How to Withdraw Casino Winnings

Winning at online casinos is great but the money has to be accessible to spend and to withdraw your casino winnings otherwise it's just numbers on a screen. Here are some of the top ways Canadians can shift their profits out of a betting site and into their wallets.

Casino Processing Times

How long it takes to withdraw casino winnings isn't only a matter of the payment method you choose, important as this is. An equally important factor is the online betting site itself. Some sites are faster than others, and, in addition to speed, a few are nefarious in nature and deliberately delay and procrastinate when it comes to transferring money out of the casino.

Canadians intent on expeditious ways to withdraw casino winnings should ensure any site they choose has a good licensing arrangement (top international regulators include the UK Gambling Commission, Malta Gaming Authority, and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission). After that, check what the pending and processing times of a given casino are, and what (if any) the weekly and monthly withdrawal limits are set at.

You can have the fastest financial method in the world, but if the online casino itself makes it a chore to withdraw casino winnings things can be far more hassle than they should be.

Visa and Mastercard

Visa and Mastercard are the most common means of personal finance in the world generally, and are commonly accepted at the vast majority of online betting establishments. Withdrawals are a little slower than many alternatives, often taking around 3 to 5 working days, although this is somewhat counterbalanced by the convenience of being available almost everywhere.

One thing to note when it comes to speedily transferring money is that withdrawals to Visa/Mastercard are straight back to your account, so there's no intermediary step (unlike some other banking options). However, Canadians may find that withdrawals aren't always possible, particularly with Mastercard, so do check to be sure when considering signing up at a site.

Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies

Until relatively recently it was unusual to see Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as a means to withdraw casino winnings, but now it's increasingly commonplace (although not as frequently supported as credit cards or e-wallets). Bitcoin withdrawals are usually somewhere between instantaneous and 1 day, making them a swift way to shift funds out of a site. If you use Bitcoin on a regular basis for other purposes then that's cool, but if you prefer to move winnings into a bank account that extra step will take a little bit more time.

E-wallets and Interac

E-wallets supported at betting sites include Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, and ecoPayz. They're normally accepted for both deposits and as a way to withdraw casino winnings in Canadian sites, but players should know that some e-wallets are not open to them for betting purposes (such as Skrill and Neteller, two of the biggest in the online casino world). This does, obviously, substantially reduce their utility for Canadians. On the plus side, e-wallets are very commonly supported, and withdrawal times can be as fast as instantaneous.

However, as with Bitcoin, e-wallets are an intermediary stage between a casino and bank account. This means getting cash into the bank does take an extra step (although if you use your e-wallet for other things this step may not be necessary)/

Interac is something of a special case as it's only for players in Canada. This also means it isn't quite as commonly available as cards or e-wallets. It's a great system, if supported, as it's highly secure and transfers can be immediate (slower casinos may take a few days).

Bank and Wire Transfers

Bank and wire transfers are pretty old-fashioned but still widely accessible and commonly used as withdrawal options when players move money into a site using a deposit only method (such as pre-paid cards).

If you're after fast withdrawals these are not the options for you, as anything from 5 working days to a week or fortnight can be the timescale involved. To be fair, wire transfers are highly secure, but both methods also tend to come with higher fees than alternatives. This should be kept in mind if you intend to deposit with a financial method that cannot also be used for withdrawals.

Canadians have some particular geographic pros and cons when it comes to being able to withdraw casino winnings. The Interac option is only for Canada, and is a great way to go, with e-wallets and cards restricted to varying degrees.