PayPal Betting Sites & Sportsbooks for Canada?

Unfortunately, some Canadian sportsbook reviews, or even some operators can be very misleading on this subject, as they know that PayPal has historically been a popular way for Canadians to pay for things online. The truth however, is that for people in the so-called "Canadian grey market" for online gambling, PayPal is absolutely not available.

To be clear, if you are in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, the Atlantic Provinces or the Territories, PayPal cannot be used to make deposits to, or receive withdrawals from online betting & casino brands like Betsafe, bet365, Betway, BetVictor, Casumo, Sports Interaction, Unibet or any other major or minor operator that would otherwise serve you across Canada, outside Ontario. 

Why is there such dishonesty around PayPal acceptance information at gambling sites for Canada?

When it comes to the business of online sportsbooks, casinos and the review sites that can promote them, it all comes down to the acquisition of new players. Dishonest operators or marketers (review sites) often use misleading information to drive traffic and attract new players that are searching for things like "PayPal sportsbooks Canada".

If they get their site or page into the search engine listing for such a search query, they have a chance of referring or acquiring a new player, which would eventually likely become revenue, for either the operator, or the marketer, or both.  These parties likely know, that the operator in question cannot physically accept PayPal payments from Canada for the purposes of online gambling, but they know that some interested players will simply move on and deposit funds for their bankroll with an alternative payment method to PayPal, after they have been tempted to register by the false draw of their favoured payment method.

How can we know for certain that PayPal is not available at "offshore" gambling sites for most Canada?

You don't need to trust us on this, as you can read the short policy that governs this within the Legalhub at PayPal.com.  Here is the part that matters:

Activities Requiring Approval

PayPal requires pre-approval to accept payments for certain services as detailed in the chart below.

6. Gambling, Gaming, Prize Draws and Contests

Activities involving gambling, gaming and/or any other activity with an entry fee and a prize, including, but not limited to property/real estate prizes, casino games, sports betting, horse or greyhound racing, fantasy sports, lottery tickets, other ventures that facilitate gambling, games of skill (whether or not legally defined as gambling) and sweepstakes, if the operator and customers are located exclusively in jurisdictions where such activities are permitted by law.

Furthermore, within its "personal" help section it has an entire page dedicated to: What gambling activities does PayPal prohibit?. Here's a snippet from that page that further explains the situation:

PayPal allows approved gambling merchants to use our service in certain jurisdictions where gambling activities are legal. To be approved by PayPal, merchants must demonstrate to PayPal's satisfaction that they can block gambling activities for account holders in the U.S. and any jurisdiction where gambling activities may be illegal.

In other words, PayPal can work as a payment method to online gambling operators, but only within jurisdictions where both operation and participation in online gambling is fully legal. This is why PayPal is now available at some fully licensed Ontario online sportsbooks, but that is because Canada's most populous province now has a fully regulated and legal local market for online gambling providers.

Outside Ontario, the rest of Canada remains in the so-called "grey market". When playing online from the "grey market", people in Canada are actually placing wagers at operators based in gaming jurisdictions of Gibraltar, Malta & Kahnawake, among others. While there is technically no legal issue on the consumer side of things with regard to Canadians choosing to play at offshore sites, careful payment processor companies like PayPal are not interested in facilitating transactions of this nature. 

Do any Canada-based sportsbooks offer PayPal?

Yes! If you are in British Columbia or Saskatchewan, you may make and receive PayPal payments with respect to your player account at PlayNow-dot-com, which is run by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC). Saskatchewan's Indian Gaming Authority wanted to offer people in their province an official online destination to play casino games and bet on sports. Thus, they came to an agreement with the BCLC to allow Saskatchewanians to have official access to that site. PayPal is available in addition to other popular methods. Of all the online sports betting options as run by individual provinces, PlayNow is probably the best one.  These are your fully legal online betting and casino options within BC and SK. They are not "grey market" or "offshore" options in this regard.

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