CIBC Casinos

How to Deposit to Casinos Using CIBC

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (Banque Canadienne Impériale de Commerce) is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, and is one of the “Big Five” banks of Canada. Commonly referred to simply as CIBC, the bank was founded in 1961 with the merger of the much older Canadian Bank of Commerce (est. 1867) and Imperial Bank of Canada (est. 1875).

Like almost any other Canadian bank, customers can use their accounts for online gambling but it’s not always as easy as making a simple deposit or withdrawal, however, as of June 30 2022, CIBC have updated their terms on their products to include online gaming as valid transactions.

This can be seen on their CIBC Credit Card terms here and Debit card terms here where they specify online gaming transactions as valid “Cash-Like Transactions”:

“Cash-Like Transaction” means a Transaction involving the purchase of items directly convertible into cash. Examples include casino
gambling chips or credits, money orders, wire transfers, and traveller’s cheques.

Interestingly, while they have updated their terms to include online gambling transactions, the debit card terms stipulate a restriction on withdrawals:

Restricted Transactions: Your CIBC Advantage Debit Card cannot be used to receive credits for online gambling transactions, wire transfers, money transfers or gains/dividends from investment instruments.

For clarification, there are no laws in Canada to restrict your use of a bank account to gamble at offshore casinos. However, with the provincial lottery corporations controlling the casinos with Canadian licenses, banks do tend to discourage playing offshore.

Another reason it can be difficult is cross-border banks with some ownership in the US. American banking laws under the UIGEA of 2006. The big banks simply find it easier to adopt some US restrictions, at least on a surface level, than to create completely separate systems.

CIBC personal online banking agreements still don’t mention gambling – however, credit card and debit card terms and conditions do present some restrictions.

The credit card agreement gives them the right to block any internet gambling transactions whilst the debit card agreement restricts online gambling payments to the card.

That would seem to indicate that you can deposit with a debit card or Interac e-Transfer but you’d be taking your chances if you tried to withdraw to a credit card – there are much easier ways which we will discuss further.

Debit card agreement
https://www.cibc.com/ca/mobile/legal/conv-banking-serv-agreement.html

Credit
https://www.cibc.com/content/dam/personal_banking/credit_cards/agreements_and_insurance/cardholder-agreement-changes-september-2018-en.pdf

Recommended CIBC Casinos

CIBC Instant Banking

Instant banking is far and away the best method to use in terms of reliability, fees, speed, and security. The most convenient of these methods is Interac e-Transfer. There are also several other options along this line. We’ll address them all.

Interac e-Transfer at CIBC

Incoming Interac eTransfers are free of charge to the receiver. As it only costs the sender $1.50 for the actual transaction, most sites won’t charge you for the withdrawal.

The method is available right from within your CIBC online banking facility. Complete instructions are provided in a step by step process. You can find casino-specific examples on our Interac e-Transfer Guide as part of an in-depth review of the payment method.

As mentioned earlier, Interac is one of the most preferred online payment methods in Canada. Many Canadian gamblers are using service to make casino deposits and withdrawals with CIBC. It is a highly secure payment method that ensures that no sensitive financial information is leaked in the process.

We recommend using this payment option to fund your gaming activities in Canadian casinos that accept Interac e-Transfers.

Instadebit at CIBC

Instadebit is a secure way to move money from your CIBC account into and out of a casino cashier offshore. The bank has no way to identify or track casino transactions when you use Instadebit.

It can take about 3 days for your withdrawal to appear in your Instadebit account, but as soon as it does you can instantly transfer it to your bank account.

Fees are very low (under $2). You can find out more about using INstadebit for CIBC casino banking on our InstaDebit Casino Sites page.

iDebit at CIBC

iDebit is another instant banking option for CIBC customers. Deposits occur immediately os you can start playing right away. Withdrawals are easy and effortless but can take a few days to appear in your account.

The process is quite simple and since iDebit works as a simple gateway between your bank account and casino account, transactions only appear on your bank statement as being to or from iDebit.

It’s as simple as entering the casino cashier, choosing iDebit and the amount you wish to deposit, log into your iDebit account or “check out as a guest”, choose your bank, enter your credentials (they are never stored) and make the deposit!

More information including a FAQ and a comparison of iDebit and Instadebit is found on our iDebit Casinos page.

Bank Wires at CIBC

While it is possible to wire money directly from your bank to a casino account, there’s really no reason to ever do it. Interac e-Transfer and the other instant banking options work just as well, they get the job done right away, and there’s little to no chance of the transaction getting flagged and canceled.

However, for those who somehow prefer to deposit with a prepaid card or another method that does not allow withdrawals, a bank wire transfer can be a good alternative.

Expect to pay about CA$15 on the bank end for wire transfer withdrawals. (Fees will be deducted from the incoming amount and charged in the same currency as the payment).

It can take up to 10 business days for the funds to appear and be available in your account, but many times 3 or 4 days is the longest you’ll need to wait.

No matter which deposit method you use, there’s a very strong possibility that a bank wire withdrawal will work for you. The method has a very high rate of success, nearly as high as Interac withdrawals.

CIBC Electronic Wallets

EcoPayz at CIBC

ecoPayz is simply a digital wallet that allows you to withdraw and deposit money from your bank account. Rather than being an instant “pass-through” method like Instadebit or other instant banking methods, you can actually store value in your wallet.

Whilst eWallets like PayPal, Skrill, and Neteller have stopped servicing Canadian casino transactions, ecoPayz has kept the door open to us.

Since you won’t be funding a gaming account directly, the bank will never be aware of where your money is going or where it comes from. Another level of confidence for some players lies in the fact that they don’t need to share bank account, debit, or credit card information with the operators.

You fund ecoPayz and at some future point, even if it’s only a matter of minutes, you may buy something online, deposit into a sportsbook, or perhaps send money to family and friends.

EcoPayz does have some disadvantages, chief among them being fees for starter-level (Classic) accounts.

With that said, ecoPayz is still one of the most popular payment methods for Canadian online gambling. The following link will take you to our ecoPayz Casino FAQ.  You will also find a schedule of fees as well as instructions on setting up an account.

MuchBetter at CIBC

This method is catching on as more players become aware of it and as more operators offer the method.

It’s a mobile e-Wallet app with stringent security, instant transactions, and a very low fee structure. Bank transfers are free. The app works on iPhone or Android devices.

MuchBetter works seamlessly with your CIBC accounts and provides a separate wallet for casino transactions.

Jeton at CIBC

Jeton is a growing favorite e-Wallet. The payment service is regulated in the UK and offers a plastic card which makes spending your casino winnings easy to do.

You’ll find a well-populated list of Canadian online casinos accepting Jeton transactions on this page.

Webmoney at CIBC

WebMoney is a wallet often used for Bitcoin transactions but it can also be funded with your CIBC debit or credit card. It’s currently not possible to transfer directly to or from a Canadian checking or savings account.

It is one of the more complicated methods available. You can learn more about it on our WebMoney Casinos page. Several well-known operators including 888, Casoo, and BitStarz accept WebMoney transactions.

Prepaid cards and vouchers

If you have a way to cash a check or a bank account in your name to accept a wire transfer, there are dozens of deposit-only alternatives to fund your casino account using CIBC.  These include:

• Paysafecard
• Vanilla
• Neosurf
• Revolut card
• AstroPay
• Flexepin

If you have been depositing and withdrawing with no problem we hope that remains the case for you. However, if you are new to online gambling or have been frustrated by the apparent lack of ease in casino banking over the last few years, we have found solutions for you.

CIBC Online Gambling Conclusion

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has restricted some of the most obvious ways of doing business with online gambling sites, but they haven’t tried to close the doors. There are at least a dozen ways for players who bank with any of the big five or almost anywhere else to still enjoy offshore gambling.

We have not been able to independently confirm it but some customers say that they have been able to deposit and withdraw at sites like bet365 directly with CIBC via card and bank wire.

It just doesn’t seem to be worth the potential hassle when services like Interac eTransfer, iDebit, Instadebit, and even Neosurf are available, easy to use, instant, and ass effective as direct banking.