Canada Betting
Canada is a relatively betting friendly nation even though it technically has laws in place against online gambling and sports betting. Those old laws aren’t enforced, though, and Canada betting is a generally accepted pastime. Whether you want to bet on sports, hit up the casino or play poker, there are a variety of Canada betting sites ready to serve.
Some Canada betting sites cater specifically to Canadian sports such as the NHL and CFL while others cater to Canada bettors themselves. In any case, online Canadian sportsbooks and casino betting sites offer a wide variety of betting options to Canadian gamblers. Some Canadian betting sites even combine sports betting, casino betting and poker all under one roof.
Canada Sports Betting
Both Canadian and US sports are heavily bet upon at Canadian sportsbooks. Sports leagues such as the NHL, CFL and NFL are among the most popular. These same sportsbooks also allow Canadians to bet on NBA games, college football, college basketball and many other sports.
Canada also has a group of government-run sportsbooks called Sport Select. Like most things the government touches, Sport Select is a mismanaged, unpopular mess. The odds are set strongly against the bettors and individual matches cannot be wagered on, since those are technically illegal. Instead, the players may only bet on multiple games in parlay fashion. In summary, avoid any of these Sport Select sportsbooks: Pari sportif, Pro-Line and Sports Action.
Canada Casino Betting
Most major, international online casinos also accept players from Canada. A few have withdrawn from the Canadian market for various reasons but there are still plenty to choose from. Some Canada betting sites even allow players to deposit and wager in Canadian dollars.
There aren’t any government-run online casinos in Canada, thank goodness. After seeing the mess the government made out of sports betting, I would hate to see what the payout rates would look like for an online casino run by the government. Current Canada betting sites have payout rates that range from 94 to 98%.
Canada Poker And Betting
Canadian poker players can play online at almost all the largest online poker sites. For the longest time, Bodog did not allow Canada betting of any sort but that changed in the Fall of 2009. Ever since then, Canadians have pretty much had free reign with online poker sites.
The vast majority of Canadian-friendly poker sites offer games in US dollar format only. When you make your deposit into such a poker site, your deposit is automatically converted to US dollars at current exchange rates. The major poker sites like PokerStars often don’t even charge a conversion fee.
All Around Canada Betting Sites
Some Canada betting sites aren’t satisfied specializing in one type of gambling, so they offer sports betting, casino betting and poker all under one roof. Some of these betting sites do well in all types of betting and others still seem to specialize in just one or two types of gambling. Bet365 is one of the most popular Canadian betting sites.
Most Canada betting sites do well with sports betting and casino gambling, but they don’t have quite as much success with online poker. There are several Canada betting sites that offer a decent online poker experience but even those can’t compare to major poker sites such as PokerStars and Full Tilt.