Best Betting Sites for Canada Players Rated by Industry Experts
Our team of industry experts understand what makes a top sports betting site in Canada after years of analysing all of a sportsbook’s different features. We summarise all these features in an easily digestible, helpful and objective way in our reviews.
We understand that what customers want at online betting sites in Canada. For example, ice hockey is king in Canada. So, customers want lots of live betting markets on hockey, lots of player props markets and hockey-themed bonuses.
They’re also aware of such things as the site offering payment options that suit customers from that specific country rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to payment methods, irrespective of where the customer is based. Our industry experts understand the importance of localised needs, and our reviews of the best online betting sites in Canada reflect that.
How We Rate Canada Betting Sites
There are lots of different factors that need to be considered when reviewing the best sports betting sites in Canada.
Whereas it would be impossible and impractical to go through every last one in meticulous detail, there are eight main criteria we consider the most important, and these are the ones we analyse in great depth.
We then give the betting site a rating for that specific criteria and explain how we arrived at that rating, including where it performed well for it and where it didn’t, if applicable.
These are the eight criteria we consider the most important.
- Sportsbook’s licence: Canada betting sites operating without a licence are an instant red flag for us. It means you, the customer, have little or no protection as regards the site going about its business in a safe, fair and ethical manner.
- Reputation: A combination of player reviews and our Customer Complaints process paint a good picture of how the site is perceived by the AskGamblers community in terms of being safe, of high quality and reliable.
- Security: We consider such things as the security measures in place to protect your money and data, that the site protects itself against hackers and that it has the necessary funds to pay out on big wins instantly.
- Betting bonuses and promotions: A sportsbook is given a high rating for this metric if it provides a generous welcome bonus and, down the line, offers imaginative and varied promotions that are a good mix of free bets, deposit bonuses, risk-free bets and other types of bonuses.
- Number of sports/markets: This is generally a case of the more, the better. The greater the choice of both sports offered and betting markets within those sports, the greater the choice for the customer.
- Payment options: Another case of the more, the better. But with two caveats. Firstly, the payment options need to be trustworthy and secure. And secondly, they need to appeal to customers from the geographical market (Canada, in this case) in question.
- Betting odds: The odds across the board need to be competitive in relation to what other sites are laying, with brownie points on offer if they’re consistently higher than at their competitors.
- Customer support: Customer Support agents need to be friendly, polite, knowledgeable and, above all, able to answer your queries and solve your problems in a timely manner. It’s important that the betting site offers numerous ways of getting in touch, such as e-mail, phone, social media and Live Chat.

How to Choose Top Canada Betting Site Based on Your Betting Preferences
Just like no two Canada betting sites are the same, no two customers are the same. So, when choosing a site to play at, it’s imperative that you pick one based on your own unique betting preferences.
For starters, the site needs to offer the sports you’re interested in. If it’s hockey or basketball you like, it needs to offer betting on them and plenty of markets across different leagues within those sports, especially the ones that happen to be your favourites.
Then there are the betting markets themselves. If you like betting on player props in the NHL, you’ll want a site that offers a good selection of those. If you prefer handicap betting on the NBA, the sportsbook needs to cover those adequately.
Finally, certain customers like special types of bets, such as parlay bets or Bet Builders. If you’re one of those, it’s worth considering whether the site in question has them so you can also place your favourite type of special bets.
How Is Sports Betting Regulated in Canada?
Online sports betting in Canada has undergone significant changes of late, particularly with the recent amendments in legislation.
Historically, betting in Canada was something of a grey area where neither customers nor operators knew where they stood as regards the legality of it all.
However, changes in the law, most notably the passage of Bill C-218 in June 2021, have marked a shift. This bill legalised single-event sports betting, allowing the different provinces and territories to regulate and licence sports betting within their jurisdictions.
Each Canadian province and territory can now set its own rules regarding online betting.
This autonomy means the regulatory landscape varies across the country, from more liberal approaches in provinces like Ontario, which has opened its market to private operators, to more conservative stances elsewhere.
The ten provinces and three territories manage online betting through lottery corporations or licensed private entities, ensuring safe and responsible gambling practices. All of which marks a huge improvement in terms of online betting in relation to the situation prior to 2021.
How Often Do We Add New Canada Betting Sites?
The answer is it depends. It’s not something we do religiously on a yearly or monthly basis, but rather, we’re constantly on the lookout for legal betting sites in Canada that have recently started accepting Canadian customers.
Once we’re aware of a new betting site operating in Canada, we’ll then go through our usual process of checking out all the site’s features, playing at the site just like a regular customer would and ranking the site across the eight different criteria we discussed above.
Once all that is done, we’ll publish our review on the AskGamblers site so you know everything you need to know about that site. This is something that could happen five or six times a year or far more often if lots of new sites are constantly entering the Canadian market.
Most Popular Payment Options for Sports Betting in Canada
The most popular payment options used for online sports betting in Canada include a mix of traditional and modern methods, which cater to a wide range of preferences and priorities. Here are some commonly used payment options:
- Credit and debit cards: Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted for their convenience and reliability. It also helps that just about every Canadian customer will already possess one of these two, so they won’t need to go out and acquire an additional payment option just to play at online betting sites in Canada.
- E-wallets: Services like PayPal, Skrill, and Neteller are popular due to their ease of use, speed of transactions, and added security features.
- Bank transfers: Some users opt for direct bank transfers for larger transactions, although these can be slower in terms of being processed.
- Interac: A Canadian interbank network, Interac is highly popular for online transactions in Canada, including betting, due to its secure and efficient local transfer system.
- Prepaid cards: Options like Paysafecard are favoured by those who prefer to use cash for online betting, offering a way to deposit without sharing bank details.
- Cryptocurrencies: While not as widely accepted as other methods, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are gaining popularity among players for their anonymity and low transaction fees. On the flip side, both understanding how cryptocurrencies work and actually acquiring them is far more complex than almost any other payment option, so they certainly won’t be for everyone.
- E-checks: Some users prefer electronic checks for their similarity to traditional banking methods.
- Mobile payment services: With the rise of mobile betting, payment services like Apple Pay and Google Pay are becoming more common.

Most Popular Sports Betting Competitions and Sports in Canada
In many ways, Canadians’ preferences when it comes to their favourite sports to bet on and the different competitions within those sports are quite similar to those of their American neighbours.
Here are some of their favourites.
Ice Hockey: The country’s number one sport in general terms is almost certainly the most popular to bet on, as well. Though some leagues, such as a few of the European ones and international hockey competitions, attract some interest, the NHL is head and shoulders above the rest in terms of popularity. That’s aided by the fact that seven of the current 32 NHL sides hail from Canada, meaning Canadian customers can bet on matches involving the team they support or other teams they know particularly well. That said, Stanley Cup wins by Canadian sides have been few and far between in recent years.
American Football: When it comes to football, it’s a very different scenario, with US and Canadian teams playing in separate leagues. But both the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NHL) enjoy immense popularity among Canadian bettors.
Basketball: This one is somewhat similar to hockey in that the top Canadian sides compete alongside the top American ones in the NBA. So, like with hockey, the presence of domestic sides in the NBA - including 2019 NBA champions, the Toronto Raptors – generates greater interest in the league among Canadian betting customers. A few other leagues outside North America are also popular, as is betting on basketball at the Summer Olympics every four years, but not to the same degree as the NBA.
Other sports that attract plenty of bets are baseball, tennis, golf and motorsports.
Then there’s soccer. Though Canada doesn’t share the same obsession for it as most of the other countries in the world, there are still some Canadian diehard fans of it out there, both in terms of watching it and betting on it. Top of the pile for popularity is the English Premier League, though the growth and improvement of Major League Soccer, especially since the arrival of Lionel Messi, has seen its popularity increase among Canadian bettors.
Future of Online Sports Betting Sites in Canada
As already discussed, the different Canadian territories and provinces operate independently of each other when it comes to the regulation of sports betting within them, meaning that what might happen in one of them in the near future may not necessarily happen in another.
But we can make a few educated guesses about the future of online sports betting in Canada as a whole.
It appears poised for significant growth and transformation. Following the legalisation of single-event sports betting in 2021, the Canadian market has opened up considerably.
This increased competition is likely to drive innovation, leading to enhanced user experiences, more betting options, and better odds as different operators - both local and overseas – attempt to improve their all-round product so as to attract new customers.
Technological advancements, especially in mobile technology and internet infrastructure, are likely to further fuel growth in online betting in Canada.
Mobile betting apps, for example, offer unparalleled convenience, allowing users to place bets from anywhere at any time, in addition to allowing customers to do all the other things they’d do at top betting sites in Canada, such as making deposits and withdrawals, claiming bonuses, and even contacting Customer Service.
Additionally, emerging technologies like AI and blockchain could revolutionise aspects of online betting, from personalised betting experiences to enhanced security and transparency.
Another key aspect is the increasing focus on responsible gambling. Unlike countries such as the UK or Ireland, where online betting has been regulated for decades and focus on responsible gambling has been an important part of this for a long time, that’s certainly not the case with Canada.
As the market expands, regulatory bodies are expected to implement stricter guidelines to promote safe and responsible betting practices. This focus on player protection will be crucial in maintaining a sustainable and ethical betting environment.
Finally, the growth of online betting in Canada is likely to provide plenty of future employment opportunities for those wishing to work in this rapidly changing industry, while Canada as a whole will benefit from vast amounts of money paid to it in the form of taxes charged to local and overseas operators.