[Jliao4]

Why use Bitcoin?

If you’re reading this you’re probably a Canadian. So you can hopefully relate with me when I say that getting money into and out of any sportsbook that isn’t a part of the big three (b365, Pinnacle, William Hill) in Canada can be a huge pain.

Not only have the largest Canadian banks like TD, RBC and Scotia outright banned gambling related transactions services like NETELLER and SKRILL have withdrawn completely from the Canadian market.

With Bitcoin you are in control of your money and banks can no longer dictate what is acceptable or unacceptable. Bitcoin also offers flexibility and speed that no other payment methods can match. With a Bitcoin book like Nitrogen I regularly have my requests processed same day and once it has been processed the Bitcoin will arrive in a wallet that I control is as little as 10 minutes. The ability to move money in both directions without going through any third parties is central to how Bitcoin is transforming gambling in Canada.

Cheapest Place to Buy Bitcoin?

Based on my own research and experiences the absolute best place to buy Bitcoin if you’re a Canadian is Coinbase. Deposits are made via EFT which all banks in Canada support and the fee is a flat 1%. For example if you’re on PC Financial like I am which offers unlimited debits the total cost for me to buy 100 CAD worth of Bitcoin is literally $1. Please note that for the best prices you want to use exchange.coinbase.com to place an order rather than buying through Coinbase’s main interface.

Alternatives to Coinbase?

If for whatever reason you can’t or don’t want to use Coinbase the two other exchanges that I’d recommend are Bitstamp which also processes deposits via EFT albeit through an intermediary known as Vogogo. Or QuadrigaCX which is based in Vancouver and while they don’t support EFT deposits you can use Interac e-Transfers which most banks support.

No Bank Account? No Problem!

If you have no bank account than I would recommend LocalBitcoins, however this only works if you live near an urban center. Another option is the local trader feature in Mycelium wallet for Android. Both of these local methods however will increase the cost of acquiring Bitcoin due to the seller's markup for their services.

Why can’t I buy with a Credit Card?

You actually can use a CC to buy Bitcoin even in Canada, however I don’t recommend doing so because of the reversible nature of a credit card transaction any service that allows you to buy Bitcoins via Credit Card will massively markup the price of a single Bitcoin to compensate for the inevitable fraud that follows.

Best Place to Sell your Bitcoins?

With Bitcoin you are in complete control of your money so it stands to reason that while Coinbase might be the best place to buy Bitcoins. I would actually recommend QuadrigaCX if you’re interested in selling.

Quadriga regularly has higher bids meaning you can sell each Bitcoin for more. And most importantly QuadrigaCX allows you to withdraw your hard earned CAD via e-transfer.

So higher prices + the speed and convenience of Interac e-Transfer? Sign me up!

Best Wallet for your Bitcoins?

If you want to store your Bitcoins on a computer I’d recommend Electrum, however I personally don’t keep Bitcoins on my computer.

Instead I keep my Bitcoins on an Android phone or tablet with an app known as Mycelium. In my opinion using an Android device is safer for two reasons:

1) Android Application Sandbox - basically each Android App is restricted to the memory space assigned to them by Android OS restricting their ability to read and write data from other apps, this in theory prevents malicious apps from stealing your Bitcoins.

2) Less Attack Vectors - Android devices do not natively support Flash or Java, these two technologies are probably the most common attack vector if you are using a PC.


Thanks for reading! If you have any questions ask away below.

[Jliao4]

Formatting is messed up if a mod could help me fix it that'd be great.

[Snoman]

Thanks for this guide! Much appreciated.

Is there a way to go about setting up wallets/accounts so that banks/books can't see where its all going and coming from in a way where it'll allow us canadians to play at the most books possible?

[Jliao4]

Yes when moving Bitcoins from an exchange to a gambling site simply use your own intermediary wallet (you can use a new address each time) in between the transaction. For example Coinbase > Your Wallet > Gambling Site or Gambling Site > Your Wallet > Coinbase. NEVER move money directly from an exchange directly into a gambling site or vice versa as I've heard that Coinbase will ban or close your account if they detect such a transaction taking place.

This is pretty much all you need to do, as for why this works you simply look at it from the perspective of Coinbase and see that there is no way for them to know whether you control the intermediary wallet of if you're simply making a transfer to a third party who then happens to making a gambling transfer afterwards. If you use a unique random address each time it is even more effective, preventing them from tying your Coinbase account to any "personal" wallets that you may control.

EDIT: Just want to clarify that when I say Wallet, I don't mean Coinbase's web wallet but rather a "personal" wallet like Electrum or Mycelium.