Written By:
Jelena Kabić
About Author
Jelena Kabic is a sports betting writer that focusses on responsible gambling. A psychologist by vocation, Jelena volunteered in a rehab facility, where she worked with gambling addicts. She now reviews all our content to ensure it discusses betting in a socially responsible way.
Fact Checked By:
Amy Webb
About Author
Amy's introduction to the gambling world was 6 years ago, when she joined a casino operator as a content specialist. Since then, she's helped launch and maintain gambling review sites in over 8 different countries. She's tested dozens of casinos and sportsbooks, which is how she can spot a subpar brand in an instant!
Last Update
September 18, 2023
Last Update:
Is PowerPlay Legal in Canada? — PowerPlay Review
PowerPlay Review
Powerplay is a fairly new iGaming brand, founded in 2018. It offers both sports betting and online casino games, and we’re here to test both to see if they’re up to standard.
PowerPlay has recently acquired its iGO license and is now licensed in Ontario, Canada (something brands like Novibet are also looking to do).
We’ll dive deep into this brand to see how it compares to the rest of Canada’s regulated market.
PowerPlay Overview
Pros
Partial Cash Out
Fast Withdrawals
Odds Often Competitive
Betting Site Optimized for Mobile
24/7 Live Chat
Cons
No Live Streaming
No Downloadable App
Very Few Casino Games
Is PowerPlay Legal in Canada?
Good news for those outside of Ontario: not only is the brand legal and available in ON, it’s also accepting bettors from the rest of Canada!
Is Powerplay Safe?
iGO License
Focus on Responsible Gambling
No Prominent Partnerships
PowerPlay is legal in Ontario, so it’s definitely a safe brand to bet at.
What’s more, the brand has several responsible gambling features to protect users, including time-out, self-exclusion, deposit limits, and reality checks.
Reality checks are eminders that appear at set intervals to help users monitor their betting activity. At PowerPlay, they are set at the frequency of bettors’ choice.
That said, we hope to see PowerPlay partner up with some prominent sports names in Canada, further solidifying its place as a safe betting site.
How PowerPlay Works
Mostly Easy to Navigate
Separate Section for Live Betting
Very Quick Sign Up Process
Smaller Competitions Hard to Find
The first thing we noticed is that PowerPlay has a nice, modern look, with sports and casino section easy to find. We also liked that “Bet Live” has its own menu entry, making in-play betting that much simpler.
Odds can be easily changed by setting your preferred view on the bottom left.
The search bar at the top of the menu is definitely helpful when you’re looking for a specific event.
However, we didn’t appreciate being redirected to a separate search page instead of being able to quickly look for a competition inside the search bar.
What’s more, PowerPlay’s website navigation can be a bit tedious because users have to navigate to “competitions” manually and then scroll to find the one they want.
The main ones are listed in the menu on the left, and under “Featured” in the “Competitions” segment, but if you are after anything else, it’s a bit difficult to find.
We would have appreciated some drop-down menus that wouldn’t force us to scroll way down in order to find NCAAB for example.
All that said, Powerplay’s website has an option for bettors to contact them about anything they don’t like, which we really liked.
How to Sign Up to PowerPlay
lay has one of the quickest and simplest sign-up processes we’ve found on Canadian sportsbooks. There are only three steps to it, with slight differences depending on whether you’re signing up from Ontario or elsewhere in Canada.
For Ontario, here’s how it looks:
1.Click the “Join” button above the betslip.
2. Fill in the information required, such as your title, name, birthday, and citizenship. Click to continue.
3. Then, provide information pertaining to your address of residence.
The process is similar if you’re joining from another province in Canada:
1.Click on the “Sign Up” button in the top right corner of the screen.
2. Fill in the sign-up form by providing information like your name, date of birth, email, phone number, and preferred currency.
Then simply click the “Join” button below, and your account will be created.
3. Next, PowerPlay will ask you to disclose information about your address and verify your identity.
The documents PowerPlay may request in order to verify your identity include a copy of your valid ID, a photo of you holding your ID next to your face, your payslip, a bank statement, or a document showing your address.
Powerplay Sportsbook
Partial Cashout Feature
Mostly Competitive Odds
Decent Amount of Betting Markets
Only 24 Sports
No Live Streaming
No Stats
Powerplay offers 24 sports, including basketball, baseball, football, hockey, soccer, and more niche ones like biathlon, cricket, and darts.
That said, such a number is far lower than that of most Canadian sportsbooks, many of which offer 30+. Bet365, for example, has 35+ sports on offer.
Betting Markets
When it comes to betting markets, PowerPlay offers a decent variety. We looked into NBA futures and the baseball match between NY Mets and Milwaukee Brewers to determine how it compares.
NBA futures markets offered by PowerPlay include:
- Winner
- Winning conference
- Winning division
- Teams to reach the playoffs
- Rookie of the year
- Coach of the year
- Sixth man of the year
- Defensive player of the year
- Draft winner
- MVP
Meanwhile, betting markets for the upcoming NY Mets and Milwaukee Brewers game include:
- Moneyline
- Spreads
- Totals (overall and per inning)
- Race to…
- X innings winner
And while these betting markets are decent, PowerPlay still offers fewer than some other sportsbooks. Bet99, for example, has additional markets for the NY Mets vs Milwaukee Brewers game, such as:
- When the first run will be scored
- Whether there will be an extra inning
- Winning margin
- Team with the highest scoring inning
- Highest scoring inning
- Several player specials, including total hits and total home runs.
Cash Out & Partial Cash Out
Not only does PowerPlay offer a cashout feature, allowing customers to cash out on their bets before the event has ended, but it also offers partial cash out.
This way, you can cash out on a portion of your bet, and leave the rest on — just in case.
This feature isn’t common at Canadian sportsbooks, so we’re giving some extra points to PowerPlay.
To use PowerPlay’s cash out feature, bettors should go to their account and choose any bet that has the cash out option available.
Then, they can click on the current amount to cash out their bet.
One downside to Powerplay’s cash out feature is that there’s no indication of whether the cash-out option is available before adding a bet to the betslip.
This means that players won’t know if they can cash out their bet until after it’s been added to the betslip, which can be frustrating.
Most other sportsbooks, such as Betano, make sure bettors know whether this feature is available on a certain game from the get-go.
Live Betting
Powerplay’s live betting section is easy to navigate, but the brand doesn’t offer live streaming.
Additionally, Powerplay doesn’t provide any statistics or visualizations, which can be a significant drawback compared to other sportsbooks.
These tools can be helpful for customers to make informed decisions and adjust their betting strategies based on the information available.
Odds at PowerPlay
One of the main things we look at when comparing different sports betting sites is what kind of odds they have. To determine this properly, we always look into a couple of different sports.
For PowerPlay, we went with hockey, basketball, and tennis.
NHL Odds
Team | PowerPlay | Bet99 | bet365 | Sports Interaction |
---|---|---|---|---|
Montreal Canadiens | 1.95 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 1.98 |
Detroit Red Wings | 1.83 | 1.86 | 1.83 | 1.85 |
Based on the odds above, along with Bet99, PowerPlay has the best odds for betting on the Montreal Canadiens. However, it also has the lowest odds for the favourite, with Bet99 having the best ones.
NBA Odds
Team | PowerPlay | Bet99 | bet365 | Betano |
---|---|---|---|---|
Brooklyn Nets | 1.85 | 1.88 | 1.90 | 1.91 |
Minnesota Timberwolves | 1.95 | 1.95 | 1.90 | 1.93 |
Once more, PowerPlay has the best odds for the underdog, along with Bet99. However, it again lacks the competitive odds for the favourite that Betano offers.
Tennis Odds
Player | PowerPlay | Bet99 | bet365 | Betano |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dominic Thiem | 1.61 | 1.58 | 1.61 | 1.62 |
Sebastian Ofner | 2.25 | 2.37 | 2.30 | 2.32 |
In this case, PowerPlay has competitive odds for Dominic Thiem but is miles behind other sportsbooks for betting on the underdog.
Overall, our research shows that PowerPlay tends to have either very competitive odds compared to Canada’s prominent sportsbooks or noticeably lower ones.
Our tip? By shopping for odds, you could find significantly better odds at this sportsbook than at many others.
Powerplay Casino
New Games Added
Only 363 Games
Powerplay’s casino section has only 363 games available at the moment, which is disappointing, as many Canadian casinos have as many as 3000 games.
There are 44 slots and several table games on offer, as well as 24 live games available for those who prefer the excitement of a live dealer.
Another downside to the casino section is that the menu is slightly cluttered, with both table games and roulette/blackjack/poker being on it. We couldn’t help but think that it seemed like overkill for the number of games on offer.
All that said, new games are always coming — in just a month, PowerPlay casino went from having 44 games to having 363. We’re looking forward to seeing more and more games being added in the future!
Is There a Powerplay App?
Excellent Mobile Betting Experience
No Downloadable App
Unfortunately, there is currently no app available for Powerplay Canada. However, the website is well-optimized for mobile, so users can navigate it with ease on their phones or tablets.
Another piece of good news is that apps will soon be available for both Apple and Android — they’re currently being tested to ensure there are no bugs and glitches.
As soon as they’re available we’ll be sure to update this information!
But if you’re looking for a sportsbook with a native app, the good news is that most Canadian sports betting sites already have one.
Payment Methods
Interac Available
Quick Withdrawals
Low Minimum Deposit
Only Three Payment Methods
Withdrawals Not 24/7
Powerplay has very few payment methods available: credit cards, Interac, and Paysafecard. That said, Interac is a welcome option for Canadians.
The only other option is credit/debit cards.
Deposits
Depositing is easy, with a “Deposit now” being easily accessible on the left-hand side of the screen.
The minimum deposit for both Interac and credit/debit cards is $10, and there are no deposit fees.
The maximum deposit for credit cards is $70,000, while the maximum deposit for Interac is set by your bank.
What we found strange is that Paysafecard is listed at the bottom of the website, but it’s not currently available as a payment or withdrawal method.
This was confusing and a bit disappointing, as many other sportsbooks and casinos accept paysafecard.
Withdrawals
Withdrawals are processed quickly, with a super-speedy turnaround time of 0-4 hours. Just make sure to request at least $10, as this is the minimum needed to be able to make a withdrawal.
For Interac, users can expect to have their money in their account in up to 72 hours, while credit/debit card withdrawals are instant.
However, one downside is that withdrawals aren’t available 24/7. Users can only withdraw money between 8am and 5pm on weekdays, and 12pm to 4pm on weekends (EST).
The maximum withdrawal for Interac is $3000 per day, and $9,999 for credit cards.
How to Withdraw Money From PowerPlay
Withdrawing money from this sportsbook only takes a couple of seconds:
- Click on the “Withdraw” button in your account.
- Select the payment method you used for depositing.
- Follow instructions and provide additional information if needed.
Customer Support
24/7 Live Chat
Fast and Responsive Live Support
Facebook Support Available
Rich FAQ Section
Powerplay Ontario has a helpful customer support team available 24/7 via live chat. The response we got was extremely quick, as we had the answer to our question in a single minute.
That said, this information wasn’t correct as the PowerPlay app is still not available for download, so we were disappointed to learn that customer service gave us the wrong information.
Other methods to contact them include email, phone, and even Facebook.
The website also has a comprehensive FAQ section that covers topics like verifying your account, withdrawals, responsible gambling, and much more.
Our Verdict
We tested PowerPlay top to bottom and landed at the conclusion that the brand deserves 4 out of 5 stars.
While the sportsbook has notable betting tools, including the partial cashout feature, we think that a lack of live streaming or any sort of game stats does not merit a 5-star rating.
PowerPlay generally has competitive odds, which we were happy to see. We also liked the quick sign up process, and loved simple navigation that lets bettors access live games and make quick deposits.
And since the brand has one of the quickest withdrawal times in the industry and very fast live support, it deserves a big plus for both.
That said, PowerPlay’s casino section is disappointingly small, and there’s no downloadable app. Still, we did find the mobile experience to be satisfying, which helped the brand score some more points.
Finally, the fact that there are only three payment methods available for the time being is another reason why this brand doesn’t get a 5/5 rating from us.
Of course, we are aware that PowerPlay has just entered Canada’s legal betting market, and we’re looking forward to seeing them improve and expand their offering.
FAQs
Is PowerPlay legit?
PowerPlay is a legit sportsbook and casino, founded in 2018.
Is PowerPlay legal in Canada?
Yes, PowerPlay is a legal option for bettors in Canada, thanks to its iGaming Ontario license. This makes it fully legal in Ontario, although bettors from other Canadian provinces can access it as well.
How long does it take to withdraw money from PowerPlay casino?
This depends on your chosen withdrawal method. For credit cards, withdrawing takes a couple of hours. For Interac, it can take up to 72 hours.