Legal Ontario AMEX Betting Sites & Online Casinos 2025
AMEX is loved by most of those that hold the card, due to superior rewards and customer service. This makes the card highly preferred by business people and those that shop a lot with their cards. However, due to high merchant fees compared to Visa & Mastercard, far fewer merchants generally accept American Express. If you're an AMEX fan, you already know that it's just not accepted as widely as Visa or Mastercard, be it in restaurants or retailers.
This situation extends to the legal online gambling landscape in Ontario: Very few legal Ontario sportsbooks & casinos support deposits via AMEX. However, three excellent brands that we recommend do support AMEX if you really want to use it: bet365, Sports Interaction & BetRivers (Our #1, #3 & #4 Ontario betting brands). But before you get started, we address some important issues to provide some education. We might save you some big money. If you're outside Ontario, we help you with that too.
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Top AMEX Ontario Betting & Casino Site: bet365
2nd AMEX Ontario Sportsbook & Casino Site: SIA
3nd AMEX Ontario Sportsbook & Casino Site: BetRivers
AMEX is an expensive deposit method for online gambling in Ontario
Since you're here asking about AMEX, you already likely know the benefits of using the card. However, you may not understand the downside to using the card as it pertains to gambling site payments. Understand that when you use American Express to make a deposit toward a gambling site for sportsbook or casino play, that money is treated as a "cash advance", as opposed to a purchase.
Cash advances are different in that a flat fee will be charged, plus a high rate of interest starts to accrue from the moment of the transaction. Normal purchases come with an interest-free grace period, you don't get this with payments toward gaming sites. Note that this concept is the same for American Express as it is with Visa or Mastercard. If you'd like, you can read the AMEX policy on cash advances.
Should you use AMEX for sportsbook or casino payments in Ontario?
Given the expense associated with facilitating the transaction: a flat fee near $5, plus 20+% interest, the amount of money paid in fees, even if you pay the loan off fully on your next statement, will be considerably more expensive than if you deposit via Interac or another bank transfer or debit method. There are really only two reasons to use American Express toward your Ontario gambling site: 1) If you don't have another payment method to hand as you get started with your sportsbook or casino play. 2) You really want to accumulate AMEX rewards as related to your spending on the matter.
The fees to use AMEX will be exorbitant. If you want to minimize fees, you should not use AMEX for your deposit. To save money on fees, look to debit cards (including via Apple Pay), Interac or other direct bank debit methods like Instadebit, iDebit, PayPal or Trustly's "PayWithMyBank", which is also available at both Sports Interaction and BetRivers.
Find Ontario gambling payment alternatives to AMEX |
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Ontario Apple Pay betting sites Ontario Debit Card betting sites Ontario Instadebit betting sites Ontario MuchBetter betting sites |
Can you use AMEX for withdrawals from your Ontario betting site?
No. AMEX may be used for deposits only. (The only credit card that may facilitate funds being withdrawn back as a payout would be a Visa card. But using Visa credit cards also come with the same high cash advance interest & fees). If you use American Express as your deposit method, the given betting or casino site will dictate the options for how you may receive your withdrawal, though it would likely be via online bank payment, or an Interac e-transfer. In either case, the ultimate withdrawal destination will need to be in the same name as the AMEX card deposits in order to satisfy anti-money laundering rules & requirements.
Is AMEX available at betting sites for the rest of Canada?
No. American Express is only available as a payment method toward gambling sites within locally regulated, legal markets like Ontario. The rest of Canada is not treated in the same way, as players fall within the so-called "grey market", and they would be playing at "offshore" sites if they wish to expand their choice beyond the lottery corporations' online gaming options. So if you are in BC, Alberta, Quebec or anywhere else across the country, AMEX is not a method that will be available for your use offshore. You can learn more about payment methods for the "rest of Canada" market, but know that plenty of secure and convenient options are available at the reputable brands that we recommend.