Canada's Best Skrill Casinos

What is Skrill?

Skrill is a money transfer and online payment service that’s more commonly known as an e-wallet. Originally called Moneybookers, Skrill was founded in 2001 by Daniel Klein and Benjamin Kullmann in London, where it still has its headquarters.

Using funds from various sources – including bank cards, transfers, and other e-wallets – Skrill customers can upload money to their wallet and use it to pay merchants, transfer funds to other Skrill account holders, and even convert the money into cryptocurrencies. For roughly 15 years, Skrill has been a popular payment option for many online gamblers.

Skrill’s rebranding from Moneybookers took place in 2013, shortly before it completed the acquisition of Paysafecard. Later that year, Skrill itself was acquired by the investment firm CVC Capital Partners for €600 million. Then in 2015, Optimal Payments – now known as the collective Paysafe Group – acquired Skrill for €1.1 billion, merging Skrill, Neteller and Paysafecard under the same umbrella. Today, Skrill employs over 2,000 people and operates in over 120 countries and 40 different currencies.

How to Create a Skrill Account

One reason why Skrill is a popular choice at casino sites is that creating an account is easy and free. Here’s how it works:

1. Make your way to the Skrill website and click Open a Free Account;
2. Register your name, country of residence, chosen currency, and email address before creating a password;
3. Fill in the next page of information, which will include your address, date of birth, and mobile phone number;
4. Once this has been completed, a six-digit verification code will be sent to your mobile via SMS – simply key in this code and your account will be up and running.

How to Deposit Money into a Skrill Account

Making a deposit with Skrill into a casino account is also straightforward – just follow these steps:

1. Take a look at our recommendations for the best Skrill casinos in Canada;
2. Read our expert reviews and compare welcome bonus offers, before clicking through to a site that fits your interests;
3. We’ll take you straight to the casino’s sign-up page, where you’ll need to enter your personal information;
4. Head to the site’s cashier page and select the Skrill icon before making your qualifying deposit for the optional welcome offer;
5. You won’t need to enter any bank details to make a deposit, because Skrill transactions are authorized by the information linked to your account, such as the email address or password;
6. For your first deposit, the casino will need to carry out some verification checks – this will require you to upload a form of ID and recent proof of address;
7. Once these checks are complete, you’re ready to place your first wager at a Skrill casino.

How to Withdraw Money from a Skrill Account

A big attraction for Skrill users at online casinos is that e-wallets are able to process withdrawals at a much faster pace than older banking technologies. Follow these steps to make a fast Skrill withdrawal:

1. Before requesting a withdrawal, make sure you’ve fulfilled the casino’s terms and conditions;
2. Head back to the cashier page and hit withdraw;
3. Enter in the amount you’d like to withdraw, factoring in the site’s minimum withdrawal amount if applicable;
4. For first-time withdrawals, the casino may require some additional documents to verify your identity;
5. Once all checks have been carried out, the casino will process the request. Depending on the site, this could take from a couple of hours to a few days;
6. Enjoy your funds!

Why Use Skrill?

Here are the main benefits to using an online casino with Skrill.

Quick Transactions

Skrill transactions are incredibly fast for both deposits and withdrawals. When making a Skrill deposit, there’s no need to key in any sort codes or account numbers since the wallet is already linked to a bank account. Instead, deposits can be authorized by simply entering in a password or username.

If casino players are keen to make even faster deposits, they can make use of Skrill 1-Tap – a unique feature that avoids interrupting gameplay by offering deposits with one click of a button. Before making use of 1-Tap, there are a couple of things to bear in mind: these deposits can only be made in Euros and will incur a 4.9% fee.

For withdrawals, Skrill’s position as an intermediary service between merchants and banks means that processing checks has been streamlined. Once a withdrawal request has been processed by the casino, the recipient should have their funds in their account within moments. Skrill withdrawal times therefore rank among the fastest of all online casino payment methods. Unless you’re playing at a fast payout casino, however, you should expect a wait of up to a few days for the online casino to complete its internal checks.

Excellent Security

Removing the need to enter in sensitive bank details at the cashier page gives e-wallets a security edge over other options as there are fewer opportunities for hackers to access this information. This is not to say that other payment methods aren’t secure, but there’s less that can go wrong with Skrill transactions. If customers do run into any security issues, Skrill is a credible global brand and will be on-hand to provide support.

Additional Account Features

The two benefits above can be thought of as specific perks to using a casino that accepts Skrill, but there are some additional account features users should know about. The first is that Skrill runs its own loyalty reward scheme called Knect – a system that allows account holders to accrue points on all of their Skrill transactions. These points can then be exchanged for various prizes.

The second is the Skrill VIP programme. Now admittedly, this VIP scheme might only interest the high rollers out there, but it does offer some additional account perks to those who qualify, including:

• Lower transaction fees;
• Higher transaction limits;
• 24/7 customer support and personal account management;
• A prepaid Skrill Mastercard;
• Invitations to sporting events, fine-dining experiences, and vacations.

Disadvantages of Using Skrill

As with all payment methods, there are some factors potential Skrill users should consider before signing up.

Most significantly, Skrill transactions have some associated fees. When depositing money into your Skrill account from Mastercard, Visa, Paysafecard, Trustly, or bank transfer sources, you’ll be charged a fixed fee of 1%.

Skrill won’t charge users any fees on payments made to merchants, such as online casinos, but the casino itself may have its own fees structure on these transactions. This is pretty uncommon but not unheard of, so take a look at the payments section of the casino’s terms and conditions just to make sure.

Alternatives to Skrill

If Skrill doesn’t appeal, it’s just one option in a long list of payment methods available at Canadian online casinos. Here are some alternatives.

Other e-Wallets

Neteller, ecoPayz and MuchBetter are three popular e-wallet alternatives to Skrill, all of which offer similar perks. PayPal is perhaps the most recognizable e-wallet brand, but it isn’t accepted at Canadian casino sites.

Bank Cards

Credit and debit cards are permitted at Canadian online casinos, but it should be noted that sites licensed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) have been subject to a credit card ban since April 2020. Players won’t have any trouble finding a site that accepts one of these options, but withdrawals can take up to six working days to appear in the user’s account.

Prepaid Cards

Canadian players can also make use of prepaid cards at online casinos. Paysafecard is a popular option here, requiring users to purchase vouchers either in-store or online before loading them onto their card with a 16-digit PIN. These services are well-known for being effective money management tools, but most casinos don’t allow for withdrawals with this method.

How to Stay Safe at a Skrill Casino

The most effective way to stay safe at any online casino is to adhere to responsible gambling practices, including making use of on-site limiters and only playing when sober and level-headed. It’s also important to stay vigilant to protect yourself from any malicious online threats. Here’s how you can achieve this.

Only Gamble at Licensed Casinos

At BestOnlineCasinos, we only ever recommend licensed casinos, and you should never place a bet at an unlicensed site. Casino licences hold sites to specific regulations, such as a SSL encryption on personal data and regular fairness audits on their games.

Keep Passwords Secure

This is a standard piece of advice for any online activity, and is equally important at an online casino. Legitimate casino sites won’t ever ask for your passwords, so there’s no reason to ever disclose them to anybody. In addition to keeping passwords secure, make sure they’re not easily guessable by avoiding obvious connections, names, and birthdays.

Be Aware of Phishing Attempts

If you’re sent a suspicious email, be aware that it may be a phishing attempt – a method in which people seek to extract sensitive information by posing as a member of a reputable company. Never give up any information that can be used to access your accounts unless you can verify that the email is legitimate. Common red flags are typos, an unusual sender email address that doesn’t line up with the casino’s usual contact address, demands for personal information or money, and alarming messages about your account’s security.

What Games Can You Play at a Skrill Casino?

Here are some of the most popular games at a Skrill casino.

Slots

Video slots dominate the gaming libraries of most top casino sites – it’s not uncommon to find over 1,000 of these games in a casino’s catalogue. Online slots function in the same way as their mechanical cousins, with players simply spinning the reels and hoping for the best.

Blackjack

There’s slightly more skill involved in blackjack compared to slots, and it can be useful to have a strategy in place before heading to the table. Blackjack is a card game where players aim to get a hand as close to 21 as possible without exceeding 21 and going bust. At the end of the round, your hand is compared to the dealer’s to determine the winner, with the closest hand to 21 coming out on top.

Roulette

One of the most enduring symbols of the casino, the roulette wheel has many variations, including standard French, European, and American rules. There are also more recent innovations such as Live Roulette, Lightning Roulette, and Double Ball Roulette to try your hand at. Select red, black, odd, even – or something more daring altogether.

Poker

Of all the casino games, poker requires the most amount of skill. There are many different versions of the game, all of which demand a thorough read-up of the rules. Texas Hold’em, 7-Card Stud, and Jacks or Better are some of the most popular variants.

Skrill Casino Bonuses

Unless Skrill deposits are excluded from accessing a site’s bonuses, players are likely to receive the following bonus offers.

Matched Deposits

These bonuses will see the casino match your deposit at a certain percentage. For example, when signing up to a new site, players might receive an offer of ‘100% up to $200’, which would see them land $400 from a $200 deposit.

No Deposit Bonuses

No deposit bonuses are, as you might have guessed, offers provided to new players without the need to fund your casino wallet. This may be a nominal amount in non-withdrawable cash, or free spins on a selected slot.

Reload Bonuses

Online casinos tend to reserve their most generous offers for new players, but the best Skrill casinos will offer their existing members a consistent string of bonuses too. These are known as reload bonuses, in reference to a ‘reloading’ of funds into the player’s casino account.