Today, we will get an overview of the best online casinos in Canada. We will discuss how the country’s authorities treat online casinos and their legal status. And then, we will analyze the history of online and offline gambling in the country. Note some important aspects to consider when choosing a casino or betting office. We will look at several key features of a service and review the main methods of deposit and withdrawal. And, of course, we will introduce you to offers from various casinos, their bonuses for new players, and what benefits are rewarded to regular gamblers.
For your convenience, we have created a list of the best casinos available to gamblers from Canada. In the table below, you will find only licensed gambling clubs with the most attractive bonuses.
Gambling in Canada is quite popular, and the sphere of online gambling is no exception. There is no direct prohibition on such activity in the country. As a result, many casinos from all over the world are on the market. An important feature is numerous ways to deposit and withdraw funds, from fiat currencies, such as the Canadian dollar or U.S. dollar, to all kinds of cryptocurrencies.
Gambling in Canada
The history of gambling in Canada has deep roots. The native peoples were playing different variations of games for money, even before the British colonizers. It is noteworthy that the British pioneers initially completely banned gambling, and this ban existed for a very long time.
By 1900 it was partially removed, the government allowed the game of bingo for charity purposes, and after 1970 began active implementation of other forms of gambling.
In 1974 the government held its first major lottery to sponsor the Olympic Games in Montreal, and in 1989 the first land-based casino was opened.
A critical moment in Canadian gambling history was 1999, in which the government fully legalized gambling entertainment both offline and online. But since the territorial division of Canada implies different provinces with their variations of laws, not all areas supported the initiative. Therefore, some of them still prohibit gambling.
In 2009 a significant development happened again. Online casinos and lotteries became available in almost all provinces. The first province which opened its official online casino was British Columbia, which occurred in 2010. Also, this year was opened an official poker room in Quebec.
Legality and regulation of gambling
As noted earlier, laws vary from province to province. As a result, the availability of land-based and online casinos differs in Canada. Also, the minimum age of eligibility to play may vary. In most provinces, it is 18-19 years old.
Another peculiarity is that most provinces have their local regulators. Therefore, the best Canadian casinos always have licenses from local regulators along with international licenses.
Among the local regulators are known such companies as AGLC (Alberta), OLG (Ontario), BCLC (British Columbia), NSGC (Nova Scotia) and many others.
Choosing the best online casinos in Canada
Now we would like to analyze essential aspects when choosing the best casinos for players from Canada. They include the legality and safety level of the casino, as well as objective reviews of players. Also, a significant point is casino bonuses for Canadian players and available payment systems. And of course, we will consider the adaptation of the casino for mobile devices and the availability of round-the-clock customer support.
Legality and Safety
As already mentioned, online gambling is entirely legal in most Canadian provinces. But there are some requirements that the service must follow to operate successfully. As in the case of online casinos, betting shops that accept sports betting in Canada must be licensed by local regulators. Therefore, the casinos and betting shops that we offer on our website have, in addition to international licenses, also local, which proves their honesty and safety.
User Feedback
One of the main ways to sort quality projects is to analyze player reviews. It doesn’t matter what we are looking at, casinos, betting shops, or lotteries in Canada. When researching various casinos, we always carefully look at player reviews and monitor the resolution of problems. Gambling clubs which have a lot of negative feedback from players, we do not include in our rating.
Bonuses & Promotions
Another crucial thing a player looks at when choosing a casino is the welcome bonus package and the loyalty system. After all, thanks to them, you can not only increase your balance but also expect to receive more rewards for regular play. As a result, you should always carefully research the market for interesting bonuses and then decide whether to play at this or that casino. But we’ve already done that for you. So on our website, you can always find information about the best bonuses and promotions at various casinos.
Payment Systems
Since gambling in Canada is quite popular and forms a large online entertainment industry, there are many ways to deposit and withdraw your winnings. Among the main ones are bank cards Visa and Mastercard. But also there are various electronic wallets such as Skrill, Entropay or Neteller. Players who own cryptocurrency, as well, will not be left out. A lot of online casinos in Canada support deposit and withdrawal of funds using cryptocurrencies such as BTC, LTC, XRP, ETH and many others.
Customer Service
When we rate a casino, we pay special attention to such a criterion as the quality of customer support. How quickly it responds, whether it operates around the clock, and generally helps the player to find the necessary information and solve his problem. Those casinos where the customer service does not meet our criteria, we do not add to our rating.
Mobile Adaptation
Creating games based on HTML5 has long been a standard in the industry. This makes it possible to play not only from computers but also from mobile devices. As a result, any modern casino will be perfectly adapted for cell phones or tablets. And this adaptation includes not only the design of a special interface but also convenient ways to deposit and withdraw directly from your phone.
Bonuses and promotions for Canadian
Since playing at online casinos in Canada is allowed in most provinces, numerous bonuses are available for players from Canada. These include first deposit bonuses, regular rewards, and various unique VIP systems. Below, we would like to consider each type of bonus in more detail.
Welcome Bonus
Various casinos have different types of bonuses for new players. Basically, it’s either +100% to deposit, or a certain number of free spins, up to 600 in some cases. Online casinos often combine these two types of bonuses and offer a player a certain number of free spins and a % on deposit.
Regular Player Bonuses
For players who have already made the first deposit, there are various promotions on further deposits. They allow you to receive free spins and various boosts to your deposit amount. This is an excellent opportunity to get extra funds to play, even if you have already used the welcome gifts.
Races and Tournaments
Most online casinos in Canada have status and level systems that increase as you play. The more spins you make and the higher the bets, the greater the status you get.
Accordingly, the higher your status, the greater the rewards you receive. Rewards depend on the casino you choose. Basically, it’s either additional free spins or specific points. Most often, these can be exchanged for funds to play or participate in exclusive tournaments and races. These tournaments usually offer generous prizes for players.
Sports betting in Canada
As with casinos, sports betting in Canada is legal in most provinces. Each province usually has its major bookmaker that operates under local laws. Here are some of them:
Western Canada Lottery Corp. (Play Alberta) – The province of Alberta.
British Columbia Lottery Corp. (Sports Action) – British Columbia
Western Canada Lottery Corp. (Play Now) – Province of Manitoba
Atlantic Lottery Corp. (ProLine) – New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (ProLine Plus) – Province of Ontario
Loto-Québec (Mise-o-Jeu+) – Province of Quebec
Among the most popular sports in Canada are hockey, basketball, baseball, boxing, and soccer. It is these sports that account for the majority of all bets.
From this list, we would like to highlight, of course, hockey. After all, as you know, Canada is the country where the sport was born. As a result, it accounts for plenty of sports betting, especially on the games of the National Hockey League (NHL), which includes seven teams:
Calgary Flames is based in Calgary, Alberta.
Edmonton Oilers is based in Edmonton, Alberta.
Montreal Canadiens is based in Montreal, Quebec province.
Ottawa Senators is located in the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario.
Toronto Maple Leafs are based in Toronto, Ontario.
Vancouver Canucks, is located in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Winnipeg Jets is based in Winnipeg, Province of Manitoba.
According to experts, the market for sports betting in Canada is growing extremely fast and could reach about $30 billion in the short term. Currently, the total turnover of betting is about $10-15 billion.
Convenient payment systems
As already noted, gamblers from Canada have many convenient ways to deposit and withdraw. They can be divided into several types:
VISA/MasterCard
The easiest and most convenient way most Canadians use. Two types of bank cards are common in Canada. These are Visa and Mastercard. For most of the trusted online casinos, a deposit is almost instant. It is enough just to enter the data from your card and confirm the payment. Withdrawal is a bit more complicated, as the withdrawal time depends on your bank and can take several minutes to several days. But in general, most withdrawals are made within a few hours.
Instadebit
This is a standard payment method in Canada, the main feature of which is speedy payments. There is no fee for the transfer. You can use it after simple registration and filling in your data, provided you have a bank account with partner banks, such as RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO and other credit unions.
PaySafeCard
Another popular payment system, which is actively used by poker players and, more recently, by casino users. The main feature is a handy plastic card, which allows you to pay offline and online while keeping your bank details confidential. But even without issuing a plastic card, it is possible to use a system of electronic vouchers. Depositing to the casino, in this case, is elementary and requires only entering your data from the service without using your bank account details.
Interac
One of the oldest payment processing systems in Canada, with a 30-year history. It’s easy enough to open an account in this system. To do this, you must have a bank account in one of the partner banks. To deposit to an online casino, you need to select this method when depositing, then send the transaction and confirm it by e-mail or with the help of a control question. The main disadvantage of this system is quite a long withdrawal time, averaging from 4 to 6 days.
iDebit
Relatively mature system of the bank and electronic payments, in which there is an opportunity to create an electronic wallet tied to your bank account. To deposit to the casino, choose which account you want to send money from (bank account or e-wallet) and transfer the required amount. A good feature is an almost instant withdrawal and deposit operations when using an e-wallet.
Cryptocurrencies
Some online casinos in Canada have the option to deposit by cryptocurrency. There are many tokens to choose from, such as BTC, LTC, XRP, DOGE, etc. The main feature is the anonymity of the transaction and its speed. It is worth noting that it is recommended to use such coins as XRP or DOGE for a deposit, as the network commission for their transfer is minimal and does not exceed a few dollars.
NOTIFY
Legally, it is legal to own cryptocurrencies in Canada, but it is illegal to bank with them. Those companies that work with virtual currencies must be registered with the Financial Transaction Analysis and Reporting Center of Canada (Fintrac).
Deposits to Canadian online casinos using cryptocurrencies are not banking transactions. Therefore they are not banned.
Popular gambling providers in Canada
Some providers are especially popular in Canada. They include:
NetEnt
This well-known Swedish provider is popular in the Canadian market for its beautiful graphics, excellent sound design and exciting bonus mechanics. Players especially like the modern slots with Megaways mechanics.
Microgaming
Due to the vast library of games and their great variety, the provider could attract players from Canada. Also, do not forget about the slot with the largest jackpot in history. Thanks to it, Microgaming got the right to be considered one of the most popular providers in the country.
Play’N’Go
One of the world leaders in the production of casino games. The use of a variety of game mechanics, combined with interesting themes of slots and high winning potential, allowed P’N’G to fall in love with players from Canada and become one of the most popular providers.
Pragmatic Play
Thanks to the careful and creative approach, a relatively young player in world gambling were able in a short time to take the lion’s share of the market and fall in love with players from around the world.
Evolution Gaming
The largest company, which wings include such providers as BTG, NetEnt, Red Tiger and Ezugi. It is known as probably the best developer of live games, which includes a variety of table and card games and several unique game shows.
Land-based casinos in Canada
The gambling industry in Canada is quite popular. According to some calculations, up to 20 million people play various types of gambling, which is about 50% of the country’s population. As a result, in addition to online casinos, there are a huge number (over 100) of different land-based casinos, more than 130 bingo clubs, over 20 racetracks and a considerable number of poker rooms. In the province of British Columbia itself, there are over 17 of them.
Among the variety of offline casinos in Canada, it is worth allocating 2 of the most popular facilities, this Niagara Fallsview Casino and Casino Niagara, located in Ontario. It is located next to the famous Niagara Falls.
The size of these casinos is impressive. For example, Niagara Casino has over 1,300 slot machines, 40 game tables and a poker room. On the other hand, Niagara Fallsview Casino is not only as good as its competitor but even better. It has more than 3,500 slot machines and more than 130 game tables. It also has a 372-room hotel and an entire theater with a huge seating capacity.
Lotteries and other gambling entertainment in Canada
As already mentioned, in addition to online casinos, different gambling games are legalized in the country. Various lotteries, bingo, card games (especially poker) and horse racing are extremely popular among them.
Let us focus on lotteries. Canada has a large number of lotteries of all kinds, and virtually every province has its own company that organizes these games. The biggest are 2 national lotteries: the Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Max.
From this pair, the leader is undoubtedly Lotto Max because it was able to break all records, paying out $70 million per ticket. And in total, it pays more than $100 million in prize money each year.
In addition to casinos, bingo games are also in high demand offline and online. Of the most popular sites for the fun of bingo are Bingo Billy and Bingo Cafe.
And of course, we should not forget about poker, which is entirely legal in the country, and, as a result, enjoy high popularity. You can play in various poker rooms located all over the country as well as in online poker rooms. Unlike casino winnings, poker can be considered a job. Therefore, regular winnings in it can be equated to earnings. As a consequence, they are taxed, but if several conditions are met:
You have some special skills (know how to play poker well).
There is regularity of payments.
You expect subsequent payouts.
Thus, taxes are levied on professional poker players and do not affect amateurs who play for fun.
Reliability and safety of online casinos in Canada
Since the gambling industry in Canada is quite well-developed, many local regulators control both online casinos in Canada and various companies providing bingo, lottery, and sports betting services.
In order to operate legally on the territory of this or that province, a casino must be registered either in an offshore zone or have a license from the local regulator. Consequently, the level of trust in those casinos with a provincial license is very high, and in case of a dispute, the player can always turn to the local regulator. Therefore, good online casinos will always meet the players from Canada and do not allow poor-quality software in their portfolio, since for non-compliance with the fair play, they can get heavy fines up to the prohibition of activities in the province.
Conclusion
To sum up, the gambling industry in Canada is extremely well-developed. Its main feature is almost complete legalization and transparency. This eliminates the difficulties in depositing/withdrawing funds and also exempts from taxes on winnings for amateurs.
Another important point is the great variability of deposit and withdrawal methods. There are no problems when depositing from a card or via bank transfer. And if you are a privacy fan, you can always use different e-wallets linked to your bank accounts, which will save you from having to enter data from your cards. And of course, there is always the option of depositing with cryptocurrencies, which are legal in Canada.
In addition to online casinos, the country also has a developed sports betting system and various lotteries. Since sport, especially hockey, is very popular in Canada.
Poker players also have their hands full. The country has a huge number of offline poker rooms, as well as famous international online services. You do not have to pay taxes on poker winnings if you are an amateur rather than a professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is online gambling legal in Canada?
Yes, online and offline gambling in Canada is entirely legal. There are local regulators for regulation who control fair play at different online casinos, betting shops and other services.
What are the ways of deposit and withdrawal for online casinos?
In Canada, there are plenty of ways to deposit or withdraw your winnings, including both bank wire transfers and different e-wallets linked to your bank accounts, as well as the option to use cryptocurrencies.
Is gambling regulated in Canada?
Almost every province in Canada has its regulator, which supervises the market players and compliance with local laws.
What kind of gambling entertainment is represented in Canada?
In addition to casinos of all kinds, there are bookmaker’s offices accepting sports bets, bingo services, international poker rooms, and various lotteries, including state lotteries.
Are there offline casinos in Canada?
Canada has many land-based casinos, which offer slot machines and a variety of table and card games.
