Is CSGO gambling allowed in Canada?

The betting industry, particularly eSports betting, has come a long way in Canada. While sports betting generally became legal in 1985, online CSGO betting in Canada wasn't legalized until August 2021, when the Canadian Parliament passed Bill C-218.

Bill-C218 allowed provinces to regulate and tax single-event sports betting and most provinces opted to legalize it fully. Since CSGO gambling often falls under sports betting, you can now bet on your favorite CSGO sporting events in most Canadian provinces. However, there are some regulatory limits to eSports betting. Experts at BettingGuide Canada have helped us to put together this guide to explain the dos and don'ts of CSGO betting in Canada.

Can you bet on CSGO in Canada?

In August 2021, the Canadian Government legalized single-game sports betting, opening the doors for online sports betting. Since sports betting naturally includes eSports like CSGO, the answer is yes: You can now wager on eSports in Canada.

However, the Canadian Government allows each province to regulate eSports betting, so there might be slight changes in what’s allowed depending on your jurisdiction. 12 of the 13 provinces and territories in Canada currently offer online sports betting, with Nova Scotia being the only exception.

To bet on CSGO, you need to create an account with one of the legit and regulated CSGO betting sites. Then, select any available betting option and enter your wager.

You can bet on CSGO in many ways, from predicting the individual game score to picking out the map winner. The following section will discuss the different CSGO betting markets in detail.

Popular CSGO betting markets

CSGO betting in Canada follows the sports betting model. You can wager on available games on regulated bookmakers using betting markets like over/under, correct map score, and handicap. Here are the popular betting markets you’ll find on legal CSGO betting sites in Canada:

1. Moneyline/map winner

The map winner market is the simplest when betting on CSGO. All you have to do is back a team to win the current map/event and receive rewards based on the game outcome alone. For instance, if Team A is playing Team B and you place a moneyline bet on Team B, your bet wins if Team B wins the map.

With the passing of Bill C-218, you can now combine multiple moneyline games into a parlay for a higher reward if you get all your predictions right.

2. Correct map score

The correct map score is slightly different from the map winner market, as you’ll have to predict either or both teams scores correctly to win. While it’s not as straightforward as moneyline bets, the odds are often higher to reflect the difficulty.

3. Outrights (event winner)

In Outrights, you predict the winner of an event or tournament at the beginning. Each competitor will likely have different odds, with the stronger teams having lower odds. If your selected team wins, you get a reward based on the bookmaker’s odds at the start of the tournament.

4. Spreads/Asian handicap

Asian handicap in CSGO, much like in regular sports betting, works by handicapping teams with a better form to even the odds. In cases where a much stronger team is paired against a weaker opponent, the stronger team would have to overcome a handicap for any bet on them to win.

Is CSGO skin gambling allowed in Canada?

One increasingly popular practice among CSGO bettors is wagering with CSGO skins. CSGO skins are valuable, not only due to their monetary worth but as a result of the high demand and limited supply.

Skin gambling on CSGO doesn’t require real money – two players simply wager one of their in-game skins on a two-way bet through a CSGO betting site that serves as a mediator. Before the game begins, the skins go to an account the site controls, and based on the game's outcome, the sportsbook will allocate the two skins to the winner.

Most provinces in Canada currently have no regulations on skin gambling, but you might want to avoid it, as the CSGO skin gambling industry is largely unregulated. Many of the operators mediating these skin bets lack the necessary licensing, and they’re often flooded by minors yet to attain legal betting age in Canada.

The final nail on the coffin for CSGO skin gambling was the 2023 CSGO update where Valve banned gambling activity among players, effectively putting an end to legitimate skin gambling.

Bottom line: there’s generally no extant laws against skin gambling in most Canadian provinces, but it remains largely unsafe. Therefore, it’s best to avoid it.

Conclusion – Enjoy CSGO from the sidelines with legit CSGO gambling in Canada

CSGO gambling is allowed in Canada within the regulatory limits of your provincial sports betting regulator. Stick to legitimate and regulated CSGO betting sites and avoid gray areas like skin gambling, and you'll have a problem-free experience betting on your favorite CSGO events in Canada.