Using Visa at Gambling Sites in Canada If your Visa is from a Canadian bank like RBC, CIBC, BMO, or TD Canada Trust, you shouldn't have much of an issue with Visa online gambling transactions. But if your Visa is from a US-based bank like Chase, there are a few things you should know. Internet Gambling Laws and Banking by Region. Below, you’ll find guides to banking and laws by region. As always, you should follow the laws in your local jurisdiction. As laws change frequently, be sure to consult a legal professional if you have any questions about the legality of online gambling in your area.

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In Canada, online gambling can be a difficult subject. While it is loved by many players and several provinces have encouraged its citizens to take part in self-regulated igaming websites, but these same governments detest the use of international online casinos.

However, since online gambling isn’t illegal, it is safe to assume that all Canadian banks would embrace it. On the contrary, while most banks with headquarters in Canada have no issues processing online gambling deposits, those governed in America are not as receptive.

This is due to a U.S. legislative document titled the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was enacted in late 2006. The UIGEA made it illegal for banks in the US to consciously process monetary transfers for international online gambling websites, which are considered illegal.

Due to this, US-based credit card companies like Chase decided to put a halt to it. Therefore, even those who live in Canada would be unable to use a Chase-branded card to deposit at an online casino.

This brings up the question ‘what Canadian bank allows online gambling?’. Especially whenyou want to cash out your online casino Canada no deposit bonus with ease.

Now, there are five major financial institutions that base their operations in Canada namely: Bank of Montreal (BMO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank).

These banks—commonly referred to as the Big Five Banks of Canada—are the only major financial institutions that are headquartered in Canada, but only four allow gambling at international websites.

The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) isn’t in support of international online gambling. While it facilitates online gambling payments, it only does so as long as the deposit is being received by Canada’s provincially regulated igaming websites.

Therefore, players in different regions are limited to a handful of websites.

According to the terms and conditions outlined in the company’s ‘Day-to-Day Banking’ guide it states:

“We reserve the right to prevent the use of your account without notifying you in advance if we suspect illegal, unauthorized or fraudulent use of the account, including transactions relating to illegal internet gambling.”

Also, using Scotiabank gift cards won’t work either as under the Visa Gift Card Cardholder Agreement, the company states:

“Only online gambling transactions conducted at gaming sites owned and operated by Provincial/Territorial Governments/agencies can be authorized. All other online gambling transactions will be declined.”

Therefore, using a Scotiabank account, or Scotiabank-branded credit or gift card to facilitate payments to known international online casinos would be considered as illegal and the transaction immediately declined.

Nonetheless, the same doesn’t apply to the four other banks. While four banks might seem like a limited number, but these banks are being used by a majority of residents in Canada, meaning you’re most likely already a customer.

1. Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)

One of the largest banking institutions in Canada is the Royal Bank of Canda. It has branches in 50 countries and currently serving over 16 million customers. RBC would gladly facilitate all online gambling transactions to both local and foreign gambling websites.

2. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)

Ranked second on the list of biggest banks in the country, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) has its operation in Canada, Asia, Europe and the Carribean. It provides its services to about 11 million customers and treasures customers who enjoy wagering with offshore operators.

3. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)

TD Bank is a national commercial bank serving both personal and small business accounts from about 1,100 offices across Canada. It facilitates deposits of its over 10 million customers irrespective of whether they wagered at an offshore gambling website or not

4. Bank of Montreal (BMO)

The last bank on the list is the BMO. Dating back to its small beginning in 1817, it is regarded as one of the oldest financial institutions in the country. With over 900 branches scattered across Canada, it still facilitates deposits of international gambling websites from its over 7 million customers.

All of these banks listed above allow payment options via Visa credit cards, eCheck/ACH—the equivalent of writing paper cheques—and direct bank transfers.

Assessment of Canadian banks that allow online gambling transactions.

For two decades, the global online gambling industry has gained exponential momentum. Its growth can be attributed to several major factors. The convenience of playing real money games without traveling to a land-based casino is certainly one. The mobile revolution is another. Furthermore, internet gambling is supported by the swift and secure nature of online banking methods.

Unfortunately, our neighbors below the 49^th parallel have hampered the way we Canadians gambling over the internet. It wasn’t intentional, but rather the natural consequence of cause and effect.

Why Some Canadian Banks Reject Gambling Payments

In 2006, during the reign of then-President George W. Bush, the US federal government passed a Safe Port Act. The general purpose of the legislation was to shore of homeland security. However, buried deep within the act was a piece of regulatory framework called the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA for short.

The UIGEA was meant to criminalize internet gambling activities in the United States. In many ways, the ambiguous nature of the measure failed. However, one thing it did create was a prohibition against US financial institutions facilitating any payments to/from known offshore (illegal) gambling websites.

But Online Gambling Isn’t Illegal in Canada

That’s correct! The Criminal Code of Canada decrees that gambling is a provincial/territorial matter. It does not deem online gambling legal or illegal. Instead, it states that any form of gambling must be regulated by a province/territory in order to be lawful.

When legislation is this ambiguous, it creates what legal eagles refer to as a ‘grey area‘ of the law. Simply put, if online gambling is not expressly legal nor illegal, then it’s neither. Hence the ‘grey area’ classification.

The only thing that has been determined illegal in a court of law is the conduction of online gambling with a ‘physical presence‘ in Canada. Again, the Criminal Code says a gambling operation must be regulated by its local province/territory. Therefore any unlicenced (unregulated) operation located on Canadian soil is illegal.

A company called Starnet Communications International found that out the hard way in 2001. Its Antigua-based/licenced operation—which also held an office in Vancouver—was deemed illegal by the British Columbia Supreme Court. The only stipulation that deemed it illegal was its physical presence in Canada, combined with Canadian player acceptance.

Thus, gambling websites that are located offshore can accept Canadian players. According to legal experts, like Attorney Michael Lipton of Toronto-based Dixon Wright, that assessment will continue to ring true until – if ever – it is successfully challenged in Canada’s Courts.

Having examined the laws thoroughly, Lipton, a gambling law specialist, told CBC:

“As far as I’m concerned, you as a player aren’t committing any criminal offence by being in a position where you are engaged with an offshore operator playing poker, playing slots, or whatever the case may be.”

So What Does the UIGEA Have To Do With Canada?

That US law should have no bearing on Canadians, or Canadian financial institutions. Not directly, anyway. The problem is that some of Canada’s banks and credit card issuers operate throughout North America. And if a bank’s headquarters happen to be based on US soil, then the UIGEA dominates their business model.

For example, JP Morgan Chase Bank (dba Chase Bank), which distributes Visa credit cards throughout North America, is headquartered in New York City, New York, USA. Therefore it will not allow cardholders to conduct online gambling payments, regardless of Canadian residency.

The “Big Five” Banks of Canada

Are you familiar with the term Big Five Banks of Canada? These are the largest banks in the country, facilitating all banking activities for the vast majority of Canadian citizens. In fact, they aren’t just Canadian banks, but international banks, founded and headquartered in Canada.

These banks, in order of size (greatest to smallest), include:

Which brings us to the final segment…

Canadian Banks That Allow Online Gambling Sites

Canadian Banks That Allow Online Gambling

An old diddy comes to mind… ‘One of these banks is not like the others‘.

Of the Big Five Banks, only one does not allow online gambling transactions. In fact, its terms and conditions expressly prohibit account holders from participating in “illegal internet gambling”. That bank is the Bank of Nova Scotia, aka ScotiaBank.

ScotaiBank provides its users with a Day To Day Banking Companion Booklet. Within that guide is a section called General Information about Personal Accounts. The first paragraph states:

“…We reserve the right to prevent use of your account without notifying you in advance if we suspect illegal, unauthorized or fraudulent use of the account, including transactions relating to illegal internet gambling.”

What does Scotiabank consider to be “illegal internet gambling”? We find clarification for that question in the financial institution’s Visa Gift Card Cardholder Agreement, within the second paragraph of Section 2. Using the Card:

“Only online gambling transactions conducted at gaming sites owned and operated by Provincial/Territorial Governments/agencies can be authorized. All other online gambling transactions will be declined.”

This restricts users to British Columbia’s and Manitoba’s Playnow.com, Ontario’s PlayOLG.ca, and Quebec’s Espacejeux.com. And in case you were wondering, this confirms that you can’t use a Scotiabank issued gift card for online gambling at offshore websites either.

On the bright size, all other Big Five Canadian banks allow online gambling transactions. RBC, TD, CIBC and BMO do not present users with express rules stating otherwise, and players have not reported any major issues in doing so.

However, you may have to choose a bank transfer, or ‘E Transfer‘, as your preferred payment method. Using a bank issued credit/debit/prepaid card may result in decline if that card is joint-issued by a US-based card company like Chase Bank or AmEx.

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