PayPal’s presence within global igaming markets makes its absence in Canada notable.
Providing further insight into the reasons for PayPal not being prevalent in Canada, Ville Saari, the Lead Content Manager at Bojoko.ca spoke to PaymentExpert as he stated the lack of a cohesive nationwide regulatory system hinders the payment service in the country.
Saari stated: “PayPal’s policy is to support online gambling transactions only in regions where the industry is fully regulated. In Canada, the regulatory framework for online gambling varies significantly across provinces.
“While some provinces have established their own regulations, there isn’t a cohesive, nationwide regulatory system in place. This fragmented approach doesn’t meet PayPal’s criteria for supporting gambling transactions, leading to its limited availability in Canadian online casinos.”
Picking out specific obstacles, he emphasised that in Canada, gambling laws are primarily orchestrated at the provincial level.
Provinces such as British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and Alberta have regulatory bodies overseeing gambling activities, but they do not cover online casinos. The only province that currently does this is Ontario.
Saari added: “PayPal requires a robust and uniform regulatory environment to ensure compliance and security. The current provincial regulations, being inconsistent and not uniformly stringent, do not align with PayPal’s operational standards for supporting gambling transactions.
“Currently, Canadian players who prefer using PayPal for online gambling transactions have practically no recourse; they just can’t use the payment method. There may be exceptions or workarounds, but this is not advised. The best thing they can do is look for alternatives.
“We have a guide explaining the hurdles of using PayPal at casinos in Canada, walking our users through the situation. In it, we also list several alternatives with similar functionalities and protections that people who prefer to use PayPal could opt for instead.”
For PayPal to become a more key player in the Canadian market, Saari stated that the regulatory framework would need to go through ‘significant changes’.
“This could, for instance, be achieved through a cohesive nationwide regulatory system similar to the UKGC. Such developments would provide the uniformity and security that PayPal requires to operate in the online gambling sector.
“The absence of PayPal is mainly an annoyance for all parties involved. If you look at the UK casino sector, PayPal is one of the most used payment methods, but players need to look elsewhere in Canada. PayPal is an easy and reputable payment method for casinos to implement, instantly generating trust, and that’s a loss.
“However, the biggest hurdle is the players needing to test and choose alternatives. It can deter getting started, though once you’re set up and happy with an alternative, it’s business as usual.”
Our Game Play feature has provided history into how igaming experts commenced their journey by picking up the video game remote.
Over the next week, we are reflecting on the feature series and taking a look at some of the most interesting insights from origin stories of igaming players.
SlotBeats: What is your favourite game of all time and why?
Eberhard Dürrschmid, CEO at Golden Whale: Elite, which was a game that saw you travel the galaxy in a spaceship, buying goods and selling them on a different planet. You had to use a map to get around the galaxy and work out which planets would give you the best price for whatever it was you bought.
Sometimes you could buy contraband and the police would chase you – or pirates would try and steal your cargo. It made you feel like Han Solo from Star Wars, and it had a vast world that you could get lost in. It’s one of the best games ever and has captivating 3D effects.
Connor Blinman, Head of Games at Gaming Corps: Call of Duty 4, the original Modern Warfare. It was an awesome multiplayer experience that I enjoyed for years with my friends.
The online progression system was something I hadn’t experienced before, and I always wanted to get to the next level. Not only that, but the main game campaign was so captivating.
I’m praying for the day this game gets made into a TV series.
Slots Temple Marketing Director Suzanne Jiggens-Johnson: My favourite game depends on the situation and who I’m playing with. If I’m playing with my children, then nothing really beats Mario Kart for instilling a bit of fun family rivalry that brings out the competitive spirit in all of us. Once the kids are in bed though, Halo is still an old time favourite, which has stood the test of time for letting off a bit of steam.
Christoffer Andersson, Chief Operating Officer at 500 Casino: It is a close race between Zelda: A Link to the Past and Shenmue so I will pick both.
Zelda: A Link to the Past is the best game of the Zelda series, regardless of how good the latest on Switch is, for its presentation, the storyline and the use of the top-down perspective instead of the side scroller, and of course the innovative gameplay with all the puzzle games and hidden easter eggs.
Shenmue on Sega Dreamcast laid the foundation for a lot of open world adventure games.
You could do more or less what you wanted in that game, from going into a shop and using a vending machine to challenging random people in darts or other games. Regardless of the massive amount of choices, it still managed to keep you on track with the story line, which wasn’t bad either.
