ASome gambling commissions (who ensure gambling sites are operating legally) have rules stating that gambling sites cannot accept players from a specific country unless they’re licensed to operate there.
Take PokerStars, for example. They operated in Australia using a loophole in the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. However, Australia passed a new law and the ACMA threatened to tattle on PokerStars’ to gambling commissions.
One of those commissions was the New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement. They threatened to pull PokerStars’ New Jersey license if they didn’t cease operations in Australia.
That’d have severe financial repercussions, so PokerStars stopped operating in Australia. Long story short, it’s the same idea for gambling sites in Canada.
Online Gambling in Canada
Joining a Canadian online gambling site has its benefits. You can play Microgaming’s Games of Thrones slot or bet on the CFL. You can even play the Sunday Million poker tournament for your piece of the $1 million guaranteed prize pool.
But none of these benefits mean much if you don’t join a safe online gambling site, which is why we recommend the best Canadian gambling sites right here.
| Rank | VA Gambling Site | Exclusive Bonus | Products | Get Started | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 |
|
Bonus Up To $1100 |
|
Visit Site | Betway |
| #2 |
|
100% Up To $200 |
|
Visit Site | Bodog |
| #3 |
|
100% Up To C$1,200 |
|
Visit Site | Royal Vegas |
| #4 |
|
100% Up To $1,500 |
|
Visit Site | PlayAmo Casino |
| #5 |
|
100% Up To C$1,600 |
|
Visit Site | Jackpot City Casino |
There are plenty of options for real money online gambling in Canada. Although, not all of these options are worth your time and money. It’s possible to waste quite a lot of that time and money trying to discover the best sites for gambling online.
As you’re here, you don’t need to worry about that. We’ve recommended the best online gambling sites for Canada so you can get started with a trusted and reputable site right away. You can sign up at any of our recommendations and be assured of a positive experience.
Want some more guidance on online gambling from Canada first? Or want to know how we separate the best real money gambling sites from the others? The,n read on, as we have you covered.
Best Canadian Gambling Sites
Ranking the Top Real Money Gambling Sites for Canada
We get it, you’re skeptical — especially online — and you have every reason to be. The internet is still the Wild West. Fly by night gambling operators exist, preying on gamblers like you with their stolen games, rogue terms, and criminal intent.
That’s why we exist. We do the research to weed out the bad actors so that readers like you have a fighting chance.
But why should you listen to us, and how do you know you can trust our recommendations? That’s a fair question.
Instead of saying you should simply trust us, we think a better approach is to show you how we come up with our list of the best Canadian gambling sites.
Our Priorities
We conduct an intensive review of every online gambling site we recommend. This task requires a lot of time and resources.
It’s worthwhile, though. This is where we sift through the dirt to uncover each site’s strengths and weaknesses.
There are many things we look for, but the following shortlist takes top priority.
- Gambling License
- Every gambling website we recommend must have a license. This tells us they applied, paid their dues, and that a gambling commission vetted them.
- Reputation
- We do extensive research to learn how the operator treats their customers. We don’t recommend gambling sites that lie, cheat, or steal.
- Terms and Conditions
- We inspect the terms and conditions under a microscope to ensure the house rules are fair.
We don’t compromise on these priorities and neither should you.
Secondary Priorities
A license, stellar reputation, and reasonable house rules are a good place to start, but they’re not enough. A real money gambling site can still suck if they drop the ball in any of the following areas.
- Games
- We note the games you can play, betting limits, and features.
- Software
- Gambling has a major impact on your experience. It affects the games you can play, features, graphics, and whether you can gamble from your mobile phone.
- Banking
- We double-check to ensure the site accepts a variety of banking methods. Deposit and withdrawal limits are also important, as well as how fast they process cashouts. Gambling sites get extra credit if they allow you to deposit and play in CAD.
- Promotions
- We like to recommend online gambling sites that offer a variety of promotions for each gambling product. This includes offers like deposit bonuses, free spins and bets, and rebates for the casino, sportsbook, and poker room.
We take all the information we find and write up a detailed review. You’ll find everything you need to know about a Canada gambling site to determine if they’re a good fit for you.
One quick note about these priorities before moving on… There’s more forgiveness for these qualities because “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Meaning, every gambler has a different idea of what the perfect gambling site looks like.
As far as we’re concerned, so long as a site is safe and offers a ton of betting options, banking methods, and promotions, they’re worth recommending.
Compiling our Rankings
Our next step is to choose which sites we want to recommend. This is on a category-by-category basis so that we only suggest relevant sites.
For example, we recommend only the best online gambling sites for Canadians on this page. We collect the best matches, order them from best to worst, then list the top-rated choices on our Canada-themed pages. That’s our process.
As you can see, we spend a significant amount of time and resources to find the best Canadian online gambling sites. We do this so that you don’t have to.
Start Playing at Canada’s Best Gambling Sites
Gambling online isn’t difficult. But if you haven’t done it before, then you don’t know what you don’t know.
You might have no idea where to start first. But that’s okay, everyone starts at square one.
We’re going to get you up to speed. The following are the steps you’re going to take to start gambling online today.
- Choose a site. Start with our recommendations. You can also choose a site from more than a dozen other categories.
- Create an account. Find the “create account” or “sign up” button. Fill out the form with your name, email, address, phone number, etc. Then, check your email to confirm your account.
- Make a deposit. Go to the cashier and choose the banking method you want to use. Then, follow the instructions. Hit submit and wait. Your money should be ready within minutes.
- Play/bet. Decide if you want to gamble from your phone or laptop. Choose a game to play or bet on.
This is as simple as it gets. You can start playing your favorite slot or poker game, or betting on your favorite sport, in the next few minutes if you act now.
Now, there are other things you should learn if you’re new and want a seamless gambling experience. Start with the following articles.
- Gambling Promotions
- Discover the promotions online gambling sites offer, how they work, and why it’s crucial you read the terms and conditions before you claim one.
- Gambling Safety
- Learn how to stay safe from hackers and scam artists when you gamble online.
- Online Gambling FAQ
- Read our answers to the most common questions we receive about real money gambling online in Canada and around the world.
- Beginner Tips
- Learn from our massive list of gambling tips for beginners.
Read each guide and you’ll achieve pro Canadian gambler status before you know it!
Why Gambling Online in Canada Makes Sense
The following are a few perks you can enjoy if you choose to gamble online in Canada.
- Convenience
- Bet on your favorite games from wherever you are so long as you have internet access. This includes your couch, car, doctor’s office, bathroom, etc.
- Mobile
- You’re not limited to gambling from home or the casino. You can gamble from just about anywhere in the world.
- Lower Costs
- Try playing blackjack for $1 or Texas Hold’em for $0.01/$0.02 in your local casino. It won’t happen. But you can online.
- Variety
- Offline casinos have a limited selection of games and machines. There’s only so much they can fit inside a building. This isn’t a challenge online gambling sites face, though, which is why they can offer hundreds if not thousands of games and machines.
- Promotions
- Brick and mortar casinos offer deals too, but nothing like online gambling sites do. Gambling sites offer deals such as deposit and reload bonuses, free bets, rebates, and more.
Online gambling in Canada makes sense. And this isn’t even all the benefits Canadians get to enjoy. There are others.
For example, you can bet on the most popular sports in Canada. That includes ice hockey, the Canadian Football League, the NFL, soccer, and baseball. You can bet on these games online while watching them in real time.
This is key. Someone in Timbuktu might be a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. They can bet on their games, sure, but how often can they watch a game in person?
Canadian gambling sites also use excellent software that sites in some other countries don’t. For example, you can play casino and poker games from Microgaming, Quickspin, Evolution Gaming, and Playtech.
Online gamblers in the United States can’t say the same.
And if you ever want to take a break from online gambling, there are several local casinos you can check out. For example, Casino Niagara, St. Eugene Golf Resorts Casino, and River Rock Casino Resort.
The bottom line is that there are many reasons why Canadians should gamble online and few reasons not to.
Canada’s Online Gambling Laws and Regulations
Is online gambling legal in Canada? Yes …and no.
Online gambling is a gray area. Canadian gambling law doesn’t prohibit gambling on the internet so long as the operator or service provider has a license. That’s on the federal level.
But every province or territory also sets their own gambling laws. The result is that one form of gambling might be legal in one area while illegal in another.
For example, online poker is illegal in Quebec and New Brunswick, but it’s legal in Manitoba, British Columbia, and Alberta.
And online betting is illegal in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, but it’s legal in Manitoba, Alberta, and Quebec. So, it depends.
Make sure you pay attention to the minimum gambling age where you play, too. This also varies from one area to the next.
And what about offshore gambling sites? Well, it’s not entirely clear. We’ve come across a couple of cases where Canadians authorities determined that an operator was running illegally. It’s hardly precedent, though.
What’s clear to us is that there’s nothing for Canadian gamblers to worry about. Join one of our recommended online gambling sites for Canadians and there’s little risk of SWAT kicking your door down.
“As far as I’m concerned, you as a player aren’t committing any criminal offence by being in a position where you are engaged with an offshore operator playing poker, playing slots, or whatever the case may be.”
Canada Online Gambling FAQs
Additional Canadian Gambling Sites
The top Canadian gambling sites we recommend on this page offer multiple types of gambling such as casino games, sports betting, esports, horse racing betting, poker, bingo, and more.
These sites are great, but sometimes they’re not the best option for every type of gambling they offer.
That’s why we have the following pages where we recommend online gambling sites for Canadian gamblers wanting to play or bet on something more specific.