Offshore casinos are one of the more popular places for Canadians to gamble nowadays, providing them with excellent collections of games, better bonuses than they would find at domestic gambling houses and even stricter regulatory protections, in certain cases. So, the common misconception among Canadian players that these kinds of houses are less safe than their counterparts does not hold true at all!
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An offshore casino can be defined as any gambling house which is not operated within Canada and not licensed by the regulatory bodies of any of its provinces. On the other hand, if the house is run from the country, or if it has a license with one of the licensing bodies in the Canadian provinces, it cannot be said to be an offshore casino. We will call the latter domestic casinos for the sake of this article.
Most offshore casinos that Canadian players can enjoy these days are registered and licensed within just a couple of countries. So, despite there being multiple thousands of them, learning about the regulatory regimes of offshore casinos in Canada is easier than it might first seem! These common regulatory jurisdictions for offshore casinos in Canada are Curacao, Anjouan and Malta.
Canada's regulatory regime towards online gambling nowadays is pretty inconsistent. On a federal level, there are barely any unified rules about what it can look like, leading to starkly different regimes being adopted in each state. Depending on the province you are playing in, it might be entirely prohibited to enjoy most forms of gambling, or you might have access to a compelling set of options instead.
In contrast, with offshore casinos, players can always know what to expect from their regulation! These regulatory protections offshore houses provide for their players can sometimes be even higher than what is required of licensed Canadian casinos in certain provinces, too.
Additionally, offshore casinos tend to offer more in terms of games, as well as bonuses, because they are more free to determine what both of these offerings look like, unburdened by the restrictions of some provinces' regulation towards gambling. There are also some payment methods, like crypto, which offshore casinos sometimes offer, that are far less common among domestic casinos in Canada.
So, there are plenty of reasons to check out offshore casinos if you are a Canadian player, but we'd like to focus a bit more on the regulatory background of these houses and contrast it to the one of domestic casinos:
As we mentioned above, Canada does not regulate gambling on the federal level. Instead, it is up to every one of the 10 different provinces to introduce laws handling it. This leads to 10 different regulatory regimes and regulatory bodies that domestic online casinos need to follow if they wish to offer their services within the country. And these regimes are incredibly diverse, too!
To highlight these differences, we would like to compare the regulatory regimes of Ontario and Alberta, because they are the most different from one another, in our view. Ontario has a pretty comprehensive regulatory regime, and is one of the more popular provinces for domestic online casino operators.
Commission need to implement certain safety measures for their players, such as preventing minors from playing and ensuring they follow strict KYC policies, in order to deter money laundering and other financial crime. Also, they need to offer their players only games which have been tested by a special body, called iGaming Ontario. This ensures that the outcomes of every bet you place are going to be fair, and not biased towards the house.
Overall, Ontario's regulatory regime, adopted in 2022, closely resembles what most offshore gambling houses can offer in terms of protections, and we are curious to see how the Alcohol and Gambling Commission of the province will develop it further.
In contrast, the regulatory regime of Alberta is actually a lot more straightforward. Online gambling in the state is banned entirely, except for a single online casino, called Play Alberta. This house is not bad per se, but there is something to be said about providing variety to players!
As you can see, what you might be able to access in terms of casinos and regulatory protections in domestic casinos is pretty different, depending on where you live. On the other hand, the regulatory regimes of the three most common countries for offshore casinos to set up in, Malta, Curacao and Anjouan, offer consistent protections to players! Let's take a look at each of them one by one:
The strictest regulatory regime for offshore casinos to follow nowadays is definitely the one adopted by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). This regulatory body demands that the houses it oversees keep online gambling safe for players, that they do their best to combat fraud and money laundering, and that they stop minors from playing their games. Also, the MGA makes it so that said games can be said to be provably fair, with outcomes you can trust are down to chance!
To ensure that gamblers have access to adequate responsible gambling tools, offshore houses licensed by the MGA need to let their players self-exclude, by setting up custom deposit limits, enabling time-out periods during which they are not allowed to gamble and even by letting them close down their account. These responsible gambling measures are a great way for gambling addiction to be fought!
The MGA makes the offshore casinos it oversees also maintain a register of their players who have self-excluded. That way, for instance, if a licensed operator receives a request to set a deposit limit to your account in one of the casinos it runs, it will have to enter this in the register. All of your accounts with any of the casinos of the same operator will have to comply with this requirement, too!
When it comes to preventing illicit activity and minors from gambling in Maltese offshore casinos, the MGA makes its license holders verify the identity of everyone who signs up. Also, sometimes, players need to provide proof of their income, which is a measure designed to combat money-laundering. All of this makes iGaming safer and more fun for everyone!
And if you have any issues with Malta-licensed casinos, be it because of their KYC or AML policies or anything else, you can get the help from the impartial conflict resolution body that the MGA has created to resolve such issues. That is another unique policy of this particular license issuer, which is actually not present within any of the other regulatory bodies we will be looking into.
Before we do so, however, we'd also like to mention the RNG-testing requirements of the Malta Gaming Authority. These requirements are similar to the Ontario policies of checking the code of the games you can play within offshore casinos, in order to make sure that their outcomes are not biased against players. Playing in MGA-licensed casinos therefore also means that you will be able to access only games you can trust are fair!
Next, we'd like to go over Curacao, which has long been the default location for new offshore casinos to get set up in. The regulatory regime in the country has been overhauled in 2023 and 2024 and is now significantly stricter than what it was before. For a start, the regulatory bodies which oversaw the online gambling market in the casino have been inherited by a single regulator, called the Curacao Gaming Control Board.
Then, the Board makes the casinos under its oversight to offer players certain self-exclusion features, such as the deposit limits and the ability to close down your account we mentioned. At the time of writing, there is no need for licensed gambling houses in Curacao to offer time-out periods, but a lot of them do nonetheless.
Then, casinos also need to tackle illicit gambling activity like them being used to launder money, or players using stolen credit cards to deposit. That is done via strict KYC policies, which also help weed out minors from gambling, too.
Finally, the games you can play in licensed offshore casinos in Curacao are required to be RNG-tested, too, which is why you can trust them to be provably fair, too, and to offer you games which have outcomes you can be sure are down to chance!
Thirdly, Anjouan is a bit of a newcomer to the scene of online gambling regulatory destinations. The country is an independent island in the Comoros Union, and its regulatory body is called the Anjouan Gaming Authority. As for its regulatory regime, it is substantially the same as the one in Curacao, with a less demanding responsible gambling features policy.
Offshore houses licensed by the Anjouan Gaming Authority do need to offer such features, but the license issuer leaves it up to them to determine which particular features they would like to implement. In practice, the same features you can use in Curaca0-licensed casinos are generally available within their counterparts that hold Anjouan Gaming licenses, too.
From time to time, Canadian offshore casino players will discover a gambling house which is operated from different countries and is licensed by different regulators, too. These are smaller jurisdictions for offshore gambling, overseen by license issuers such as the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, or the PAGCOR in the Philippines. In general, these said license issuers can be trusted to have a set of regulatory requirements similar to those of Curacao-licensed casinos, and are safe to play in.
Then, you could also run into unlicensed casinos. These houses can be registered in a country like Costa Rica, which does not regulate its iGaming sector at all, but they could also not specify who runs them or from where. Either way, we recommend avoiding them, because there are no guarantees they can provide you with for their legitimacy. We are not trying to say that unlicensed offshore casinos are automatically fraudulent, but there is no way for players to be certain they are not, in the complete absence of any regulation over them, so it's a better idea to stick to other options with stricter regulation!
Yes! As we've demonstrated above, some offshore regulatory bodies even provide Canadian players with better and stricter regulatory protections than houses which are licensed in the provinces. For instance, the MGA has a better set of responsible gambling policies than even the Alcohol and Gambling Commission of Ontario. Just make sure that you are not dealing with an unlicensed offshore casino, because there are no guarantees for the legitimacy of those houses.
And, what's more, offshore casinos generally have more to offer than their regulation! Here is a look at the key features of these gambling houses:
Let's take a look at the four key features which make Canadian offshore casinos so popular among players:
Licensing and Regulation: What to Look out for
Firstly, we discussed the regulatory background of offshore casinos that you can access as a Canadian player above, so, you probably already know that these houses offer some incredible protections to their players, which are not generally available in domestic casinos. That said, do make sure that the house you plan on playing in is actually licensed, in order to avoid any possible issues with its legitimacy!
Payment Options and Currency Compatibility
Offshore casinos in Canada generally cater to players from the country by providing them with access to popular domestic payment methods such as Interac. Also, there is a pretty significant range of payment methods available which you cannot generally expect to find in their domestic counterparts, too! Most offshore houses in Canada tend to offer accounts in the Canadian Dollar, too, with depositing to such accounts meaning you don't need to worry about exchange rates and fees when cashing in to play your favorite games.
Game Variety and Software Providers
The range of games of offshore casinos is generally quite a lot more diverse than their domestic Canadian counterparts. Most houses tend to offer several thousand Games at the very least, including various Slots, Table Games, Live Gaming experiences and so on. Also, these casinos generally feature way more Software providers than their domestic counterparts. The average amount of providers we expect to see from an offshore casino we cover is 50 or more!
Customer Support and User Experience
Finally, the Customer Support of offshore casinos in Canada tends to be quite competitive and helpful. Usually, there are multiple means of contacting them, and you can get help around the clock, too, in both French and English. Often times, Support is the only way to resolve issues with such casinos, which is why it is generally quite good in them, too! The user experience in offshore casinos is also quite stellar, compared to most domestic gambling houses. Sometimes, even mobile gambling apps are available, which is not generally the case within the majority of domestic Canadian casinos!
We'd like to take a look at the best of the offshore gambling houses in Canada, available to players as of 2025 within this section of our article:
Crownplay Casino Review
Online since: 2023
License: Curacao
Website: crownplay.com
Extensive variety of games
Generous bonus offerings
Includes a sportsbook feature
Players from United States not accepted.
The first stop in our journey through the best offshore gambling houses in Canada is called Crownplay, and represents all of the key features we mentioned above!
The casino has a stylish website, draped in elegant and dark green and black colors, which provides an excellent user experience on both mobile and desktop browsers.
More importantly, Crownplay is licensed within Anjouan, which means that players have access to the protections we previously outlined, as well as a guarantee that the outcomes of their bets are fair, and that the casino is legitimate overall.
There are more than enough games to enjoy here, too, because the house partners with 101 gambling software developers, to deliver more than 10 000 titles. Among them are some of the most popular Slots in Canada, such as Big Bass Bonanza and Book of Dead, as well as plenty of exciting table games, live gaming experiences and so on. We should also mention that sports betting is available, too, to any Canadian punter who signs up to Crownplay.
All of these exciting gambling options can be explored as soon as you sign up to the casino and make your first deposit. Said deposit needs to be of just 30 CAD or more, which is in line with the average minimum set to 15-30 CAD on average we tend to see set within most offshore casinos in Canada these days.
SpinFever Casino Review
Online since: 2023
License: Curacao
Website: spinfever.com
Exclusive VIP program
Quick verification and fast payouts
Available in German (Deutsch version)
Players from United States not accepted.
Next in our list is SpinFever, a gambling house which has been around for a while at this point, having started accepting its Canadian player as soon as 2023. So, it's fair to say that the house has managed to prove itself to its audience! It is also owned and run by one of the most well-respected casino operators in Canada these days, a company called Dama N.V., which has been behind some of the best offshore gambling houses we've covered in recent years.
More importantly, the operator behind SpinFever is licensed within Curacao, meaning that the casino follows the regulatory regime in the country, too. That means anyone who checks it out would have access to RNG-tested games and compelling responsible gambling tools.
The range of Games here is pretty extensive, too, with the house allowing its players to enjoy well over 7000 games by over 80 Game Suppliers. Among them are the usual suspects – Slots, Table Games and Live Casino Games. However, we should mention that the house also has a lot of Instant Games to offer, too, which include Plinko, Aviator and so on.
Depositing to the online casino is possible with a minimum of just 30 CAD, and that's also the minimum withdrawal limit from the house, too. Both of these seem like fair enough limits to us, so we feel like recommending this gambling house is only natural!
Roby Casino Review
Online since: 2024
License: AOFA
Website: robycasino.com
Extra features
Players from United States not accepted.
Roby Casino is not only an excellent choice of a gambling house for Canadian players, but also a great place to bet on Sports! It features well over 10 000 Games to pick from, including the Slots, Table Games and Live Gaming experiences you might expect. And, as for its Sportsbook, you can find pretty much any Sport you'd like to bet on within the casino.
That way, popular Hockey, Basketball and Soccer matches from all over the world are available within the sportsbook of Roby Casino. You can bet on them before the match starts, or even live, from the respective part of the sportsbook. More niche sports like Lacrosse, various Swimming competitions and so on can be found in the sportsbook of the gambling house, too.
You can even bet on things which are not sports in the traditional sense of the word, such as various eSport competitions, or even the outcomes of various TV awards. For instance, you could bet on who will win the Oscars this year. And what makes the Sportsbook of Roby Casino even better is the fact that you can access it on the go from the convenient mobile version of the website of the casino, ensuring an excellent user experience wherever you play!
As with the rest of the casinos so far, the minimum deposit limit of the house, as well as its minimum withdrawal amount, are both set to 30 CAD, which is very fair.
Finally, it is licensed in Anjouan, providing players with the protections this implies.
BetHall Casino Review
Online since: 2024
License: AOFA
Website: bethall.com
Low minimum deposit and withdrawal amounts
Players from United States not accepted.
The next casino we'd like to highlight, BetHall, is a bit new, only having launched in 2024. Despite that, we feel comfortable recommending it to our readers, who will no doubt find the gambling house to offer a very competitive level of service overall! Especially since the payment methods of the casino and its deposit and withdrawal policies cater to Canadian players in particular.
Not only are there plenty of popular domestic payment methods to pick from, such as Interac and credit cards, but also quite a lot of e-wallets and cryptocurrencies that you could cash in with. The minimum you need to deposit ranges between 20 and 30 CAD, depending on the payment method you have selected, too, which is below what the other houses in our list allow.
Of course, what's even more important than the payment methods of the casino is what you will be able to play within it! BetHall does feature over 100 Game Suppliers, which allows its players to access more than 10 000 Slots, Table Games and Live Gaming experiences, all making up for an exceptional level of choice for gamblers.
Finally, this new online gambling house is licensed by the Anjouan Gaming Authority, making it a safe place to play!
Swiper Casino Review
Online since: 2024
License: Curacao
Website: swiper.casino
Attractive bonus offers
Entertaining and enjoyable games
Provides a unique gaming experience
Players from United States not accepted.
Lastly, we'd like to highlight Swiper Casino, one of the more unique offshore gambling houses in Canada as of the time of writing. What makes the casino so different from its peers is that its website is mobile-first, without a native desktop version at 
all. So, the house caters to Canadian players who like gambling on the go. It also has a feature called Shorts, which shows you shot videos from various Slots.
This is great if you wish to discover a new game to play! Also, it is great because the house has a pretty vast library of games, too, with more than 6000 titles to pick from!
Signing up to Swiper Casino is also pretty straightforward, and can be done within seconds from its convenient mobile website. During the sign-up process, you just need to provide the house with some basic information about yourself, such as your name and email address, as well as pick a password. Then, you will be able to enjoy its games, after making your first deposit. Much like the other casinos we've highlighted above, the minimum deposit and withdrawal limit of the gambling house is set to just 30 CAD, which is pretty compelling. You can also use convenient payment methods like Interac to cash in or out of the house.
Finally, the safety of anyone who wishes to gamble in Swiper casino is guaranteed by the Anjouan Gaming license the casino runs under!
We have highlighted the best offshore casinos in Canada, so you probably have some idea of what the advantages of gambling in that kind of house are by now. We would nevertheless like to summarize those, but also, we'd like to highlight some of the downsides players might experience with such houses, too.
Pros
Cons
With the advantages and downsides of offshore gambling houses in Canada highlighted, how can you make sure that you are playing in casinos that have more of the former and less of the latter? Well, check out the following steps to picking the best offshore casino in the country for more information on just that!
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Laptop
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Verify Licensing and Security Features
The first and most important step to take when determining whether to play in any particular offshore casino is determining whether it is licensed or not! We have explained the importance of playing in regulated gambling houses, and believe it is crucial to stick to just that kind of casino!
The information on whether a casino is licensed or not is usually to be found at the very bottom of its website, or within its Terms and Conditions. Casinos which don't claim to be licensed or don't list their operator at all are best avoided, of course. However, even houses that are licensed should get their license verified before you play there. You can do so by heading over to the register of the license issuer the casino claims to be regulated by and checking to see whether there is any mention of the house within it. If you cannot verify the license yourself, it is possible you are dealing with a casino that lies about its regulation, which is a great reason to avoid it.
Check Payment Methods and Currency Options
Next, before you play within any Canadian offshore casino, you should get an answer to the question on whether the gambling house can offer you access to a compelling range of payment methods and whether it accepts your native currency, the Canadian Dollar.
To get answers to these questions, you should head to the Terms and Conditions of the house. If the casino does not mention its range of payment methods, you should avoid it. Also, if it does not accept CAD deposits or does not open CAD accounts, you should also stay away from the gambling house, because it would not be able to provide you with a competitive service, compared to what other offshore houses in Canada tend to offer.
Evaluate Game Selection and Software Providers
Even if an offshore casino has an excellent license and a competitive range of payment methods, you should still consider its Games collection before signing up. After all, there is no sense in opening an account with a casino and cashing in if there is nothing to play!
When evaluating that, you should consider whether the casino has your favorite Slots, Table Games and so on by searching for them within its library. We also find it useful to assess the range of Game Suppliers within the gambling house, too. If there are 50 or more of them, we'd say that the house features a pretty decent range of Games to play, and can be trusted to offer a compelling gambling experience overall. Otherwise, its library could be lacking!
Assess Customer Support and Player Reviews
As we previously explained, Customer Support might be the only means of getting help if you are playing in an offshore casino. That is why you should check to see if Support is available within Live Chat or via phone, and what its working hours are. Avoid casinos which only have email Support, because that is a pretty slow way to receive help.
Also, consider asking the Support of the casino a question about something, such as the payment policies of the casino. How fast they answer and how helpful they are is a helpful way to determine whether they are competent enough to resolve potential issues players might have within the casino!
As for player reviews, these are an invaluable source of information about the problems of offshore casinos. If you find a house you are interested in playing within, it might be helpful to check out what other players are saying about it on gamblers forums, or in the comment sections of review websites such as ours!
Explore Promotions, Bonuses, and VIP Programs
Finally, you should also check out the bonuses section of the gambling house you intend to play in. These include the Welcome bonuses, Reload bonuses and VIP Perks of the casino, all of which are incentives which can really elevate your gambling experience to the next level, with extra cash and Free Spins to use.
However, even if you like the bonuses of an offshore casino, it is very important to make sure you also check out their conditions, such as their wagering requirements and see whether those are fair to players, too! Sometimes bonuses can come with fine print that makes it impossible to place bets over a certain limit or withdraw while the bonus is active, so make sure you are aware of that!
Next, we'd like to provide a table of comparison between the regulatory measures Canadian players can find in most offshore casinos and those in domestic gambling houses. Of course, in the absence of a unified federal regulation, it is difficult to compare the policies of all 10 provinces. We believe that Ontario has the most developed and advanced set of regulation for iGaming, so it is the particular license issuer which will represent domestic casinos in our table of comparison with the most popular offshore license issuers:
| Regulatory policy of the Ontario Alcohol and Gambling Commission | Available in offshore casinos? | Available in which offshore jurisdictions? |
| KYC and anti-money laundering policies | Yes | Curacao, Anjouan, Malta |
| Minor gambling prevention policies | Yes | Curacao, Anjouan, Malta |
| Casinos being expected to offer provably fair and tested games | Yes | Curacao, Anjouan, Malta |
Within the following section of our review, we'd like to share how we write our reviews, namely, what we look for within them and how we rate them. Here's the criteria we follow to assess Canadian offshore casinos:
As we've probably made clear by now, the regulation of offshore gambling houses in Canada is quite important to us, and whether a casino is licensed or not determines its overall rating to a large degree. We also don't generally recommend playing in unlicensed casinos!
Next, we know how important the bonuses of offshore casinos are to our readers, so we make sure to go through them. Casinos with low amounts of bonuses, or ones with bonuses that don't have great conditions generally receive lower ratings by us and vice versa.
We examine the deposit and withdrawal methods that are available to Canadian players, highlighting whether popular domestic means of payment like Interac are available. Aside from that, we check the Terms and Conditions for the house to see what the minimum you can cash in or out are, what the maximum withdrawal limits are, how long it takes to have a cash-out request processed and whether there are any fees for doing so. Also, we pay attention to whether the casino lets players deposit and open accounts in Canadian Dollars, too, and rate casinos which do higher than the houses which don't!
After examining the payment policies, we take a look at the Games library of the casino and determine whether there are enough things to play and bet on. We consider a sufficient library of Games to be one which features over 3000 games by around 50 Game Suppliers, with houses which have more than that being rated higher!
Getting access to Customer Support is often the only way of getting help from offshore casinos, which is why we ensure that players will be able to do so in a reasonable manner from the gambling house we are covering, and reasonably fast too. We don't recommend casinos that don't have a competitive Support policy.
Finally, we know that a lot of our readers prefer using mobile devices to gamble online. That is why we always check the mobile versions of the websites of online casinos we cover, in order to ensure they run just as smoothly as their desktop counterparts!
Canadian offshore casinos do tend to accept a significantly larger amount of payment methods than their domestic counterparts. This makes navigating the available means of deposits and withdrawals to and from them somewhat difficult, so let's take a look at the most popular means of payment within offshore casinos in Canada:
Interac is the most popular payment method in Canada, because it is incredibly fast, safe and cheap. Most offshore casinos nowadays tend to accept it, and even allow withdrawals via it, and we believe that most of our readers would pick this means of depositing to gambling houses whenever it is available.
In contrast, some offshore casinos let you cash in via conventional wire transfers instead, which come with certain downsides compared to Interac. Among them are the longer processing times for withdrawals, with them taking up to 5 business days to clear in certain cases. Also, a downside of conventional bank transfers is the fact that they can come with some pretty hefty fees, too! So, whenever possible, we recommend sticking to Interac instead.
Credit and debit cards are also quite the popular means of transacting with offshore gambling houses. They allow you to make deposits and withdraw with bank-grade security, and are also incredibly widespread, too! We are willing to bet most people reading this sentence have a credit or debit card, and offshore casinos know that as well, with most of them accepting bank cards.
The downside of these payment methods is that withdrawals via them can be rather slow, and that there are certain fees you could be charged by your bank, which is inconvenient!
Next, e-wallets are a staple in offshore casino gambling in Canada, and have been some of the first means of deposit used to play in such houses by players, in the early days of iGaming. The advantage of e-wallets is that players don't have to share their actual banking information with the casinos they use e-wallets in. There is also the fact that e-wallets facilitate instant deposits and withdrawals, making them much faster than bank transfers and bank cards.
That said, every transfer to an e-wallet can be charged a certain fee, determined by the company which runs the e-wallet. These transaction fees are usually quite small, but can actually add up quite fast, so make sure you are aware of the fees structure of the e-wallet you plan on using!
Next, prepaid cards, also known as e-vouchers, are a rather unique means of depositing to offshore casinos. These cards can be bought online or in physical stores, and come with a unique code. Depositing to the casino with them is possible by simply entering said code, protecting your personal information by not sharing it with the casino in the first place. Also, deposits via these cards are free of charge, too.
Do keep in mind, though, that using a prepaid card is not possible when withdrawing. So, if you have cashed in with one, you will need some of the other payment methods to withdraw!
Finally, crypto is getting more and more popular among offshore casinos nowadays as a means of deposit and withdrawal. The advantages of using it are the relatively fast transaction speeds for cryptocurrencies, and the bigger amount of money you can cash in or out of the casino using it, than is generally allowed for players who use the other payment methods of casinos.
That said, crypto is a bit more complex, and we recommend making sure you understand how it works before signing up to any offshore casino which accepts it. Also, there are always certain fees when cashing in to casinos with crypto, charged by the miners who process these payments, which can eat into your winnings as well.
Responsible gambling is important to us, so we'd like to share some tips on how you can ensure you keep your gambling safe. Afterwards, we'd also like to take a look at some of the data safety measures of Canadian offshore casinos, too:
Be realistic about gambling: Being realistic means not treating online gambling as a potential income. Instead, just play your favorite games for fun. Also, we recommend being realistic about how much you can spend, by setting aside a certain amount of money and stopping to play when you lose it all. That will prevent you from suffering from cascading losses!
Use the self-exclusion features of offshore casinos: These features are available in licensed offshore casinos, and let you reduce your exposure to online gambling for a certain amount of time, by setting a custom deposit limit or entering a time-out period. Also, you can close down your account, if that seems necessary, too. Don't hesitate to use these features whenever you need!
Self-exclude in other ways: If you are playing in an offshore casino without a license that does not offer these features, you should consider self-excluding by using special software to block certain websites in your browser, seeking out gambler addiction help groups and so on.
Data safety is very important to fans of online gambling, because they share very sensitive information with the gambling houses they play in. This information includes all manner of details about who you are, where you play from and even the details of the payment methods you use in the casino to deposit.
Most offshore casinos that are licensed are required to encrypt that kind of information, so that it does not fall into the hands of hackers and other ill-doers. That is achieved by following some of the strictest data safety protocols in the world, and represents another great reason to stick with licensed gambling houses, compared to their unregulated counterparts!
Usually, there are certain pitfalls that a lot of Canadian casino game lovers tend to encounter in offshore gambling houses. So, here's what you should look out for when playing your favorite games:
As we mentioned before, certain offshore casinos can provide players with bonuses that have very restrictive conditions which make it difficult to withdraw before the bonus is played through, or which might set a low maximum bet size to your account while said promotion is active. To ensure you don't have to deal with them, make sure you check the Terms and Conditions of the bonuses you are offered before accepting them. Naturally, avoid promotions which don't have a clear set of Terms to them!
Canada does not have a tax on casino game winnings, as we will clarify in our section on taxes and offshore gambling. However, it is important that you still declare your income from said games, because you might face certain issues with the authorities otherwise, such as being audited or even fined!
The fees in question are the third party charges by the companies offering you the payment methods you use in offshore casinos. These charges are usually quite small, but can quickly add up and really eat into your winnings, which is why we recommend having a clear understanding on what the cost for using any payment method you wish to deposit with, or withdraw to, is!
Also, there can be currency exchange fees if you are depositing Canadian Dollars to an account in a different base currency. That's why we recommend making sure there are no such fees before opening your account in any online gambling house!
No Deposit Bonuses are special promotions, which are meant to help you test out the services of a Canadian online gambling house without risking your own money. However, they should not be seen as a way to actually make money, as is the case with any other bonus, too. Spending too much time worrying about No Deposit Bonuses and chasing them is decidedly less fun that just playing your favorite games!
Finally, we explained that offshore casinos which are not licensed, have a fake license, don't provide players with information on their payment methods and so on, are best avoided. So, in order to ensure you don't miss these obvious red flags, be sure you check the casino out before playing there, following the steps we outlined above!
Now, let's take a look at some of the most popular games among Canadian players:
It is no surprise that Slots are the most popular Games in Canada, because this type of casino experience makes up for the vast majority of games that are offered to players nowadays. Slots are incredibly diverse in terms of their themes and mechanics, too, making them suitable for nearly any player nowadays! Some of the more popular Slots in Canada are Big Bass Bonanza and Book of Dead, followed by Gates of Olympus and Sweet Bonanza.
This card game is very popular among Canadian gamblers, because of its relatively high RTP, or Return to Player, percentage. It can be played in various rulesets and with both live and virtual dealers, too.
Roulettes are also quite widespread as a type of game in Canadian offshore casinos, and they are definitely a player favorite, too! Both the American and European versions of these games can generally be found in any Canadian offshore casino nowadays!
Next, Baccarat is a popular card game, which stands out with its simplicity, making it perfect for casual offshore casino players. It is usually found in online casinos in Canada for that reason, too.
Most casino games are simply games of chance, but Poker has an element of skill to it, too, which makes it incredibly popular among players in Canada. It is basically synonymous with online gambling nowadays, too, and you can count on offshore casinos to offer you access to that game these days!
Video Poker is a more immersive Poker experience, usually with a Live Dealer, which allows players to get a realistic gambling experience from the comfort of their homes, or even on the go, on their mobile devices!
Keno is a simple lottery-style game, which is perfect for casual players who don't like card games and don't feel like playing Slots. It can be found in the vast majority of offshore casinos in Canada!
Live Dealer Games include not only the versions of the table games we mentioned before, which include Live Dealers, but also entirely unique gambling experiences, called Game Shows, which follow a TV Game Show format, with some of them following existing rulesets like Deal or No Deal and others following their own sets of rules and plots!
We've previously explained what types of payment methods are available within most Canadian offshore casinos. Now, we'd like to take a look at which particular means of deposit you can use within these houses:
This includes credit cards, Interac and other bank transfers, as well as prepaid cards, because of how similar the latter are to credit cards in terms of how you can use them. The most popular prepaid card issuers in Canada are Neosurf and Flexepin.
The two most popular e-wallets in Canada for online gambling have traditionally been Skrill and Neteller, which have been in use for more than two decades at the time of writing with offshore casinos. However, there are also some newer options to use, too, with Canadian players also usually being able to cash in via PayPal, MiFinity and so on in their favorite offshore casinos!
Pretty much any offshore casino worth its salt nowadays would allow its Canadian players to use crypto to deposit, too. Usually, houses accept the most popular tokens, such as BTC, ETH, USDT, DOGE and XRP, though there are also offshore casinos which specialize in cryptocurrency gambling, too, and have a wider range of tokens for you to use!
Much like the majority of countries out there, Canada does not tax winnings from gambling. However, that does not mean you are free from declaring these winnings when filing your taxes! In fact, failing to do so can lead you to being fined or penalized in other ways.
Also, you might have to pay taxes in the country where the offshore casino is running from. Now, most major offshore gambling jurisdictions like the Comoros, Curacao or Malta don't charge such taxes, but exceptions are possible in other countries!
Finally, here are the answers to some of your most frequently asked questions about offshore gambling in Canada:
An offshore casino can be defined as simply a gambling house which is not licensed in any of Canada's ten provinces and not operated from within the country.
It is legal to play in offshore casinos recreationally, and you cannot get into any trouble with the Canadian authorities for that!
You should only play in licensed casinos, and also verify the licenses of said houses yourself, in order to make sure they are not lying about their regulation either!
Yes, and most of them tend to offer even more in terms of the games you can play and the bonuses you can claim! This makes offshore casinos a compelling alternative to domestically-licensed houses.
Most offshore casinos which accept Canadian players also let you deposit and open your accounts in Canadian dollars, too. We recommend you do so, too, in order to avoid dealing with exchange fees.
Contact the Support of the gambling house immediately! They can help you get help with any issue you might have the fastest!
In summary, offshore gambling houses in Canada are quite exciting, but have certain specifics that make it so players need to be vigilant when they play within them! We hope that this article has managed to demonstrate that, and how you can make sure you are playing only in the best offshore gambling houses in Canada! Other than that, you can feel free to check out the rest of our reviews if you are looking for somewhere to play, too.
