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Canada Esports Betting Sites 2024 - Avoid scam brands

Canada is at the forefront of esports in a number of areas.  There are several Canadians in the top 100 professional esports athletes in terms of earnings. Several pro esports teams are based in Canada, and there are plans for esports-only arena projects. As the largest cohort of esports fans continues to age, moving beyond 19+, inevitably there will be growing interest in esports betting.  However, with the exception of Ontario, that has recently regulated online gambling, the rest of Canada remains unchanged.  If you are in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec or the Atlantic Provinces or the Territories, your esports betting options remain with the so-called "offshore" operators in the "grey market".

This leaves you with a problem.  With the explosion of esports' popularity, there has been a commensurate explosion in the number of betting sites that are looking to capitalise on esports fans that live in jurisdictions like the "rest of Canada".  These relatively young "esports-first" or "esports-only" operators start up in iGaming jurisdictions that have lax oversight and in many cases, operate in a wholly disreputable manner.  Furthermore, the main homegrown esports betting brand, Rivalry.com, stopped serving the "rest of Canada" market segment in order to focus on the regulated Ontario market.

That's why we've developed this page.  We want to show you what goes into a top esports betting site, point out some of the "grey market" esports betting brands that you may wish to avoid, while highlighting the most reputable esports betting sites, brought to you by trustworthy companies that provide you with the level of esports coverage that you crave.

 

What makes a great esports betting site for players in Canada?

First and foremost, like it or not, understand that betting sites are betting sites.  Whether they are framed as being for "traditional" sports, or "esports-first", operators are providing the same essential service: facilitating deposits, posting odds for given events, accepting bets, processing withdrawals.  When you choose any kind of betting site, whether it's esports-first or otherwise, these are the absolute basics. Unfortunately however, a lot of the young betting companies have developed some pretty poor reputations, including several that fall into the "esports-first" category, especially when it comes to the last aspect here, the processing of withdrawals. 

Some young "esports-first" brands just really seem to take a long time, up to 3 weeks to process even a small withdrawal.  Some larger general betting brands, that have spent big money to advertise heavily in the esports world are out-and-out scammers. Such brands never intend to payout to consistent winners, often moving to cancel player winnings, citing player violations of site terms and conditions.  This is what you are up against when looking for a proper esports betting site from across Canada

 

Most esports betting reviews for Canada are unreliable: We show you how to spot this

How can you find a brand to trust, given that there are so many options, and "esports betting review sites" when you search Google for "esports betting Canada"?  You get pointed in all sorts of directions.  All "review sites" are remunerated by their preferred partners, but are those partners actually the best ones for esports bettors in Canada?  Oftentimes, esports betting review publishers will just republish their general "betting partner" ranked-list for "esports" and "Canada".  However, within such lists you will often find brands that do not actually cover esports events at all.  So you actually don't get any good, actionable information, even though it will be framed against an esports narrative, with content meant to boost search engine ranking positions for the page that you've found. 

How can you see that an "esports betting" review list is not legitimate?  Simply compare it to the regular, general sports betting ranked-list for "Canada" on the same site.  If the ranking of brands is the same, you KNOW they did not do the work to actually compare providers from an esports perspective.  They are just forcing their own narrative down your throat because they want to promote the partners that pay them the most money, even though they might not have great esports betting.  With SNBET, all our recommended brands on this page give you what you should want in a top esports betting experience as a player in Canada.  We outline why our esports rankings are different than our main ranked-list and actually talk about what the given brands cover for esports. 

 

Our top recommendations must: Be a trusted operator, get the basics right for Canada & have a killer esports offering

All the esports betting brands that we recommend for players across Canada have three main points going for them. Know that we have not simply recycled our list of the top sports betting sites for Canada. Esports offerings differ from site to site. We've gone into the esports offerings from our top operators, and re-ranked them appropriately.

1)  Trustworthy: All the companies we recommend have moved to become licensed in Ontario, where they submit to local taxation, testing requirements and Responsible Gambling mandates.  While their Ontario betting platforms are only for those in that province, as someone in Canada, it is important to know that you are dealing with a brand and operator that has received a seal of approval from regulators within a Canadian province. While you will be playing on their "off shore" or "grey market" offering, you know that they are a brand you can trust, and they will move to pay you promptly when you look to withdraw funds, and not mess around.

2)  The betting basics for Canada: All the esports brands that we recommend offer Canadian Dollar accounts and economical CAD payment methods like Interac e-transfers.  This is key for most people across Canada and is not something you should take for granted.  Many of the "esports betting review sites" with pages for "Canada" list brands that only support betting accounts in US Dollars, which would thus force you to pay costly currency conversion fees integrated into each deposit or withdrawal.  These fees tend to reduce the value of your transaction by 3% to 5%, when there is no need. Or, they may not offer inexpensive debit and bank transfer methods, which are far cheaper than credit card payments. Other "esports-first" sites may only have betting accounts based in cryptocurrencies, which opens a completely different can of worms, if you just want to get a bet down in CAD.

3)  Killer esports offering: The actual esports betting offering itself must be excellent.  This is a combination of the breadth of esports coverage as well as in-depth coverage for each given event.  Our recommended sites don't just cover a couple of the big esports.  They cover esports to a varying degree, from completely exhaustive, to a mix of the top six or eight esports.  We let you know what is covered by each brand below

Furthermore, our recommended brands offer live and pre-match betting, with an array of markets (ways to bet).  This is also key, as many betting brands may only provide the match winner market (aka moneyline) for many events.  Our brands go deep.  Some of our brands even offer free live streaming of esports events so you can watch right within their platforms.  Tying it all together, our brands have intuitive, quick and slick betting platforms that work really well, no matter your preferred device: mobile if you are out and about, but crucially, also from your desktop or laptop.

When we look at these main three points, you might understand why you won't find any "esports first" brands in our recommended list. Most esports-first brands are simply too young to be seen as established operators, with a demonstrated track record of paying their players fast. While their esports betting offering could be compelling, in the end, are they getting the important basic things right?  Various track records would suggest not.

 

What makes a top esports betting site for fans in Canada?

• Established & reputable company, with a history of applying to be licensed & regulated in local jurisdictions.

• Canadian dollar accounts & payment methods like Interac e-transfers.

• Extensive esports event coverage, with live betting & an array of markets.

• Reasonably competitive esports odds.

• An excellent interface, with a top-tier overall betting & gaming platform.

 

#1 Esports betting site for Canada: bet365

bet365 has been the World's Favourite Sportsbook for some time now, with over 80 million customers. Founded in the UK in 2000, they are locally regulated in Ontario and numerous European markets. For play from the "rest of Canada" with accounts in CAD, they operate from their Gibraltar jurisdiction. The main reason they are the biggest sports betting brand is the same reason why they are the best esports betting brand. They have the best interface and the most robust betting features. 

With regard to esports specifically, bet365 has the most comprehensive esports coverage of any site we have reviewed. They have more pre-match and in-play esports events available for betting than anyone else. Within each match, you will then also find an extensive menu of betting markets, beyond the match winner market, with lots of map-based options.  Furthermore, bet365 offers a complete array of outright winner betting markets, which are the most important "Futures" markets to offer, if you want to bet on the team that will win an overall league or tournament. Many betting sites, even esports-first sites do not offer outrights or "futures".  Lastly, if you have a funded bet365 account, you can live-stream numerous esports events for free. Find "Esports" in the main sports navigation on your chosen device.

bet365 covers the widest array of esports we've every seen, including:Arena of Valour (AOV), CS:GO, Call of Duty (COD), Dota2, Honor of Kings, League of Legends (LOL), Rainbow Six (R6), Rocket League, Starcraft (SC) and Starcraft II (SCII), VALORANT, World of Warcraft (WOW), plus esoccer and ebasketball. Exhaustive esports coverage.

Beyond esports, you also get access to a full suite of sports betting, casino and poker gaming options that are first-rate. This is often a problem with brands that are "esports-first".  They can have poor traditional sports betting options, in terms of their coverage, available markets and odds value. Furthermore, "esports-first" brands operate in jurisdictions that have no oversight on the fairness of casino games. You don't need to worry about this at bet365.  So whether you truly want to bet on esports only, or you want to combine this with other kinds of gaming, it really doesn't get better than bet365 in Canada.

 

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#2 Esports betting site for Canada: Betsafe

Betsafe, now a legal Ontario provider, is a brand that belongs to Swedish iGaming company, Betsson AB, which was formed in 1963. They've been serving the "rest of Canada" from their Malta gaming jurisdiction for many years now, as their website has its own "Canadian" version, which is tailored for our tastes, & preferred CAD banking methods.

We love the Betsafe interface, especially for esports, for two main reasons. 1) While of course they offer a great mobile site, most esports fan will be betting from large laptops or desktops and the Betsafe website makes full use of large displays, with information and markets across your entire screen resolution.  There is no wasted screen real estate.  Many betting sites have dead space at left and right of the main middle area - not at Betsafe. 2)  Two, you can find "Esports" within the normal sports navigation, like every betting site, but they also display an "Esports" shortcut in the main upper navigation, so you can always get to your preferred events super fast.

Betsafe offers free live streaming of esports events with a funded account.  Find coverage of all the main esports: CS:GO, LOL, DOTA2, AOV, KOG, SCII and VALORANT. Within these esports, you will find a solid array of pre-match and in-play markets, plus several available "futures" for bets on a given team "to reach the final" or "to win outright".  If you are a pure esports bettor, they've got you covered. But the beauty of Betsafe is that their sports betting and casino offering is also at the absolute top tier of the industry - so if you'll also want to get a little money down on the NBA, NFL, F1 or anything else, they have highly competitive odds and features like cash out and same game parlays. Lastly, since they're Swedish, they have a natural tendency to offer integrated responsible gaming tools like various deposit limits.  A lot of the scammy "esports first" brands don't offer these kinds of tools.  In the end, Betsafe is an incredible esports betting option for Canadian players outside Ontario.

 

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#3 Esports betting site for Canada: Betsson

Betsson AB operates its main namesake betting site, Betsson.com, which also serves players across Canada, excluding Ontario. The Betsson site is fundamentally the same as Betsafe (reviewed just above), it just does not have a specific site version that is dedicated for Canada, nor does it have a dedicated "Esports" link in the main, upper navigation. At Betsson, you navigate to "Esports" within the main A-Z sports index on the left side of your display on larger devices. From every other essential perspective, esports (and sports) betting at Betsson.com will be the same as Betsafe, with all the same great league and market coverage, and the same essential layout.

Note that if you visit Betsson, the landing pages will note Euros rather than Canadian Dollars. This is because it is their international brand, but Betsson does offer CAD accounts, which you would select upon registration. Betsson also has the same banking methods as Betsafe, and the quoted sign-up offers will be available for you in CAD. So if you fundamentally like Betsafe, but for some reason you might prefer the look or feel of the orange Betsson site, they are another solid Canadian esports betting option for you.

 

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#4 Esports betting site for Canada: Betway

It should come as no surprise that Betway is legal in Ontario.  They served Canada from their "grey market" jurisdiction of Malta since 2006.  Betway is part of one of the biggest online gambling companies in the world, Super Group, whose shares are traded on the NYSE.  If you watch traditional sports, you've probably seen their logos displayed during various NBA, NHL and top soccer games in Europe. It can almost go without saying that Betway offers a slick betting experience with amazing coverage and betting options.

More appropriate for this discussion of esports, they also sponsor Ninjas in Pyjamas. Thus, it is no surprise that Betway has optimized their offering for Esports, with a shortcut "Esports" link in the main navigation, in addition to the usual listing in the main A-Z sports navigation. During our review, we found events for CS:GO, Call of Duty, Dota2, League of Legends, Valorant and SCII.

Betway offers plenty of match markets, including handicaps and map-based markets.  In advance of most tournaments, you can find all sorts of "futures" props for the your picks on what will happen over the course of the overall event. Betway posts so many futures markets in this way, which is great for you to scan for value, if you know your esports through and through.  With CAD accounts and several bank debit, bank transfer and prepaid methods, Betway is a top-tier esports betting option for fans in the "rest of Canada", outside Ontario, that also provides a top traditional sports betting and casino gaming experience.

 

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bet365, Betsafe, Betsson & Betway: their own stratosphere of esports betting sites 

If you are truly an esports fanatic, and esports will absolutely be the sport upon which you bet the most, scroll back up and go with one of these four brands. They are in a tier to themselves in terms of everything they bring to the table for esports betting within the "rest of Canada" market segment (outside Ontario).  If esports is just another sport to you, to be mixed with whatever else you love, feel free to keep reading below, as you can more than likely get by with the rest of our listed brands as well.  But if esports is pretty much your one and only jam, or you are really serious about it along with your other faves, hit up bet365, Betsafe, Betsson or Betway. There is a bit of a drop-off in the esports offerings beyond these brands in Canada. Our next brands are solid on esports, it's just that honestly, the above four are in their own stratosphere.

 

#5 Esports betting site for Canada: Unibet

Unibet is one of the biggest betting and gaming brands in the world.  They come to you from Sweden and they are licensed and regulated to operate in several European countries. They were also live in Ontario and several US states before exiting all regulated North America markets as a result of a strategic corporate review. From the "rest of Canada" market segment, you will play on their offshore, Malta-based platform.

Unibet runs on the Kambi betting platform.  This is technology that Unibet actually built, and then spun out to be its own company.  With the Unibet rendition of the Kambi platform, you do get fairly extensive esports betting coverage of the most popular esports: LOL, CS:GO, Call of Duty and Dota2. For these esports, Unibet provides an array of betting markets that you would want to see, with lots of map-based options.  When you move on to esports like Valorant, Rainbow 6 or others, they do tend to stick to offering the moneyline or match winner market, nothing beyond that.  On the positive side, they do tend to offer a limited number of "outright" markets, aka "futures", which not all "esports-first" brands even try to offer.

To sum up the story at Unibet: If Esports is just one of several things you will be looking to wager upon, and you just need to know that they have solid coverage, you can check them off as a very good option for you.  If you are a truly hardcore esports fan and you want exhaustive coverage and more markets than you can shake a stick at, scroll back up.  Our top four options will have more of what you're looking for.  But make no mistake, Unibet is an option that is well above average in terms of its offering for most sports-and-esports fans.

 

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#6 Esports betting site for Canada: ComeOn!

ComeOn! now runs on the BetConstruct sportsbook platform.  With this, players in Canada, outside Ontario can get some solid esports betting coverage if you are looking to complement a very good traditional sports betting experience. ComeOn! organizes esports into two categories: First person shooter games, which include Call of Duty, CS:GO, R6 and other similar games, and Multi-player Online Battle Arena games or (MOBA), which includes LOL and Dota2.

ComeOn! tends to offer deeper coverage, with more markets for its MOBA esports, where as FPS esports tend only to have the match winner or moneyline market available.  You also will not generally be able to find "futures" betting markets for a given team to "reach the final" or "to win outright".  This depth of coverage certainly appears reserved for those in our top tier of esports betting brands.  After all, we've see some "esports-first" brands that are yet to offer "futures".  So again, if you just want to make sure you can bet on a good selection of esports to complement your NBA, NHL, NFL, soccer and F1 betting, ComeOn! remains a solid option.  They are owned by a giant multi-asset conglomerate and their brand is licensed and regulated in several European jurisdiction, plus Ontario (though online casino only in Ontario).

 

 

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SNBET recommends SIA & BetVictor for sports betting, what's up for esports?

Yes, for regular online sports betting, these brands are excellent options for players in Canada. However, this page is about focusing on the betting sites that cover esports best for players across Canada, not just traditional sports. So we've ranked our top providers here in terms of their overall esports offering. SIA (Sports Interaction) now on the Entain betting platform, does not cover Esports. BetVictor does cover esports to a reasonable level, so if esports is a tertiary interest for you, and you just want to know that you can bet on the winner of a big esports event here and there, BetVictor will likely cover you just fine. BetVictor also provides esports event streaming. We simply don't list them here in our top esports rankings because we expect some hardcore esports fans to be looking for top, top providers on this page. As we mentioned, we haven't just copied our regular sportsbook rankings onto this page, and tried to force a phony narrative to suit the original list. If you are into esports in a hardcore fashion, look at our top four brands.

 

Which esports betting brands for Canada are pure scams?

If you watch esports events, or browse various "esports betting review sites" you may notice some very prominent brands.  Two Russia-based brands that you should avoid altogether are 1XBET and 22Bet, which unfortunately can also be found in app stores.  These brands both operate on the same essential betting platform and have looked to sponsor esports teams to gain brand recognition and increase the sense of trust around their brands.  Don't let this fool you.  They have some of the worst reputations in online betting, whether for esports or any other kind of online gambling.

This revelatory article shows that 1XBET, which is connected to 22Bet and several other brands, has actually declared bankruptcy, but is simultaneously expanding. In doing so, they still owe an inordinate amount to "legions" of unpaid players on their Curacao-based site.  They are known widely for essentially canceling winnings.  The winning player looks for a withdrawal, then 1XBET will point to their terms and conditions, citing some manner of player violation, and that's it.  Your money is gone.  Avoid 1XBET & 22Bet.  You might as well just flush your money down the toilet with them.  Beyond the controversies, both operate awful, RAM-hog websites as accessed from your PC.  Move on. Don't touch them with a 10-foot pole. Stick with the top esports betting brands for Canada.

 

Which esports-first brands should you be careful with from Canada?

Next, we deal with some very young "esports first" brands that tend to be regulated from the Curacao igaming jurisdiction.  While one can find reputable brands within the Curacao jurisdiction, theirs is not one that provides a high level of oversight, mandates on fairness, testing standards or responsible gaming tools.  In other words, when you sign up to play at a Curacao-based site, you're taking your chances in several respects. 

With very few exceptions, most brands in Curacao only operate from that jurisdiction to serve the so-called "grey market" - that is to say the nations or regions of the world that have not properly regulated their local markets for online betting, like the "rest of Canada" market segment.  Largely, these Curacao brands do not look for local licenses in markets like Ontario, the UK, Sweden or various US states (all of our recommended brands operate in these kinds of markets, plus the "grey market"). Curacao brands are not interested in paying taxes, implementing responsible gaming tools and game fairness standards.

Lastly, some of these Curacao brands are crypto-only betting sites. Given the volatility and added complexity of buying into crypto balances, you may wish to avoid such services in favour of brands that actually offer deposits, betting and process withdrawals in CAD.  Which are the most noteworthy Curacao brands to touch upon?  We break them down below.

 

What's the story with the most visible CAD esports brand, GGBET?

If you search online, you will find that "GGBET" has been aggressive with marketing affiliates to get top placement at several esports betting review sites - especially toward a "Canada" audience. They have also invested in partnerships with several esports teams. 

In an interesting move, GGBET as a brand actually operates from two "off shore" jurisdictions so they can serve various "grey market" segments.  GGBET-dot-com is based in the more reputable jurisdiction of Malta, but this site does not accept any players from Canada.  However, they also operate GG-dot-bet, from the far less reputable igaming jurisdiction of Curacao, and this is where players in Canada may play.  GGBET is not legal in Ontario however.

While GGBET has a fairly compelling esports betting platform from their Curacao jurisdiction site, and they do offer CAD accounts and payment methods, we do find several customer complaint threads online that surround topics of either having very low betting limits, or very slow withdrawal processing. 

We can't speak to the veracity of these claims, but they are the kinds of issues that can speak to an operator that might be managing liquidity issues.  Slow withdrawals, can be justifiably related to KYC anti-money laundering requirements, like having your ID verified. However, they can also be associated with operators that are hoping that the overly slow process might make the given player cancel the withdraw toward more play, and eventual losses. We can't say that this is happening at GGBET, just that there are online complaints in this vein.

We would not recommend against your playing at GGBET from the "rest of Canada" market segment.  We just don't know enough to sway things one way or the other.  What we would say is that if you don't want to play with the well-established, trusted and highly-regulated esports betting sites that we recommend, and you want to try out GGBET, start slow with relatively small amounts.  Then, maybe try an early test withdrawal to see how smoothly things run for you.

 

Which Curacao betting sites, marketed at Canadian esports players are crypto only?

Several of the most visible betting sites based in Curacao that target the "rest of Canada" market segment, including some "esports-first" ones - are actually crypto-only services.  These include brands like BC.Game, Thunderpick and Stake.com.  In other words, they do not offer betting accounts in Canadian Dollars.  Instead, they actually have customers set their betting accounts to a given base cryptocurrency.

So you would actually be wagering on esports or regular sporting events from a balance of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Cardano, Ripple or others.  Either you would need to transfer these crypto balances in directly yourself, or, the betting site will allow you to buy crypto directly from them. This is certainly part of how they make money from customers.

The reality is that all cryptocurrencies can have wide swings in value over a very short period of time.  Buying a balance in any of these cryptocurrencies is a bet in and of itself.  If it is a wager that you are uncomfortable in making due to the volatility in value, or the added complication of sending or storing crypto, stick to the trusted & well-established Canadian Dollar esports betting sites that we've highlighted.

 

Which "esports betting sites" marketed at Canadians are USD only?

If you are new to the world of betting in general, know that there are some operators in this world that will essentially accept customers from literally any jurisdiction.  When we talk about an online betting operator that will accept players from jurisdictions where they have laws, regulations and licenses, but the operator in question does not have a license, we call that a "black market" operator.  These kinds of operators tend only to offer USD betting accounts.

There remain several of these in the market today, but the biggest one, which has made its way into some highly visible "esports betting site lists" and has sponsored some big events, is BetOnline-dot-ag.  If you see this brand as you research your next esports betting site from the "rest of Canada" market segment, know that they only offer USD accounts.  Thus, you would need to exchange your CAD to USD on deposits, and convert back from USD to CAD on withdrawals.  On every conversion, you'll lose 3% to 5% of the transacted value through the integrated fee.  Save yourself the headache, and play directly in CAD with all of our recommended esports betting providers.

 

About esports betting bonuses for Canada

As we've written about above, esports betting itself is just a subset of general online sports betting - even though you may see yourself only as an esports bettor.  That's fine.  Some brands might focus on this Esports theme a little more in various ways so that visitors to their site feel at home in knowing that esports is a focus on their platforms.  Sometimes you will find "Esports" as its own gaming vertical in the main upper navigation in addition to within the normal A-Z sports navigation, as found at Betsafe and Betway. 

Beyond this, which is related to the bonus offer issue, when you click or tap to visit one of our recommended esports brands for Canada, some will welcome you with a bonus offer that comes with an Esports theme.  For others, you might see a landing page and new player offer that looks targeted at a sports betting fan.  Don't worry, that's just the main betting offer landing page for that given brand for players in Canada.  Your play within Esports will certainly apply to the "sports betting bonus" that you might see.

Take this as a positive, you'll get an offer from a top tier provider that applies your bonus across all kinds of betting. Know that several of the offers we have on SNBET are superior to those you might find if you were to visit the given operator directly on your own.  If you wish to learn more about how the bonus offers work, read our Canada betting bonuses page. Note that some brands prefer not to have their offer advertised, so you'll need to click to visit to see if anything is available.

 

Canada Esports Betting Bonuses

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What about esports betting at FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM or PointsBet from outside Ontario?

Well, there are two problems with that. First, and most important, within Canada, these brands only serve bettors that are located in Ontario. They do not operate "grey market" betting sites.  Second, even if they did serve the "rest of Canada", the reality is that FanDuel, BetMGM and PointsBet don't actually cover esports at all.  DraftKings has coverage that could be described as "minimal-at-best".  If you'll be moving to Canada's most populous province and want to know your best options, you can read about the top legal Ontario esports betting providers.  

 

Can you play poker & casino games at our top esports betting sites?

The answer is different based on the gaming vertical in question. Poker is a tougher gaming type to offer, since a given company will need to have an entire ecosystem of real players online at any given time. This is why there are really only a relatively small number of online poker brands in the world, compared to betting sites and online casinos. From our top six esports betting brands for Canada, bet365, Betsson and Unibet can offer poker to you.

When it comes to slots, online and live dealer casino games, know that our recommended esports betting brands also offer excellent Interac online casinos for people outside Ontario.  All our brands are based in jurisdictions like Malta or Gibraltar where they have to provide proper game testing requirements for fairness.  Most of which also integrate important responsible gambling tools like deposit limits or timeouts, for people that might find these to be helpful.  Many Curacao-based gaming brands have neither of these attributes.

 

Concerns are real over minors becoming problem esports gamblers

The reality is that esports audiences tend to skew very young.  In an article by the Conversation which incorporated research by Ipsos MORI at University of Sussex, minors were found to be engaging with social media of esports betting accounts and posts.  They identified three particular concerns.

First, people following esport gambling accounts are very young. They found that 17% of followers were under 16, and another 69% were aged 16-23. In other words, 85% of esports betting-account followers are under 24. The same is also true for those commenting on, liking or sharing these tweets: 28% were under 16, and 66% were aged 16-23.

Second, the advertising techniques used by gambling operators can be different from those used for traditional sports (with an older audience). Rather than getting people to sign up or make impulsive gambles by offering “free bets”, “matched bets” or “sign-up bonuses”, esports betting appears to incorporate social media posts or content that is funny, using gifs, memes and esports insider-knowledge. This content may not even look like a commercial.

Third, some brands post images that can contravene marketing codes as the images can be seen to appeal to younger audiences, and this is what makes esports marketing so difficult.  If the core esports audience is so young, how can you market esports as a product when nothing that you use in marketing can be seen to be attractive to the under 25 set.

The marketing of betting on esports will surely be undergoing a change in regulated markets going forward.  But this does leave a huge gap within the "grey market" and the "off shore" betting sites that serves the "rest of Canada" market segment.  That's another reason why all esports bettors in the rest of Canada should look to play with reputable operators that are more likely to have integrated responsible gambling tools like deposit limits, play limits or timeouts.