The Best Online Casinos in Canada: We Tried, We Tested and We Reviewed

With so many online casinos out there to choose from, it can be somewhat daunting to choose ones at which to play. It goes without saying, however, that any online destination at which you choose to transact with real money, should be licensed and registered. Depending on where the online casino is based, this can be different, but some of the bigger names include the Malta Gaming Authority, the UK Gambling Commission and Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

External Testing

It also helps to know that an online casino is regularly tested for fairness by an external body, with eCOGRA being a very popular example. More often than not, an online casino will display its various seals of approval and certification by means of logos at the bottom of their homepage.

Safety and Security

While the safety and security of an online casino is closely related to its licensing and regulation, as mentioned above, it is also important to take note of any additional security measures it may employ. When conducting an online casino review, we make a point of ascertaining what protocols are in place to protect players’ personal and/or financial information.

As a general rule, we look out for online casinos that make use of SSL (Secure Socket Level) digital encryption software that ensures that all details disclosed by a player get encoded – thereby preventing any data or sensitive information from being leaked.

Responsible Gambling Tools

When we review online casinos in Canada, we like to focus on those that have responsible gambling tools in place, including self-exclusion and cooling off periods. While gambling online can be an exceptionally entertaining experience, there is always a chance that some players may spend beyond their means, and our experts endeavour to only recommend destinations that make it easy enough for anybody to take a break whenever they want or need to – and for however long they may want or need to.

Customer Support

Back in the day, if you needed some help with your casino account, the only ways to get in touch were via phone and email. Nowadays, Live Chat is the norm, and when writing online casino reviews for Canada, we pay attention to whether or not this is available.

An online casino that is easy to navigate, and which has a user-friendly design, is always a plus. But, there can be no substitute for a customer care service with human beings at the helm, preferably 24/7. Considering French is widely spoken in Canada, having a multilingual customer service is a perk.

Banking and Payments

Our reviewers make a point of highlighting those online casinos in Canada that support a wide range of different payment methods, including credit and debit cards, bank transfers, web wallets and, most recently, cryptocurrencies.

The latter has seen a massive surge in popularity, and more casinos are opening their doors to the idea of transacting in virtual currencies. Below are some popular banking options at online casinos in Canada.

When choosing an online casino, pay attention to the banking policies they may have. As a rule, trusted casinos will require you to submit KYC documents in the event of a withdrawal. It may seem like admin – but we see it as extra proof that the casino does its due diligence and operates above board.

Mobile Compatibility and User Experience

Given that we are living in the digital age, it makes sense that most of what we used to do on a computer, we now do on our mobile phones – and the same can be said of gaming and gambling. When we conduct online casino reviews, we pay stark attention to the mobile compatibility thereof – as well as how easy it is to navigate.

Thankfully, most online casinos optimise their software in such a way as to run perfectly well on smaller screens, with no compromise in gameplay or quality, bypassing the need to develop a downloadable app.

Bonuses and Promotions

Almost all online casinos we review will at the very least offer new players something of a welcome bonus upon the successful creation of a new account. This could be anything from a match percentage up to a certain value, a collection of free spins on a selected game, or a combination of both.

While some players will happily forfeit any bonuses and instead choose to play with their own money, we still consider bonuses and promotions to be an important aspect of an online casino, especially if they’re offered regularly.

Gaming Variety

Saving the best for last, of course! When writing reviews, our experts note that the best casinos will offer players a good variety of different casino game types, including:

• online slots (both 3-reel and 5-reel)
• progressive jackpot slots
• blackjack
• poker
• roulette
• sic bo
• craps
• bingo
• live dealer games
• sports betting

Sure, some players may stick to a handful of their favourites, but it helps to have options in any case, and the best online casinos out there will be home not only to a number of different games, but will also support a range of software providers.