PointsBet Canada Sportsbook Review for 2024

PointsBet Canada Overview

Is PointsBet Safe?

• iGO License

• Accredited by RG Check

• Thorough Responsible Gambling Section

PointsBet has acquired an iGO license, which makes it fully legal and a safe betting choice in Ontario.

The brand has a very long and helpful responsible gambling section. It’s neatly separated into segments like recognizing the problem, knowing who to talk to, and useful guidelines.

What’s more, PointsBet’s vice president, Chantal Cipriano, recently said responsible gambling is the brand’s top priority.

Given that PointsBet has been accredited by RG Check, we can tell it’s true. This is an accreditation awarded by the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) based in Toronto.

The international company has one of the most strict responsible gambling accreditation programs out there, which proves that PointsBet is absolutely safe and trustworthy.

Is PointsBet Available in Ontario?

Ontario allowed private operators to offer their sportsbooks on April 4.

While it was not expected to have all betting sites approved by then, it was confirmed that PointsBet had license approval and would be one of the first private sportsbooks to operate in Ontario.

Where Else in Canada is PointsBet Available?

Practically all other provinces will stick to their provincial lottery sites for now, so PointsBet remains available only in Ontario.

The sole exception is Alberta, which is going to open up the market to two private operators later this year.

One of these private operators might be PointsBet, as the operator has expressed public interest in the province.

When it comes to other provinces such as Quebec or British Columbia, there aren’t any indications that they’ll open up to offshore providers.

Here’s where PointsBet is available for now:

Currently, PointsBet is only available in Ontario.

We will be following all updates and making sure to let you know as soon as there’s any change!

How PointsBet Ontario Works

• Modern and Sleek Layout

• Easy-to-Find Information

• Comprehensive Help Center

PointsBet is, first and foremost, a sportsbook. Due to this, the site’s homepage showcases all the betting markets and sporting events.

The betting site has a sleek layout, offering a great user experience.

Players can easily see the upcoming events on the right side of the screen and use the sports tabs to filter through the results.

To access the other betting options, players must select the menu button on the top left corner, containing:

• Live events
• Casino
• Streaming
• Next Up
• Quick Parlay
• Sports A-Z

Under the sports section, players can also find quick links to the main competitions and divisions, such as the NBA and NHL.

The casino section sports a similar layout with modern graphics and excellent organization. 

There, players can filter the results through a search bar or by browsing the following categories:

• Feature games
• Slots
• Table games
• Video poker

There is also an additional menu at the bottom of the website that helps players find corporate information and the channels to contact customer support. 

Players can also learn more about the site through the help center and the house rules, accessible through the bottom menu. 

How to Sign Up at PointsBet

Signing up to play at PointsBet Ontario is a straightforward process with only two steps.

The registration form is the same on the mobile app and the website, so you can follow these instructions to create a player account:

1. Click on the “Sign Up” button in the top right corner

2. Fill in your full name and email

3. Click “Continue”

4. Select your title and date of birth

5. Add your professional occupation

6. Insert your phone number – you can also enable the Multifactor Authentication

7. Type your address and select it from the drop-down menu

8. Select a password

9. Check the necessary boxes 

10. Click “Join PointsBet“

PointsBet will send you a confirmation email to verify your account. If you don’t receive the email in your inbox, please check the spam box, as email operators sometimes consider these emails spam.

Sports Bets

• Curling Canada Partner

• Competitive Odds

• Sporting Events Countdown

• Visualizations

• Livestreaming Only on Selected Events

PointsBet sportsbook offers a user-friendly layout that displays the main events on the section’s homepage.

One particular feature that stood out to us is the countdown associated with each event, which allows players to know when a specific event will take place.

The sportsbook also offers a “Next Up” section that lists all the upcoming events on the right side of the screen.

At the top of the page, players can filter the results by baseball, basketball, and hockey.

It’s also possible to select the “Live” tab to see the in-play betting options.

The main menu lists the over 20 sports players can bet on, as well as the featured betting options:

• Name A Bet – Request Now
• NBA
• NHL
• MLB
• English Premier League
• MLB Futures
• NBA Futures
• NBA Playoff Series
• NHL Futures
• NHL Playoff Series

Even though the site offers a solid selection of sports, it lacks more niche sports such as lacrosse, handball, and horse racing that you can find at Betway.

Luckily, Canadians’ favourite niche sport — curling, is available at PointsBet!

This sportsbook is an ideal betting option if you’re a curling fan.

More importantly, it gives PointsBet exclusive rights as the official sportsbook and online casino for Curling Canada.

Markets and Bet Types

PointsBet offers a good range of betting markets, but it has only 20 sports. Compare it to the 35+ bet365 offers, and you’ll notice a big discrepancy.

Depending on the sport, the bets you can place include:

One good aspect of PointsBet Ontario is that it offers a Sports Betting 101 guide. The guide is very useful, especially for beginners.

We highly recommend you check out the PointsBet betting guide if you’d like to learn more about the types of bets and betting rules for different sports.

Live Bets and Live Streaming

Live betting, or in-play betting, is a big part of PointsBet. Although the sportsbook accepts other types of bets, the way the site is organized showcases how live betting is a big part of its offering.

You can easily access all matches that are currently being played via menu on the left, for easier in-play betting!

PointsBet Canada accepts in-play bets for all major sporting categories and events.

The sportsbook also offers another interesting feature called visualizations.

Visualizations allow you to follow any move players, pucks, or balls make during a match.

The option is available for live events only, so once you select your preferred event, you’ll get a “Live Tracker” button at the top of the page.

Click the button and you’ll get the visualizations at the bottom of your screen.

This option is currently available for NFL, NCAAF, NCAAB, NBA, MLB, NHL games, soccer, and tennis matches.

PointsBet also supports live streaming in several selected competitions and matches.

It’s important to mention that the PointsBet live streaming feature isn’t available for all sports, as it only covers:

• Table tennis
• Tennis
• European basketball
• Soccer

This isn’t nearly enough for the Canadian market, with big sports and leagues like the NHL, NFL, and NBA missing.

If you’d like to experience full live streaming, we recommend you try LeoVegas.

Cash Out

Like many prominent sportsbooks in Canada, PointsBet also has a cash out option. However, this feature is only offered on select games, so look for this sign to make sure you can cash out:

PointsBet has some of the strictest Cash Out rules we’ve seen in a sportsbook. We dislike that the sportsbook can deny a bettor’s cash out request without providing a reason why, and especially that they may be stopped from cashing out at a particular time — once more, with no reason offered.

While PointsBet is overall a good sportsbook, if cashing out is a big part of your strategy, we suggest you look to sportsbooks like FanDuel Ontario instead (and find both full and partial cash out).

PointsBet Odds

Odds quality is essential when picking the ideal sportsbook, so we recommend that you always compare different sportsbooks.

PointsBet offers pretty interesting odds for specific events, particularly the NBA. When comparing them, we found that the odds offered by this sportsbook very competitive compared to other reputable sportsbooks available in Ontario, namely Betano and Bet99.

As we can see, in this case, PointsBet has the best odds for the underdog, with Betano having the highest for the favourite.

This makes PointsBet a good option for betting on NBA Playoffs, which are just around the corner, so make sure to pick your preferred NBA sportsbook soon!

Name a Bet

The Name a Bet feature is another exciting advantage of using PointsBet as your sportsbook.

Players can access this page through the main menu, and it allows them to name a bet they would like to see available on the sportsbook.

According to the information on the site, PointsBet wants to ensure players have access to all the sports and events they want.

Players can submit their bet requests through this feature, and the sportsbook will price them.

PointsBet Casino

• Reputable Game Studios

• Limited Number of Games

Although PointsBet began its operations as a sportsbook, Ontario residents can take advantage of its online casino. 

It offers slots, table games, and video poker. One particularity about this Ontarian online casino is that the offering is relatively small.

Players can pick from only 70+ games, including:

• 30+ slots
• 4 table games
• 4 video poker games

The table games selection offers blackjack, baccarat, 3 card stud, and roulette, while the slots collection has games developed by globally known game studios, including IGT.

Hopefully, the site will continue to add new titles to its collection. We’ll visit the online casino frequently and update this section as soon as more games are available.

In the meantime, you might want to visit PlayOjo, which has over 3000 casino games, or Bet99 casino, which has over 1000 slots.

PointsBet Mobile App

• Highly Rated App

• Available for iOS and Android

• Responsive Mobile Site

PointsBet is excellent at ensuring players can access their site from any device.

Players who prefer to use a mobile app can also download the PointsBet app, available for iOS and Android devices.

To download the mobile app, scroll to the bottom of the PointsBet website and select your phone’s operating system.

You can also download it from the left-side menu.

One significant advantage PointsBet offers compared to other operators is the quality of the mobile app.

It received several numerous reviews from users, ranking 4 out of 5 stars on both Google Play and the App Store.

Payment Methods

• Safe Payment Methods

• Fast Withdrawals

• Low Minimum Deposit

• Only Three Payment Options

As mentioned before, safety is one of PointsBet’s primary concerns, which is why it partnered with reputable financial institutions to process deposits and withdrawals.

However, that means players can only pick among three payment methods to make deposits or withdrawals. There are sportsbooks in Canada that offer as many as 10 different payment methods, so PointsBet definitely falls short here.

The methods you can use for depositing and withdrawing from your player account include:

There is a clear lack of Canadian favourites such as Interac or Flexepin.

Players should note, though, that PointsBet has a much better deposit and withdrawal threshold than other betting sites.

The minimum for both deposit and withdrawal is $5. The good news is that there is no maximum limit for either!

Considering that the average minimum deposit and withdrawal is usually $10, this is a good feature!

Customer Support

• Comprehensive Help Centre

• 24/7 Live chat

• 101 Betting Guide

The customer support at PointsBet is very professional, and players can get in touch with an agent via live chat (available 24/7!) and email.

We tested the customer support ourselves and were greeted by a real person immediately, despite it being the early hour of 7:09 a.m.

The response times are relatively fast, ensuring that players quickly find a solution to any query.

There is also a complete help centre where players can find the answers to the most frequently asked questions.

If you ever have any doubt, we highly recommend checking it out.

This section of the website contains detailed step-by-step guides on solving simple issues.

The help centre also offers vital information on:

• Getting started
• Sportsbook betting basics
• Products and features
• Responsible gaming
• Betting rules

Our Verdict: Is PointsBet Sportsbook Any Good?

There are plenty of excellent features on the PointsBet sportsbook. Players can place various bets and take advantage of competitive odds.

On the other hand, the brand’s cash-out option is too restricted, and the live-streaming feature is far from impressive.

Moreover, the online casino section is still underdeveloped, which may lead some players to look for a solid casino elsewhere.

Finally, with only 20 sports and three payment methods available, it’s clear that PointsBet cannot compare to many of its competitors.

Overall, our team believes that PointsBet Ontario is a decent site for sports betting, as it does have some redeeming qualities mentioned above.

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Latest News for PointsBet Canada

There were plenty of updates to report as the brand prepared for its entry into the Canadian market. Here are some of the highlights:

June 3, 2021: Appointment of COO for Canadian Operations

This is PointsBet’s first hire for the Canadian market.

It indicates PointsBet’s interest in offering its products and services to Canadians now that single-event betting is legalized.

Sulsky showed his excitement in a Tweet, stating that he’s ‘pumped to be coming home to help build something special’.

A Closer Look at Nic Sulsky

Who is Nic Sulsky? Nic Sulsky is a Toronto native and was president of Money Knife Fight (MKF). MKF is a daily fantasy sports platform that offers daily competitions in various professional sports and eSports leagues.

He also co-founded InGamer, an in-game fantasy platform that launched in 2010 in partnership with CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada.

As a gaming veteran, Sulsky definitely has the right experience to build a product for Canadians.

September 29, 2021: A Partnership with Dailyfaceoff.com and The Nation Network

On September 29, 2021, PointsBet announced a multi-year deal with Dailyfaceoff.com and The Nation Network.

This makes PointsBet Canada the exclusive partner for odds and betting analysis with the Nation Network, and will feature on Dailyfaceoff.com, which is a fantasy statistics hub with over 1.5 million monthly users.

October 13, 2021: PointsBet Canada Announces Betting Partnership with Curling Canada

On the 13th of October 2021, PointsBet announced that the brand will be the exclusive sports betting partner of Curling Canada.

This partnership means that PointsBet will use the Curling Canada brand for marketing purposes, and they will also sponsor Curling Canada’s Seasons of Champions event.

June 13, 2022: PointsBet Canada Announces a Partnership With ClubLink

PointsBet has announced a new partnership, this time with Canada’s largest operator and owner of golf clubs.

Having in mind that ClubLink hosts more than 1,000,000 rounds of golf every year, this partnership is a very natural outcome.

Here’s what Nic Sulsky, Chief Commercial Officer at PointsBet Canada has to say about the new deal: