Cloudbet vs 1xBet in Canada: Licences, Track Records, Bonuses, Banking and Which One We'd Trust With Our Money

Updated 1 Nov 2026 · Written by Ethan McLeod · Reviewed by Aisha Noor

Buddy, if you've been shopping for an offshore sportsbook from Canada, two names keep popping up: Cloudbet and 1xBet. One is a crypto book that's been around since 2013 and keeps things fairly simple. The other is one of the biggest betting brands on the planet, with a menu so long it scrolls for days and a sponsorship list that once included some of the biggest football clubs in Europe. On paper they look like they do the same job. Once you look at who runs them, how they handle bonuses and how they've behaved with regulators, they feel a lot less alike. I'll walk you through it the way I'd explain it to a friend before he moves any money.

Ground rules first. You need to be 19 or older (18 in Manitoba and Quebec). This site doesn't serve Ontario or Alberta residents. Neither Cloudbet nor 1xBet is licensed by any Canadian province, and 1xBet isn't on the iGaming Ontario list of regulated sites. Your licensed options are the provincial sites, such as PlayNow in BC, Manitoba and Saskatchewan or Mise-o-jeu from Loto-Québec. Full disclosure: we have an affiliate deal with Cloudbet and none with 1xBet, so the buttons on this page go to Cloudbet. That's exactly why I've tried hard to be fair to 1xBet and to stick to facts you can check yourself. Nothing here is legal or financial advice.

The short verdict

If you bet with crypto and you care most about a clean, readable set of terms and a company with a long, quiet track record, Cloudbet is the easier recommendation. If you want the widest possible menu of markets, the odd niche league, and fiat payment options, 1xBet has more on the shelf, but it comes with a regulatory history you should know about before you deposit, and bonus terms that need careful reading. Neither one gives you the protection of a provincial licence.

Side by side at a glance

Licence details come from each operator's footer and the Curaçao Gaming Authority certificate pages as we read them in late October 2026. Bonus and banking details change often, so treat this table as a starting point and open the live terms before you sign up anywhere.

Who's actually behind each site

This is the boring bit that becomes the only bit that matters if a withdrawal ever goes wrong.

Cloudbet

Cloudbet is operated by Halcyon Super Holdings B.V. and holds a Curaçao Gaming Authority licence numbered OGL/2024/328/0599. It has taken crypto bets since 2013, which makes it one of the older names in crypto betting. The licence is shown in the site footer, and you can click through to the regulator's certificate to check it matches.

1xBet

The Curaçao Gaming Authority's certificate lists Caecus N.V., a Curaçao company with company number 163779, as the holder of licence OGL/2024/1262/0493, with 1xbet.com among the approved domains. The certificate shows the licence as active. One small thing worth knowing: Canadians often get redirected to a country subdomain, and the certificate lists the main domain rather than every regional version, so check the footer of the page you're actually on and make sure it names the same company and licence number. Lookalike "1xBet" mirror sites exist, and you don't want to hand your money to one of those.

So both brands hold a current Curaçao licence under the newer regime that replaced the old master-licence system. That's a real licence with a regulator that takes complaints, but it isn't a Canadian one. If something goes sideways, the BC Lottery Corporation or Loto-Québec can't step in for you.

Track record: the part most comparison sites skip

Here's where the two really split, and it's why I'd tell a friend to read this section twice.

1xBet's history with regulators. In August 2019, 1xBet's UK-facing site was taken offline while the UK Gambling Commission looked into reports, first published by the Sunday Times, that the brand had been taking bets on youth sport and advertising on sites that illegally streamed Premier League matches. The software partner running the UK site pulled it, and Tottenham ended its sponsorship. Chelsea and Liverpool then suspended their 1xBet advertising after the regulator warned clubs about promoting a brand that wasn't properly licensed in Britain. Later, Ukraine put 1xBet and related Curaçao companies on its sanctions list. Investigative journalists at Follow the Money have also reported on lawsuits from players who struggled to get money back, and on a Curaçao company linked to the brand being declared bankrupt. Those are reports and court records, not things we've tested, but they're public and easy to look up.

Cloudbet's history. We didn't find comparable enforcement actions or sponsorship scandals involving Cloudbet. That doesn't make it risk-free. Every offshore book has unhappy customers on complaint forums, and you'll find Cloudbet complaints too, usually about ID checks or bonus terms. But there's a difference between ordinary customer complaints and a regulator pulling your site in a major market.

Why this matters to you in Canada: when you use an offshore site, your main protection is the operator's own behaviour. A brand that has run into trouble with regulators in more than one country deserves extra caution, and a small test withdrawal before you deposit anything serious.

Welcome offers and rollover

Cloudbet

Cloudbet's Welcome Package is worth up to $2,500 and is released over your first 30 days as you play, rather than dropped into your account in one lump. Cloudbet's help centre describes the released Welcome Package and Rewards payouts as real cash rather than bonus money with a big rollover attached. The catch is the clock: whatever you haven't unlocked by day 30 is gone. If you were going to bet steadily that month anyway, it's decent value. If you deposit once and disappear, most of it stays on the table.

1xBet

1xBet usually advertises a first-deposit match on sports. Third-party reviews commonly describe terms along these lines: the bonus has to be rolled over several times on accumulator bets with three or more selections, each at minimum odds around 1.40, within a set number of days. We couldn't confirm the exact current numbers for a Canadian account, so treat that as a rough guide and read the bonus rules on your own account before you opt in. Accumulator-only rollover is the important bit: it pushes you toward bigger parlays, where the bookmaker's margin stacks up on every leg.

A quick bit of maths

Here's a made-up example to show why the type of rollover matters. Say you get a $100 bonus with a 5x rollover on accumulators. That's $500 of wagering. If each leg of a three-leg parlay carries about a 5% margin, the parlay as a whole carries roughly 14%. Expected cost of $500 wagered at around 14%: about $70. So a "$100" bonus might be worth closer to $30 on average, before you even count the risk of busting out early. A cash reward with no rollover, by contrast, is worth what it says. Do this sum on any offer you're thinking about: amount you have to wager, times the rough margin, compared with the bonus itself.

Banking from Canada

Cloudbet is a crypto book. You deposit Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, USDT, USDC and a list of other coins, and you withdraw in crypto. For most Canadians, the smooth route is buying crypto on a platform registered with the Canadian Securities Administrators, sending it to Cloudbet, and later selling winnings back to CAD and moving them to your bank by Interac or EFT. Price swings matter here: if you hold Bitcoin between deposit and withdrawal, the dollar value moves. Stablecoins like USDT or USDC reduce that.

1xBet advertises a very long list of payment methods worldwide, including cards, e-wallets, vouchers and crypto, and some reviews report Interac being shown to Canadian accounts. What you'll actually see depends on your account and where you're signing up from, and the payment processor behind a method isn't always obvious. A known logo on a cashier page doesn't tell you who's actually receiving your money or how quickly it comes back. Check the signed-in cashier for minimums, maximums and withdrawal methods before you deposit, and save screenshots.

One honest note on cards: Canadian banks may decline or flag gambling transactions with offshore sites, and some treat them as cash advances with fees and interest. That's another reason crypto via a registered Canadian platform is the more predictable route with either book.

ID checks and withdrawals

Both sites can ask for ID. Cloudbet's terms say verification can be requested at any time, and it's typically triggered once cumulative deposits pass about US$2,200 or when an account is flagged for review. 1xBet's rules also allow it to request documents, and complaint threads about 1xBet often centre on repeated document requests before a withdrawal is paid. Whichever site you use, the move is the same: send a clear photo ID and a recent proof of address early, use your real name and address at sign-up, and never use a VPN or false details. Offshore books commonly void winnings for that, and you'd have nobody in Canada to complain to.

Smart habit with any offshore site: deposit a small amount first, place a couple of bets, and make a small withdrawal. If that goes smoothly, you've learned more than any review can tell you.

Markets and the betting experience

1xBet is famous for the sheer size of its menu: thousands of events a day, lots of lower leagues, oddball specials and an enormous live section. If you like betting obscure tennis or second-division football from countries most people can't find on a map, it has more to pick from. More isn't always better though. Very niche markets can have thin pricing and are the kind of thing regulators have criticised the brand for listing.

Cloudbet's sportsbook is smaller but still deep on the sports Canadians actually bet: NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB, soccer, tennis, UFC and esports, with live betting and a full casino on the side. For a typical bettor in BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec or Atlantic Canada, you're unlikely to run out of things to bet on with either site. Shop the odds on your own markets before you commit; margins vary by sport and by day.

Which one fits you

• You bet with crypto and want simple terms: Cloudbet.
• You want a welcome offer without accumulator rollover: Cloudbet's cash-based package is easier to value.
• You want the biggest possible market list, including very niche events: 1xBet, with eyes open about its history.
• You want fiat payment methods: 1xBet lists more, but check exactly what your account shows and test a small withdrawal first.
• You want provincial protection: neither. Use PlayNow or Mise-o-jeu.

Five questions to ask before you deposit anywhere

1. Does the footer of the exact page I'm on name the company and licence number, and do they match the regulator's certificate?
2. What's the minimum and maximum withdrawal for my method, and is there a fee?
3. Does the bonus have a rollover, and on what kind of bets?
4. When will you ask for ID, and what documents do you accept?
5. Is my province, or the country I'm in, on your restricted list?

Ask support those in live chat and save the transcript. Vague answers tell you something.

The bottom line

Cloudbet and 1xBet are both offshore, both Curaçao-licensed and both unlicensed in your province. Where they differ is in the boring stuff that protects you: the clarity of the terms, the shape of the welcome bonus and, above all, the track record. For a Canadian crypto bettor who wants a simple setup, Cloudbet is the one we'd point a friend to. If you go with 1xBet for the market depth, start small, verify early and test a withdrawal before you trust it with real money. If you're new to Cloudbet, our guide on how to deposit at a crypto casino from Canada covers the funding side step by step, and our Interac vs crypto betting sites page explains the trade-offs if you're still deciding how to bank.

Look after yourself

Betting should be entertainment, not a way to pay the bills. Set a budget before you start, don't chase losses, and take breaks. If it's stopped being fun, free and confidential help is available 24/7: Gambling Support BC 1-888-795-6111, Manitoba Problem Gambling Helpline 1-800-463-1554, Saskatchewan Problem Gambling Helpline 1-800-306-6789, and in Quebec, Jeu : aide et référence 1-800-461-0140. Elsewhere, your provincial health line can point you to local support.