Best New Casinos in Canada: Top 10 Casino Websites 2023

New casinos in Canada

No law makes it illegal for online casinos to be licensed in Canada which applies to new casinos online too. However, no such licenses have been granted to any private casino online in Canada. Canada devolved the licensing and regulation of all forms of gambling to the provinces. And as of 2021, none of the provinces or territories has granted private entrepreneurs the license required to set up online casinos or new casino sites.

Interestingly, some provinces have set up their own online gambling portals which they run and manage. The revenue from these online gambling operations serves as an additional source of funding for provincial governments.

Despite this complicated state of affairs, Canada remains one of the most lucrative online gambling markets in the world. Most new casinos that serve the Canadian market are located offshore, a majority of these being registered in Europe and the UK. They explicitly target Canadian punters by adding support for Canadian dollars on their platforms and posting reviews from Canadian players.

New online casinos in Canada would offer players many advantages they wouldn’t get from established online gaming platforms. In a competitive industry, this can only be achieved by attracting players from other online casinos.

Best new Canadian online casinos offer:

Variety of generous bonuses, discounts, and promotional giveaways.
The latest new online casino games and superior graphics from trustworthy software providers.
Different payment and withdrawal methods that are preferred by players in the market.
Excellent customer support.

Located in North America's northern part, Canada is the world's second-largest country, after Russia, and is renowned for its natural beauty. It is also an economic powerhouse, ranked as the 10th largest economy in the world.

History of gambling in Canada

Understanding the history of gambling in Canada provides the context you’ll need to understand the current situation with online gambling.

Gambling in Canada in the early days

Recorded and oral history shows that First Nations communities wagered on games of chance way before European settlers set foot on the Canadian shore. This is the true genesis of gambling in Canada. But gambling as we know it can be traced back to the card and dice games that arrived with the European settlers.

As Canada was included in the British Empire, officially, all forms of gambling were banned at the turn of the 16th century. At this point in history, gambling was seen as a social vice that offers nothing meaningful to proper society. However, illegal gambling was popular in urban areas, and the ban was not enthusiastically enforced.

In 1892, Canada’s criminal code was amended to legalize some forms of gambling like bingo and lotteries. In 1910, further legal changes were made to allow for pari-mutuel gambling in horse racing where all players contributed to a pot that the winner took after the track deducts its fee.

By 1984, 1.64 billion Canadian Dollars was wagered at racetracks on an annual basis. In 1985, further changes legalized sports betting – but single-game wagers were still illegal. In 1989, Winnipeg was the site for Canada’s first casino. Montreal opened the doors to its own casino in 1993, and other provinces followed suit.

Gambling nowadays

The multi-billion-dollar gambling industry we see today can be credited to the 1970 law that devolved the licensing and regulation of gambling to provincial governments. They quickly saw the taxation of gambling revenue as a source of funding for their programs and projects.

At the turn of the 21st century, online gambling became a thing. Although provincial governments did not issue licenses to any new online casino in Canada, most Canadians chose to take their business to offshore platforms that operated within the legal ‘grey area’.

Future of new casinos in Canada

There has been a sustained push for a legal framework that explicitly legalizes and regulates new Canadian online casinos. The current legal status of online gambling is confusing. Offshore casinos can target Canadian players, and Canadian players are not legally banned from playing in these casinos. But it is not outrightly stated to be legal either. At present, it is a grey legal area.

As it is, hundreds of millions of Canadian Dollars go to these offshore gambling operations. Proponents for legalizing online gambling point out that Canada does not earn any taxes from the revenues generated by these offshore operators.

One major development has been the creation of iGaming Ontario in July 2021. The purpose of this board is to find private partners for the development of online gaming opportunities. This is the first step by any of the provinces towards awarding licenses to brand new casino sites. It is expected that by 2022, Ontario could have its first non-government online gambling site.

Another positive environment has been the legalization of single-game sports betting at the federal level. While this does not directly affect new online casinos, it shows that Canada is on the path to modernizing its outdated gambling legal framework. As a modern country, Canada virtually offers universal broadband coverage. Internet is not the problem either.

Are casinos legal in Canada?

Yes, casinos have been legal in Canada for a while. The 1970 law that granted provinces the authority to license and regulate gambling within their jurisdictions got rid of all the previous bans – except the ban on single-game wagering.

In fact, as of 2020, casino revenue was at an impressive 14 billion Canadian dollars. Almost all provinces and territories have laws legalizing casinos. The exception is Saskatchewan that offers no casino licenses and Yukon that only offers temporary casino licenses. At age 19, Canadians can legally gamble at any licensed casino.

When it comes to online casinos, none of the provinces has issued a license to a private operator. This does not mean that online gambling is illegal. The provinces that have online gambling sites operate them; they just don’t allow private operators to enter the market.

Canadian players’ favorite games

Canada has a famously diverse population. As such, almost all types of casino games have proven to be popular with Canadian players. These are the games you should expect to find on a new Canadian online casino.

Table games

In online casinos, table games are the digital versions of the card and dice games that you would find at a land-based casino. These are available at most new online casinos in Canada. Table games that are popular with Canadians are:

Blackjack
Craps
Roulette
Poker, with Texas Hold’em poker being particularly popular among Canadians

Live dealer games

Thanks to the availability of high-speed internet, live dealer games are increasingly becoming popular with new Canadian casinos online. A live dealer is an actual human dealer who streams the game in real-time. This has been popular with players who feel more comfortable with the game’s fairness when a human dealer is involved and not just a digital randomizing system. It also gives the game a more human touch. Live dealers usually offer to play popular table games like baccarat, blackjack, poker, and roulette at new Canadian casinos.

Sports betting

Online sports betting is huge in Canada. Canada has teams participating in the American MLS (soccer), NBA (basketball), NHL (Hockey), and MLB (baseball) leagues. While there is no Canadian team in the NFL (football) league, the Canadian CFL league is also popular with sports betting. Hockey is Canada’s most popular sport, by far, and as such, it is the most popular for sports betting.

With single-game wagering finally becoming legal in Canada, sports betting is expected to become even more popular in 2021 and beyond.

Slots

Slots are the most popular games on most online gambling platforms. Canadians enjoy slots because they are purely a game of chance. There is no particular skill or experience that gives you a significant edge. Online slots at new casinos also provide players with attractive visuals.

Popular new casino bonuses in Canada

Canada is a lucrative online gambling market. As such, new casinos have to be generous with the bonuses they offer players. These are the types of new casino bonuses you should expect to find at a new casino.

Welcome bonus

This is, without a doubt, the most important bonus for new casinos. Welcome bonuses are given to new players to encourage them to register as a member at a new online casino. Most welcome bonuses will match your initial deposit (up to a certain limit) or provide you with free spins to try out the slot games. These bonuses only apply to new members, not existing ones.

Deposit bonus

While most deposit bonuses are given as part of the welcome bonus package, new casinos will often extend them to existing members as well. This is to encourage them to keep playing with the platform.

Free spins

Free spins bonuses at new casinos online give players an opportunity to try out a casino’s slot games without wagering their own cash. As with the deposit bonus, they are usually provided as a part of the welcome bonus package. This doesn’t mean that new casinos never offer free spins to existing players, especially when they introduce a new slot game to their platform.

No deposit bonus

This is a rare bonus that players probably only get from a newly established casino. A new online casino Canada no deposit bonus usually comes in the form of free cash that a user has to wager a few times before they can withdraw any winnings.

Loyalty and referral bonuses

A loyalty bonus is given to long-standing members to reward them for their loyalty to the brand. New casinos use these to retain their members. Referral bonuses are given to members who encourage others to register and play with a casino. They will usually get a free cash boost to their account with every new member they refer.

Casino payment methods in Canada

Canadian players are lucky because most of the popular and most reputable payment services work in the country. This ensures that their casino experience is safe and that they get fast payout times when withdrawing winnings. What follows are the payment methods that are popular at new Canadian online casinos.

Credit and Debit cards

Every reputable new online casino usually supports major cards as a deposit and withdrawal option. Canadians can use all the popular card companies including Visa, MasterCard, and Maestro as an online casino payment method.

Online wallets

If you are uncomfortable sharing your credit card info with a new casino, then online wallets are a perfect solution for you. Players can load their wallet account with finds from their credit/debit card or even through a direct bank transfer. This allows to transact online without sharing any card/banking info with the provider.

Popular online wallets in Canada include:

Cryptocurrency

If gamers would want to keep their transactions anonymous, then they can find a new online casino that accepts Bitcoin payments. With cryptocurrencies becoming a mainstream payment method, many reputable casinos support Bitcoin payments.

Languages at Canadian new casinos

Canada has two official languages: English and French. Therefore, most casinos that cater to Canadian players will usually offer their services in these two languages. With many of them being offshore and serving a global clientele, they will also support other global languages such as Spanish, German, and Mandarin.

How we select the top new Canadian casinos

With so many options to choose from, we are very thorough in the review process to select the best new online casinos in Canada. We prioritize a positive user experience and a safe gambling environment during the review. It is especially important to ensure that these new casinos have their licensing details in order. Here are some of the factors that we always focus on.

Safety & security

It is important to ensure that these new casinos provide a safe platform that protects their user’s money and personal details. This requires them to have robust anti-fraud systems in place. It is also important to ascertain that they provide a fair gambling environment for all users and that they support secure deposit and withdrawal methods.

Language & software

Canada’s official languages are English and French and the providers we reviewed support these. They also source their games from reputable and reliable software providers.

Customer support

New casinos have to offer customer support that is responsive, knowledgeable, and helpful. It is also important to consider whether providers have a 24/7 live chat feature.

Top-rated New gambling sites in Canada