Best Canadian Casinos Online
Although the majority of online casinos accept Canadian players, not all are worth playing. This page lists the top five Canadian online casinos based on player reviews. All of the casinos you see here will accept deposits, withdrawals and bets in Canadian dollar (CDN). All of them have been operating since early 2003 and have an impeccable reputation for security, fast payouts and great customer service.
An advantage to choosing a Canadian / Canada online casino over say Casino Rama, River Rock or Moncton is that you can play for free as well as real money. There are no restrictions in that regard. The only games you won’t be able to access are the real money slot tournaments and progressive slots.
Below are the top online casinos for Canada / Canadian players (Casinos accepting CDN $)
| Rank | Casino | Sign Up Bonus | Visit Site | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 |  |
888 Casino | up to $/€/£888 | Play Now! | |
| #2 |  |
Spin Palace Casino | up to $/€/£1000 | Play Now! | |
| #3 |  |
Ruby Fortune Casino | up to $/€/£750 | Play Now! | |
| #4 |  |
Casino.com | Up to $/€/£400 | Play Now! |
6 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Canadian Online Casinos
Canada is arguably the greatest country on earth. We’ve got poutine, winter, and best of all, we’re not the United States. That means we can gamble freely and without hassle at any of the Canadian casinos online.
With such freedom, of course, comes great responsibility. How do we know which Canadian casinos are worth playing at? We’ve got tons of options, so how do we separate the good from the bad?
It’s not so hard, you’ve just got to know what to look for. In the spirit of showing you what to look for, I’ve written this article. Below, you’ll find 6 critical facts about Canadian online casinos you probably didn’t know. I hope that once you’re armed with these 6 facts, you’ll be better able to choose the best Canadian casino for you.
1. Forget Fallsview Casino – every game you’ll find at a land-based casino is available online.
Sure, the occasional trip to Niagara or Edgewater can be fun. But let’s face it: land-based casinos are a pain. Travelling is a chore and of questionable worth, especially when you consider you’ll be stuck in a room full of smelly gamblers for hours. Why not stay home and just gamble at a Canadian online casino instead?
“Well, aren’t there more games at a land-based casino” you may ask. A valid concern, it’s true. But the thing is most real money casinos for Canadians have more games than any land-based casino in Canada. So many more, in fact, that online casinos put even the best brick-and-mortar gambling halls to shame!
Every real money Canadian casino spreads all the classic table games: roulette, blackjack, craps, baccarat, etc. Most Canadian casinos spread a few different varieties of each game, too. For example you can play either American roulette (two zeroes, worse odds) or European roulette (one zero, better odds) at most Canadian casinos. The choice is yours, and you won’t get these options at a land-based casino!
Online casinos for Canadians also offer thousands of machine games – way more than a land casino could possibly fit on the floor. If slot machines are your thing, you’ll be able to choose from hundreds of varieties no matter where you sign up. Same deal with video poker games.
In short, online casinos offer all the games you’d find at a land-based casino – plus way more. There’s no real reason to leave your house – Canadian online gambling sites are your best bet for a night or two of entertainment.
2.Online gambling is not illegal in Canada.
Some people say that online gambling is a crime in Canada. These people are wrong. So wrong, in fact, that I advocate actively laughing at them. Because it takes a special kind of ignorance to claim that something is illegal when there’s no law on the books that says so.
It is probably illegal for you to operate a gambling site that serves Canadians. Meaning, if you own a business that allows Canadian citizens to gamble, you could be prosecuted for it. However no company has been prosecuted for such a crime, and some experts estimate that over 2,000 offshore companies currently operate Canadian online casinos.
Let’s not forget, we live in the true north strong and free. And that means we’re free to gamble from the comfort of our own homes without being hassled by our government.
*Disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer, and this is not to be taken as legal advice. If you seek legal advice, turn off the internet immediately and talk to someone who passed the bar exam.
3 .You won’t pay any tax on your Canadian casino winnings.
Gambling winnings aren’t taxed in Canada for Canadian citizens. That means you could win $1,000,000 at a Canadian online casino, and theoretically keep all of it. That’s awesome, considering that in the US you’d pay a 30% tax on top of regular income tax. I’d say we do things better up here for sure.
There is one important caveat: you might be taxed on gambling winnings if you consider them your “regular, steady income”. Most gamblers don’t need to worry about this, but some – notably professional poker players – do. But if you’re not making a living gambling, then any of your Canadian online casino winnings are yours to keep in full.
*Disclaimer: I’m not an accountant, and this isn’t to be considered financial advice. If you’d like financial advice, turn off your computer and speak to a CA.
4. Most Canadian casinos will let you play in Canadian dollars.
Online casinos used to force us to deposit in US dollars. That’s no longer the case – most Canadian casinos will let you fund your account in CDN. Not only that, you can play in CDN at some casinos, too.
Why does this matter? Because every time you make a charge in USD to your CDN credit card or funding source, you incur currency conversion fees. On some cards, this fee can range from dollars to hundreds of dollars, depending on your policy. By setting up an account in CDN at a Canadian online casino, you avoid all fees associated with foreign exchange. That saves you money in the long run.
5. Canadian casinos have a huge variety of payment options.
If you’re worried about funding a real money Canadian casino account, don’t. There are plenty of ways to move cash from your wallet to an online cashier. All of these options are safe, secure, and usually pretty speedy as well.
For one, you could try your credit card. Most Canadian casinos accept Visa, Amex, and Diner’s Club. Note that most Canadian MasterCards won’t work at online casinos.
You could also use an online debit service. The most popular is INSTADEBIT. INSTADEBIT is a very legitimate Canadian company with offices on King Street in Toronto. How it works is you link up a chequing account to your INSTADEBIT wallet, and transfer money back and forth. You can make payments to and receive payments from gambling sites with your INSTADEBIT account. This is by far the best way to pay and get paid, in my opinion, as a Canadian.
Alternatively, you can use an e-wallet service like Moneybookers/Skrill. If none of the above options works for you, it’s even possible to pay via a cash transfer service (think WU). You’ll have to contact a Canadian casino’s support staff for further instructions on how to do this.
6. You can bet with either real cash or fake chips at most Canadian casinos.
If you want to gamble online but aren’t sure if you want to risk real money, no worries – almost every Canadian casino features play money tables right alongside its real money games. That means you can try before you buy without risking a dime.
