MasterCard Casinos Canada 2024

A Brief History of Mastercard

Much of the popularity and ubiquity that Mastercard holds in global finance today is attributed to its age—after all, the company has been around for nearly 60 years. The company had its start in 1966 as the Interbank Card Association or ICA, a group of banks that collaborated to create the Master Charge interbank card that would compete against the Bank of America’s BankAmericard (which would later become VISA).

Mastercard’s expansion over the years would come to include notable innovations in the space; just a few of these include:

• the introduction of a magnetic strip on the back of the card;
• the creation of one of the world’s largest ATM card networks with Mastercard’s purchase of Cirrus; and
• the establishment of an internationally-recognized debit card network through the Maestro brand.

Using Mastercard in Canada

Explaining how to use Mastercard as a casino payment method is not quite as simple as you’d expect as Mastercard itself is only a payment processor; the actual payment methods that Mastercard facilitates are through credit cards and debit cards. For this reason, our breakdown of the pros and cons of using Mastercard will focus on the merits of Mastercard itself rather than the credit and debit cards that it supports.

Mastercard Credit Cards

From a general standpoint, all bank cards that are powered by Mastercard operate in the same way as you would expect any other. Credit cards give you access to relatively high deposit limits as well as any perks you get from the card provider, but at the cost of using money you may not necessarily have and making up for the difference by paying debt with interest.

Mastercard Debit Cards

Debit cards, meanwhile, are directly connected to your bank and use your actual bank balance; as such, you don’t have to deal with credit card fees and avoid the risk of debt. This is an especially important characteristic to have if you are the type of gambler who has a bit of trouble with controlling their spending. However, because you aren’t paying for the privilege anymore, these cards also lose the additional perks that credit card providers tend to offer.

Is Mastercard Safe to Use?

It goes without saying that using Mastercard is safe. As with any payment method, there is of course a certain element of risk when transferring funds online. This also applies to players making deposits and withdrawals at online casinos. But thanks to SSL encryption technology and the robust anti-fraud framework employed by Mastercard, consumer protection has never been better.

Which Mastercard Online Casinos are Safe?

Safe Mastercard casino websites are those that adhere to respected regulatory authorities and which deploy robust security measures to protect players.

Mastercard Casinos with SSL

Thus, when searching for safe Mastercard casinos you should make sure that the online casino is secured by SSL encryption. You can do this by checking the browser address bar which should display a padlock next and the prefix 'https'. All of the best Mastercard casinos will include this essential security layer. Don't even think about making a Mastercard casino deposit at a website that's failed to deploy SSL. Any data that you transmit will be unsecure and vulnerable to bad actors.

Licensed Mastercard Casinos

Once you've found a Mastercard casino that's been secured with encryption (it really shouldn't be that difficult), scroll down to the bottom of the page to see if it’s licensed. If you're looking to play gambling games in the UK, the operator should be licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. Information about this will be included in the footer. There are other regulatory bodies that govern online casino sites based outside the UK. These include the Malta Gaming Authority and Gibraltar Gambling Commission. A site that's governed by these bodies will also provide information on its home page.

Do Online Casinos Apply Fees to Mastercard?

Unlike credit cards, deposits made using a Mastercard debit card are not usually subject to any processing fees. Unfortunately, this isn't the case with Mastercard withdrawals. A fee of at least 2% is often applied. Therefore, it's always worth checking the small print before deciding which casino payment options to use.

Pros & Cons of Mastercard

Pros

• Widely accepted: As the second largest card payment provider in Canada, Mastercard is widely accepted at online casinos in the country. From more modest sites to the Internet’s most popular destinations, you will not have a hard time finding a Mastercard casino in Canada.
• Offered by many banks: You can avail of Mastercard bank cards at many of the big banks and credit card providers in Canada.
• High deposit limits: Credit cards that are powered by mastercard typically enjoy daily deposit limits that start at C$1,000, which is a very accommodating amount for Canadian gamblers of any budget level.
• Reliable deposits and withdrawals: Thanks to their accessibility, Mastercard cards make it easy for you to make deposits to and withdrawals from your online casino account with very low possibility of a failed transaction.

Cons

• Possible fees: Depending on what kind of Mastercard card you use, you may have to deal with a variety of fees imposed by the bank or credit card provider.
• Slow withdrawals: Withdrawals through Mastercard bank cards usually take around 3 to 5 days, which is some of the slowest payment methods available.

Should you use Mastercard for online casino payments?

If you want to use a credit or debit card for your online casino payments, then you don't need to look for any other option if you already have one that is powered by Mastercard. After all, Mastercard did not become one of the largest payment processors in the world for no reason; the reliability and reputation should be more than enough to meet the requirements of any online gambler in Canada.

Our Final Thoughts

Well, if you're in the UK, the Mastercard credit card option is no longer available thanks to the Gambling Commission. As it stands, these laws don't yet extend to other parts of the world although this could change at some point in the future. With that being said, it's still perfectly possible to use the debit card option at many online casinos. And as far as we're concerned, this is one of the best options for players looking to make safe deposits without racking up considerable debt. So if you're not comfortable in using specialist online transaction services (we can't really think why), debit cards are probably the way to go.

Mastercard Casino FAQs