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Daily Fantasy Sports in Canada

Daily Fantasy Sports or DFS is perfectly legal and exceptionally popular in Canada. DFS is different to traditional fantasy sports because it is generally finished a lot quicker. DFS is also generally played for real money, rather than in leagues between friends or online acquaintances. There are many DFS sites that accept Canadians, although this could change in the coming months, with several provinces set to majorly update their gambling laws in the las quarter of 2021.

How does DFS work?

Daily Fantasy Sports is simple to play, but difficult to master and with most forms of gambling there is some elements of luck involved. Here is quick explanation of how DFS works:

  • DFS is played for real money, you will want to fund your account using a safe reliable payment method.
  • DFS will be over much quicker than regular fantasy sports, with the competitions generally running, for instance, over a round of football or a golf tournament.
  • Choose which DFS you want to play, popular fantasy games in Canada include the NBA, NFL and Canadian Football League.
  • Pick a team of players that stays under a predetermined salary cap.
  • Players earn points for their actions on the field, the more points they earn, the more likely you are to win
  • Payouts will be given at the top CA DFS sites soon after your event is concluded

Top DFS betting sites 2021

The top Daily Fantasy Sports sites include some very well-known brands, with Canadians able to legally sign up and play their games. The best DFS sites will have sign up bonus offers, be accessible across any device (including smartphones and tablets) and have licensing from a reputable regulator.

The best DFS in Canada might change significantly in 2021, with single-event sports wagers being made legal. This will effectively force offshore gambling operators to seek licensing in Canada, to remain the market. The CA government is yet to reveal how the law changes will impact DFS sites.

DFS sites cater extensively to mobile, with many of the top operators having downloadable apps available; these coming on iOS and Android smartphones. These apps are a great way to keep track of your DFS progress and stop you from having to login every time you want to access, with most just having a simple thumbprint.

The Daily Fantasy Sports sign up offers and bonuses are also another reason to shop around when starting out. For instance, one of the top DFS sites recently had two free entries into contests for new players, with these worth upwards of $40,000. We expect these DFS sign up offers to only get better when more regulation hits gambling in Canada.

DFS promotions

Many DFS sites in Canada run promotions as a way of getting players back to their business. These DFS promotions are specifically targeted at Canadians and will generally run around featured sports such as football, basketball and hockey.

Over time the Canadian Gambling List will add in various promotions and offers from all the top legal DFS sites. We will not advertise DFS promotions if they miss the mark or have wagering requirements that are in not favour of the player.

An example of a bad DFS promotion was from a company that was giving away entries into a CFL fantasy tournament, however it was impossible to win any real money, with a $10 cap on your winnings, after you could win $10,000 bonus.

Available sports in DFS Canada

Canada is one of the biggest DFS countries in the world and many of the major sports are covered extensively at the top DFS sites. The sports covered are mainly the pro leagues in the USA, but we have seen various Canadian domestic sports competitions featured from time-to-time. Sports available at the Top Canadian DFS sites include:

  • MMA
  • NBA
  • NFL
  • NHL
  • MLB
  • Soccer

Is Daily Fantasy Sports legal in Canada

Firstly, It is not yet decided if DFS in Canada is a form of online gambling or game of skill. Secondly, Canada does not stop its residents from playing at offshore betting sites.

The first statement above is kind of obsolete because of the second statement, but we will address it anyway. DFS is regarded as a game of skill in most states in the USA, which has effectively allowed it to operate, even though sports betting has not been allowed. We have similar laws in Canada, that would allow it, although our lawmakers are yet to determined if Daily Fantasy Sports is skill or gambling-based.

The second statement is the one that you should take note of. Until recently, offshore betting sites have operated unimpeded and still do at the time of writing this DFS Canada guide. However, the Canadian Senate recently passed bill-218, which will allow single-event wagers. This is expected to see the provinces in Canada roll out their own legislation endorsing sports betting, which could impact DFS. We do however expect DFS to be written into any major updates of the gambling laws in each province.

For now, DFS is perfect legal to play at overseas operators, with popular sites like DraftKings and FanDuel providing an outstanding service. These brands are expected to have to seek licensing in Canada when they launch their sports betting sites in this market.

DFS sites deposit options 2021

DFS sites for real money have got many convenient CAD deposit options, with these including credit and debit cards, web wallets and pre-paid cards. Most Daily Fantasy Sports sites payment options are instant, however some, like bank transfers can take longer to process.

The minimum and maximum deposit amounts varies from one DFS site to the next, but generally payments start at around $5 or $10 for each payment method and range into the 10s of thousands of Canadian dollars. We have even heard of some transferring a $1 million to Fantasy sports betting via a bank transfer.

List of CAD DFS deposit options:

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • American Express
  • Paypal
  • iDebit
  • Interact
  • Neteller