Where is Bet365 Legal in Canada?

Alex Murray Author
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Alex Murray
Sports Betting News
Where is Bet365 Legal in Canada
Where is Bet365 Legal in Canada

One of the most important things to consider when you’re sports betting is which sportsbook you choose to make your bets with, and there aren’t many better options than bet365. However, not every sportsbook is legal in every province of every country, even when it’s an industry giant like bet365.

We've compiled a comprehensive guide to answer all your questions, from the legitimacy of bet365 to its legal status in Canada and much more!

Where Is Bet365 Legal As A Sportsbook?

Unlike some countries, sports betting is not overseen federally but rather by the governments of each province and territory individually in Canada, which has the potential to make things very confusing. Thankfully, Canadian betting sites such as bet365 don’t have too many hurdles to deal with—yet.

Ontario is currently the only province with a fully regulated online gambling market, so getting an iGaming Ontario license is crucial. However, while the other provinces don’t regulate any online gambling, they do allow bettors to make wagers safely and securely using offshore sportsbooks with iGO licenses.

Bet365 acquired such a license in April of 2022, so you can safely use bet365 in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. It can also be used in a more limited capacity in the territories of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. 

Where Is Bet365 Legal As A Casino?

While online sports betting in Ontario has been all the rage lately, most major sportsbooks offer a lot more than just wagers on sports. Any sportsbook worth its salt will also have an online casino replete with all of a gambler’s favorite games from the slots to roulette to black jack.

As one of the largest online gambling outfits in the world, bet365 has a massive lineup of casino games and bettors from all across Canada can access them wherever the bet365 sportsbook is available and legal: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island as well as the three territories.

Where Is Bet365 Legal In Canada?

Sports betting is a great way to add a little bit of excitement and fun to your sports-watching experience, but it’s crucial to ensure that the outfit taking your bets is doing everything above board. We’re past the days of seedy bookies and loan sharks. There are trustworthy and safe online betting options now. One of which that’s at the industry’s forefront is bet365.

Bet365 acquired an iGaming Ontario license on April 4th, 2022, and since then, they have been growing immensely in Canada. Ontario remains the only province in Canada that has an officially regulated sports betting system.

While the rest of the provinces haven’t created fully regulated online gambling landscapes yet, they do look upon an iGO license very kindly: nearly all offshore sportsbooks with iGO licenses are allowed to operate legally and safely in the rest of the provinces and territories of Canada. 

Alberta became the 8th province in Canada to allow single-game sports betting on September 1st, 2021, when they also launched the only online sports betting platform in the province, Play Alberta.

Reviews of Play Alberta have not been kind, so most bettors have been using top offshore options like bet365 and Alberta seems like it could follow in Ontario’s footsteps soon and start opening their doors to a wider range of options.

On August 27, 2021, British Columbia, along with five other Canadian provinces, began offering single-game sports betting right after the implementation of Bill C-218, which allowed provinces to dictate when and how they’d legalize online sports betting.

Their Play Now platform was launched almost immediately, though there is a ton of room in such a well-populated province for growth within the market.

Canada’s new legislation allowed for provinces to offer single-game sports betting starting on August 27, 2021, and Manitoba, along with five other provinces, made it happen that very day.

PlayNow Sportsbook is the only local platform for online gambling, but many sportsbook heavyweights are waiting in the wings for Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries to open up their doors for more business.

The Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act came into effect on August 27, 2021, and New Brunswick wasted no time getting down to business. The Atlantic Lottery Corporation has a monopoly in the industry right now with Pro Line Stadium, but bettors can still use offshore options like bet365.

Newfoundland and Labrador was one of the six provinces to begin offering single-game sports betting the first day they could on August 27, 2021. The dominant offering is Pro-Line but like all other provinces, offshore sportsbooks like bet365 are still allowed to operate there.

Thanks to some very fortuitous timing, Nova Scotians were able to start single-game sports betting on February 11, 2022, just before Super Bowl 56 would be played. The penultimate province to begin offering single-game betting, Nova Scotia is also under the yoke of the ALC, though like N-B, they can also access online sportsbooks like bet365.

Ontario is the only province in Canada that allows third-party sportsbooks to apply for a license. Bet365 license came in from the iGO on April 4, 2022 and they have now grown the market to over 31 different legal online sports betting sites. 

Prince Edward Island was one of the first provinces to begin offering single-game sports betting when they did so on August 27, 2021. The ALC dominates the market with Pro Line Stadium and is unlikely to open its doors any time soon.

However, the grey market is alive and well in PEI just like it is in every other province apart from Ontario, so bet365 is available and safe to use there as well.

Quebec was one of a handful of provinces to put single-game sports betting on the menu for their citizens on August 27, 2021, the day the federal government allowed provincial governments to do so.

Unfortunately, Loto-Québec's Mise-o-jeu is the only game in town right now, but with a market like Montreal, it won’t be long before they—along with Alberta—fall into line with Ontario.

Saskatchewan took a little more time to consider their options after Bill C-218 was put into action, waiting until November 3, 2022. PlayNow.com is currently the only officially legal option, but like the rest of the provinces, there is a large grey area in the market, which is where sportsbooks like bet365 operate successfully.

Here is a simple table to break down bet365’s legality across the different provinces and territories of Canada.

Province/Territory

Sportsbook

Casino

Alberta

British Columbia

Manitoba

New Brunswick

Newfoundland & Labrador

Nova Scotia

Ontario

Prince Edward Island

Quebec

Saskatchewan

Northwest Territories

Nunavut

Yukon

About Bet365

Bet365 was founded in Stoke-on-Trent in England in 2000 by Denise Coates along with her brother John Coates and father Peter Coates. They have been one of the biggest sportsbooks across the pond for the last two decades, and over the past few years, they have sailed across the Atlantic and infiltrated the Canadian and American markets as well. Ontario is still the only province with a fully regulated online sports betting market and iGaming Ontario licenses are very valuable.

Bet365 earned their iGO license on April 4, 2022, and have been one of the most popular sportsbooks in the province ever since. While they’re not technically regulated in the other nine provinces and three territories of Canada, bet365 is legal and safe to use in all 10 provinces and three territories largely because of the trust provincial bodies have in the iGO license and the grey area surrounding offshore sportsbooks.

Is Bet365 Legit?

Yes, bet365 is indeed legit. It’s as safe a sportsbook as you’re going to come across and it’s equally as secure. Whether sportsbook or casino, it’s fully regulated and legal to use in Ontario and it’s also safe to use both features in every other province and territory in the country.

A Timeline of Bet365

Bet365 isn’t as old as some of the other sportsbooks that have emerged from classic casinos like MGM and Caesars, but when it comes to the online sports betting industry, you can’t have a discussion without mentioning bet365.

It has been one of the UK’s top sportsbooks for quite a while and every time it enters a new market it floats to the top there as well. They’re not only popular, but they’re also industry leaders that are excellent at innovating.

Here’s a quick timeline of their time from their founding at the start of the millennium until now, nearly a quarter of a century later, including important dates in its relationship with Canada specifically. 

  • 2000 → Denise Coates, her brother, John, and father, Peter, found Bet365
  • March 2001 → Denise is the driving force behind the company, which now launches its inaugural website
  • 2001 → Bet365 is one of the first betting shops to offer free bets and welcome bonuses
  • 2004 → Bet365 buys a skin from the Microgaming Poker Network, increasing their visibility in the realm of online poker
  • 2007 → They move from the MPN to the iPoker Network run by Playtech
  • August 27, 2021 → Canada passes Bill C-218 that allows provinces to decide when and how to institute online single-game sports betting on an individual basis, creating the opportunity for offshore sportsbooks like bet365 to expand into Canada
  • August 27, 2021 → British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec all begin offering online single-game sports betting
  • September 1, 2021 → Alberta joins the ranks of provinces that have launched online single-game sports betting 
  • February 11, 2022 → Nova Scotia starts offering single-game sports betting just in time for Super Bowl 56, one of the single largest sports betting events on the calendar
  • April 4, 2022 → Ontario becomes the first and only province in Canada to have a fully regulated online sports betting market; the same day, bet365 acquires their iGaming Ontario license
  • November 3, 2022 → Saskatchewan begins allowing single-game sports betting a few days before the CFL’s version of the Super Bowl, the Grey Cup, is to be played

How to Use Bet365 in Canada

Now that you know where bet365 is legal in Canada, it’s time to take a look at how you can start using bet365 to start winning big with sports betting! Below, we’ve put together a simple step-by-step guide to creating your bet365 account in Canada!

  • First off, surf over to bet365.ca, the sportsbook’s official online betting site. In the top right corner, you’ll see a yellow button that says “Join Now” which you click.
  • Then you have to fill out all of the relevant information to register your account such as contact information, address, name, and more.
  • After your account is created bet365 will walk you through a simple and quick process of verification to make sure you’re betting from where you say you are geographically.
  • The next thing you need to do is deposit some money because without money in your betting account, it’s pretty pointless. Make sure you don’t deposit any money that you need and ensure your bank or credit card is not charging you fees for the transaction.
  • Once your account is funded, do your research so you can figure out which betting markets you’re interested in and which ones are offering you the most value as a bettor.
  • Once you’ve made your choice, decide on how much you want to stake on that particular bet, input it into your bet slip, and hit “Place Bet.” Now you’re ready to sit back, enjoy the action, and watch the winnings roll in!

FAQs

Now that we’ve broken down and explained everything you need to know about the legality of bet365 and where you can use it in Canada, we thought we’d cap off our guidelines with a refresher based on the most common questions about the subject.

Is bet365 legal in Canada?

Yes, bet365 is officially legal in Ontario after the sportsbook acquired an iGaming Ontario license in April of 2022. However, while other provinces don’t regulate online sports betting, they do look at sportsbooks with an iGO license positively and allow them to operate securely and safely in their provinces.

When was bet365 created?

Bet365 was founded 23 years ago in the year 2000 in Stoke-on-Trent in Great Britain by Denise Coates. Coates remains the majority stakeholder alongside family members Peter and John Coates. Bet365 is a major player in the online gambling markets in the UK, Canada, and America, among others.

Should I use bet365 for my sports betting?

There is a reason bet365 is one of the biggest sportsbooks in the business: they have it all. They offer everything from early cash outs, to same game parlays, to regular odds boosts and free bets, to partial cashouts. They always have competitive odds and no matter what sport you're betting on, they’re going to have a nice variety of betting markets available for you.

How do I create an account on bet365?

Creating an account on bet365 is easy. Visit the bet365 website and click on the "Join" or "Sign Up" button, fill in the registration form, choose a unique username and password for your account.

Then select your preferred payment method, agree to the terms and conditions, confirm that you are of legal age, and complete the registration process.

Can I use bet365 on my mobile device?

Yes, bet365 offers a mobile-friendly platform that allows users to access their accounts and place bets using their smartphones or tablets. You can also download dedicated mobile apps for iOS or Android devices.