completely legal as long as they abide by certain restrictions and pay what is likely to be a fairly high amount of taxes. Technically, online gambling is legal in Canada, provided that the online casino site you play at is located abroad. The reformed Criminal Code of 1970 opened up gambling by allowing individual provinces within Canada to regulate and license gambling in their regions. Land-based casinos are not allowed in this province, and there are also no regulated online casinos there. Online casinos are prohibited in Saskatchewan, however, residents are not prohibited from accessing casinos in other provinces or countries.
What is the most popular game in Canada?
The most popular game in Canada is BlackJack. There are many variations of this online casino game. Canadians especially like to play Blackjack with a live dealer. Players only need to read the Canadian Live Dealer Guide and they can start playing right away.
What is the Minimum Age to Play Online Casino Games?
The age requirement for entering online as well as brick and mortar casinos in Canada is the same as the drinking age and varies by province or territory. You must be 19 years old to enter a casino in Canada, except in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. Here, the minimum age is 18. This age requirement also applies to access to the restaurants and theaters in the casinos.
Do Online Casinos Check the Minimum Age Limit?
The reputable casino generally refuses payouts to gamers under the age of 18 and usually checks the age already during registration. Online casinos can, of course, have IDs scanned and hire special companies to verify identity. However, one problem is that some young people may use the IDs of older friends. It is not enough to fill out a form, and put across to confirm that the gamer is over 18. Strict entry controls are of course possible in land-based casinos, in online casinos, such measures cannot be realized. In addition, there are some options for close verification, such as the KYC and AML procedures. Many online casino operators believe that gamers do not find these strict checks appropriate and are strictly against them. Nonetheless, it makes sense to accept and make use of these facilities. Regulators are pushing to stop criminal activity.
Digital Identity Tracker
The new Digital Identity Tracker is an ideal tool for efficiently verifying age in online casinos. The digital identity is, so to speak, the mirror of the real person. Electronic identity verification is easy to realize with Global Gateway. Some online casinos require selfies to compare with the ID picture. Credit cards are authenticated so that identity is automatically verified when a credit card is used.
Age verification is mandatory
It is clear to the operators that they are liable to prosecution by not carrying out age verification intensively. On the other hand, competition is strong; the fairly secure Postident procedure makes sense, but operators shy away from it because too much time is lost. According to the law, new customers are not allowed to play before the complete verification of age has taken place. This regulation is often circumvented, but there are problems when the “young” player actually wants to cash out his winnings. Often it turns out that the gamer is not yet 18 years old and is therefore not allowed to play or win, but he is also not allowed to make a deposit.
How to Sign Up to a Gambling Site in Canada
Registering at an online casino is very easy and only takes a few minutes. Reputable providers have a valid gambling license from a trustworthy regulatory authority such as the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). Due to casino licenses, online casinos are obliged to obtain some information from you during casino registration.These are the steps you have to take to get registered at an online casino:
- Personal data
- Login data
- Casino registration confirmation
- Casino registration in the mobile online casino
Personal Data
In the first step of the online casino registration, you will be asked to provide some personal information such as your name, address, date of birth, e-mail address, and phone number. It is important to provide all data correctly in this step, as an identity check is performed before the first withdrawal.
Login data
For the casino registration you also need the following information, which you can define yourself:
- Username
- Password
Sometimes it is also necessary to select a security question and the corresponding answer. This is to protect your new casino account so that no one else can access it. It is best to check all the details for accuracy before completing the casino registration. To make your casino password as secure as possible, you should not use simple combinations such as strings of numbers (e.g. 12345) and birth dates or names. The casino provider will ask you to use a combination of upper and lowercase letters as well as numbers and special characters. The longer the password is, the more secure it is as well.
Casino registration confirmation
Not every provider requires confirmation of data when registering at the online casino. However, it often happens that you have to confirm your casino registration first before you can play. This is usually done through one of these ways:
- Confirmation link for casino registration in an email
- Code via SMS to your cell phone
Once you have clicked the link or entered the code you have received, your casino registration is completed. Then you can either make your first deposit, play in money mode or use a no deposit mode.
Casino registration in the mobile online casino
Of course, online casino registration works not only via PC, but also via smartphones and tablets. In some mobile casinos you can download a casino app, but with most providers this is not necessary. They usually use a mobile casino web app, through which the page in the browser automatically adapts to the mobile device. However, even if you log in to an online casino via mobile or iPhone, the steps described above are the same.
Popular Gambling Payment Methods
The payment methods are different in every online casino. Thus, some online casinos have a large selection of payment providers and other online casinos only a small one. The safest methods, however, are also the best known. This is a rule of thumb that you can well stick to.
- Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, American Express and many more.
- EC Cards: Maestro, Visa Electron, Delta and many more.
- E-Wallets: PayPal, Skrill, Neteller
- Direct bank transfer: Giropay
- Prepaid cards: Paysafecard
Conclusion – Gambling in Canada
Gambling in Canada is booming and will continue to grow – no matter which age group. Online casinos will continue to play a central role in increasing revenues in the gambling industry. Smartphones make online casino games even more accessible. Which makes them especially appealing for young people at the age of 18 and 19.