Does PayPal Allow Gambling?

The answer to this question is Yes and no. PayPal can be used for gambling in some countries, including the UK, Ireland and Portugal. However, in other countries you can’t play at Paypal casinos or use your PayPal account for online gambling. Canada is one of those countries. PayPal is not available for online poker, casino or sportsbook transactions in Canada.

This is because gaming sites in Canada are not licensed and regulated by the government. That is a requirement for PayPal to process payments. PayPal is still available for transactions related to eBay purchases and other person-to-person transfers.

You can play only at casinos that are Canadian friendly and are based outside of Canada. Though few online casinos have started making PayPal  as deposit option available for Canadians to play slots, table games, live casinos and do sports betting in CAD or other currencies,

What PayPal has to say on this?

PayPal allows approved gambling merchants to use their service in certain jurisdictions where gambling activities are legal. To be approved by PayPal, merchants must demonstrate to PayPal’s satisfaction that they have the ability to block gambling activities for account holders in the U.S. and any jurisdiction where gambling activities may be illegal.

So PayPal prohibits transactions for gambling activities by merchants and account holders in the U.S. and any jurisdiction where gambling activities are illegal, and by merchants whose services are accessible to account holders in the U.S.

Unless the merchant has been approved by PayPal, account holders may not use PayPal to send or receive payments for any form of gambling activities, including but not limited to payments for wagers, gambling debts, and gambling winnings, whether conducted online, in person, or through any other means of communication. Gambling includes placing, accepting, recording, or registering bets; participating in lotteries; or otherwise carrying on a game of chance for money, property, or other things of value.

PayPal prohibits the following activities, even where the specific activity is lawful and/or is not legally defined as gambling, unless the transactions are associated with an approved merchant.

• Games of chance and games of skill –Includes any activity with an entry fee and a prize, regardless of whether the outcome is determined by chance or skill.
• Casino games -Include (but are not limited to) the following virtual or physical games: baccarat, blackjack, craps, faro, keno, pachinko, pai gow, poker (whether or not it is considered a game of skill in the gambler’s jurisdiction), roulette, sic bo, slot machines, or wheel of fortune.
• Sports books or sports betting –Includes placing bets on actual sporting events against a bookmaker or through a betting exchange.

Horse or greyhound racing –Includes gambling on the following types of races:

Simple betting (betting between individuals).

• Sweepstakes betting, where large entry fees, or stakes, are pooled and awarded to winners.
• Bookmaking betting, in which speculators offer odds against each horse or dog and accept bets against their predictions.
• Pari-mutuel betting, where betting odds on a given horse or dog are derived from a comparison between the total amount wagered on the animal and the total wagered on all the animals in the race.
• Off-track betting (OTB), where players bet on a race taking place in a location outside of where the bettor is situated.
• Person-to-person betting –Includes individual wagering and wagering through betting exchanges.

Lottery tickets –Include the purchase or sale of any opportunity to participate in a raffle, drawing, sweepstake, pool, or any other form of game or contest involving the distribution of prizes or monetary compensation.

Gaming machines –Include devices meeting the following three criteria:

• Constructed or adapted for playing a game of chance.
• Containing a slot or other aperture for the insertion of money or money’s worth in the form of cash or tokens.
• Offering prizes in money or money’s worth regardless of whether any player is at risk of losing any money or money’s worth.

Gambling-related ventures –PayPal may also prohibit transactions for the following ventures related to gambling:

• Gambling services, such as handicapping, or providing gambling tips or instructions.
• Use of intermediaries to facilitate the process of placing bets or securing offshore gambling licenses.
• Organized forums that facilitate person-to-person betting.

Merchants seeking approval to conduct gambling activities in accordance with this policy will be asked to send contact information and a brief summary of their business to PayPal.

Can Canadians use PayPal at casinos?

Yes Canadians can use PayPal at casinos that offer paypal as one of the deposit methods. But as a caution it is better to ask the customer support via live chat or phone that do they allow Canadians to use PayPal or not. What we found from our experience that many online casinos allow Canadians to make a deposit with PayPal. Online casinos like Spin Casino, Ruby Fortune Casino, Royal Vegas Casino, Party Casino and others allow Canadians to fudn their casino account with PayPal. Also, one thing to remember is that many online casinos may allow you to use PayPal with other currencies and not CAD. The minimum deposit using PayPal at online casinos to play real money casino games is CA$10 and mnimum withdrawal using PayPal is CA$500. One more thing, few online casinos allow you to make a deposit with PayPal but do not allow you to make a withdraw. So check this before and ask the online casinos help support before you opt PayPal as deposit method.