REAL MONEY ONLINE CASINOS IN CANADA

A real money casino is one at which you can gamble with your own money to win real cash prizes. They require every player to have a verified account which can be credited with funds through a variety of payment services. Every cent wagered on a game is deducted directly and instantaneously from the player account. And every cent won is credited instantaneously to the player account.

Every game at the casinos listed on our site is available in real money mode, including blackjack, roulette, baccarat, craps, video poker, online slots and jackpot slots. Prizes range from just a few cents to millions of dollars.

When you join an online casino then you will see that almost all the games have a demo or free play mode as well as ‘play for real’.

WHAT IS FREE PLAY MODE FOR?

The free play mode allows you to test your strategies in skill-based casino games like blackjack or baccarat without risking your own money. With chance-based games like online slots you can use free play mode to start to understand how each feature works as well as getting a feel for the payout rate and variance of the game. It’s gambling … with the pressure off!

Just keep in mind that in free play mode you can’t win any real cash prizes and some of the best features of games like slots will not be accessible.

WHAT ADVANTAGES ARE THERE IN PLAYING FOR REAL?

Aside from the obvious advantage that you can win real money in real play mode, you will also have access to a greater selection of games. For example, live dealer tables are never available in free mode. Casino operators do not consider it worth paying for the cost of a croupier at tables which they don’t make money from. Of course, you can sit back and watch the action at no cost to yourself, but to take a seat at the table you will need to be ready to play for real.

In real play mode you will also be able to play for progressive jackpot slot prizes like Microgaming’s Mega Moolah with its multi-million prizes. This feature is not available as part of the free version.

Our editorial team at The Casino Heat have put Canadian real money casinos under the microscope and here we bring you our selection of the best. We only review sites that we consider to be safe and legitimate. These are the criteria we use to rate each one.

Wherever in Canada you are we can help you to find a casino that you can trust. That means cashiers that are secure and safe, bonuses that are good value and easy to follow, and games that are fair with totally random outcomes in each roll of the dice, turn of the card and spin of the reels. All the casino sites published on The Casino Heat have been licensed in respected jurisdictions and their games and platforms have been audited by 3^rd parties like eCorga. What does this mean for you? It means that you can enjoy your gaming with peace of mind.

Trusted real money casinos are:

• Licensed
• Legal
• Tested and audited for fairness
• Secure
• Safe

Here are five casinos that deliver a gambling experience that you can trust. Each one is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). You can read more about the experience each site offers by clicking their ‘Read Review’ links.

Gambling for real money is a thrill for sure. But it’s not for everyone. To create a clear picture, here are the Pros and Cons of wagering with your own dollars.

Chance to win big – the reason we want to gamble with real money is to win the big prizes and there is no shortage of those online. Games like Mega Moolah progressive jackpot from Microgaming offer multi-million dollar payouts.
Massive online game selection – there are literally thousands of online slots to choose from with a huge variety of themes, maths models and payouts. Equally, live casinos games offer a wider range of formats than offline.
Free money offers – every casino will give away free spins and match bonuses to entice you to sign up. You can get some great value deals to test your luck for free if you shop around.
Safe and secure – Provided you play at licensed gambling sites, your financial transactions will be secure and the games you play will have been audited for fairness so you are in safe hands.
Play in comfort – You don’t have to go out to play casino games online – you can log in and play from home without any distractions.
Bespoke experience for you – there are lots of ways to enjoy playing online from the choice of game to the payment services and your wagering levels. You can tailor your gambling the way you like it.

Not sociable – Of course, gambling online is not as sociable at heading to your local casino or racetrack to bet. Unless you play live games you won’t get any interaction with other players or the dealers.
Easy to spend too much – It’s important to be careful not to gamble too much. You can spend $1,000s on slot games in just minutes. Keep responsible gambling in mind at all times.
Strict terms – There are a lot of free money offers out there but they all come with strict terms that will limit how much you can win and how much you can withdraw. So always check the conditions before you deposit.
Rogue casinos – Look out for rogue casinos that are not licensed. They are not to be trusted. We do not list those sites on The Casino Heat but they are out there!
Slow withdrawals – Always be mindful of the fact that some casinos and payment service providers will be slower than others to process your withdrawals. Use our list of fast withdrawal casinos to avoid unnecessary delays.

Slot machines are the biggest draw at both land-based casinos and the online casinos we review on our site. They are simple and easy to play and offer huge potential wins. You can read our comprehensive guide to online slots in Canada and choose a recommended slots casinos there. For now, here is some more information about the different types of slot you can find at real money casinos.

Online slots are the most popular games at any casino, online or offline. These are the fixed-odds gambling machines where wins are triggered by matching identical symbols across pre-defined paylines. We all know and love these games. They come in a huge range of styles and stake levels and some are even free to play.

The most common type of online slot game is the video slot. These are multi-line games with a dazzling range of themes and pay models. You can play 1c Egyptian-themed slots with low variance and small jackpots, or $10 high variance games with thrilling gameplay and top prizes of $100,000s. These all offer a simple, fun, and quickfire gambling experience. There are even video slots for free. Be sure to check out our real money slots page to find out more.

For jackpot-chasers the Progressive Jackpot slots offer the best opportunities for big, big wins. The most popular progressives are games like Mega Moolah by Microgaming which has regularly paid out multi-million dollar prizes. From every dollar staked on these games a small percentage is added to the progressive jackpot pool. The odds of winning are incredibly small but the pay-off can be huge!

Classic real money online slot games with just 3 reels are still very popular at casinos in Canada. These games will usually have an old-skool fruit machine feel, with traditional symbols like lemons, melons, lucky 7s and bars. Whilst they do not share the complexity and sophistication of the latest video slots, 3-reel games are still great fun and top game developers like Play n Go are creating new ones like Sticky Joker all the time.

Everyone has their own favourite slots. Some love the big jackpots, or high variance mayhem. Others like the kind of slow-paced, casual spins that you get with low volatility slots like Starburst. There are some games that have become timeless classics that we all know and love and here we have picked our top 10 of all time.

If you want to know more about the latest trusted real money slot games you can read our slot game reviews here.

Here are 10 of the best online slots that we recommend for you to try at any of the casinos listed on this page. You can play them for free or for real. Just click the site links next to each game to get started.

Every casino recommended by our team features a wide range of video slots but here is our top 5 based on game selection, bonuses, payouts and reputation.

The live dealer experience is the biggest revolution in online gambling of the last decade. Advances in technology and connectivity mean that casino players in Canada can now play at tables hosted by live dealers across the world. These are the most popular games.

Blackjack is perhaps the simplest of all the card games that you can play at online casinos. The objective is to get closer to a score of 21 than the dealer, starting with two cards. Basic Blackjack is available in both RNG and live dealer games. In the latter of the two types there are also many bespoke formats developed by game studios like Evolution Gaming. Blackjack formats like Ultimate Blackjack and Immersive Blackjack provide a clever twist on the original.

Baccarat is a French card game in which players bet on which hand will win, the player’s or the bankers. There is also the option to bet on a tie. Baccarat is particularly popular in Asian casinos and also in the live casinos tables at Canadian online sites. Various bespoke formats have been introduced, including Baccarat Squeeze in which the tension is cranked up but a slow reveal of each new card by the croupier.

The popularity of live casino has led to much investment into creating new and unique game formats that only appear online. The most popular of these come from Evolution Gaming who have captured the attention with some TV Gameshow-style games like Dream Catcher and Crazy Time. Typically these games are hosted by a charismatic croupier and offer plenty of drama and lots of betting options.

Roulette is the most iconic of all casino games and another that is really easy to play. There are many bet options from simple red or black to individual numbers or groups of numbers. Live dealer has taken Roulette in different directions with bespoke formats like Lightning Roulette and Immersive Roulette. High rollers can even enjoy exclusive tables with just themselves and the dealer thanks to the Salon Prive experience created by Evolution Gaming.

Sic Bo is an gambling game with Oriental origins and very popular in Macau casinos. It is also available at the live dealer tables streamed by Evolution Gaming and hosted at many real money Canadian casinos online. It’s a dice game in which the dealer puts three dice in a small container which is then shaken before being opened to reveal the combination of numbers. There are many betting options in this simple game.

If you are looking for the best Live Dealer tables then our recommendation is that you sign up with one of the five in this list – they all offer the full range of Evolution Gaming tables and generous welcome offers.

To maximise your chances of getting the best wins from the money you stake you need to look for the highest paying online casino. All trusted casinos will advertise the payout rates of each of their games, and sometimes the average of all the games put together. This is sometimes referred to as the Return to Player or RTP. Casino games normally have an RTP of around 95% to 99% and a casino will normally have an average payout of around 97%. That means for every $100 you wager, around $97 will be paid back out in prizes.  Of course, it’s important to remember that this is an average over time – you will sometimes win back a lot more, and sometimes a lot less. But it’s a good measure of how generous a game, and an operator, may be.

You may be asking ‘can we trust these numbers?’ The answer to that question is yes – as long as you are playing at legal casinos like the ones on our pages then you can trust their published payout figures. That is because these numbers will have been produced in rigorous auditing carried out by third parties organisations like eCorga. No casino operator can successfully apply for a license from one of the trusted jurisdiction like Kahnawake without auditing like this. And the same is true for the developers who supply their games.

Currently the casino with the best payout in Canada is Jackpot City whose RTP is 97.7%. The games with the highest RTP are traditionally Blackjack (99%) and Baccarat (98.5%).

Here are 5 casino slots with the highest payouts:

• Mega Joker by NetEnt – 99%
• 1426 Unchartered Seas by Thunderkick – 98.6%
• Bloodsuckers by NetEnt – 98%
• Bob the Viking by NetEnt – 98%
• Wolfpack Pays by NextGen – 97.76%

VARIANCE OR VOLATILITY 

To get a complete picture of the likely payouts from a casino game you need to know the variance as well as the RTP. Whilst RTP gives you an overall picture of how much a game will pay out, variance tells you how the wins will be distributed. A high variance game will give an uneven distribution of wins, with high value at irregular intervals. A low variance game gives a more even distribution of wins, with lower value payouts at more regular intervals.

The variance factor is most applicable to online slots. High variance games are also high risk because the odds of winning on each spin are smaller, but with greater potential value. For this reason, high variance slots are particularly favoured by serious gamblers who enjoy the thrill of chasing down the big wins.

Whatever your risk preference, remember that variance and RTP are just indicators of how a game is likely to behave. Any win can happen at any time, so don’t rely on the payout statistics entirely.

HOUSE EDGE AND PAYOUT RATES

You will also have heard of the term ‘house edge’. It is another indicator of the payout rate of a casino game. House edge is the inverse of RTP and can be arrived at by subtracting the RTP figure from 100. For example, a game with a 95% RTP has a 5% house edge.

When looking for games with a favourable house edge it is advisable to try table games like Blackjack. In some versions of Blackjack, when played with the correct strategy, the house edge can be shaved down to just 0.05% which gives a high chance of finishing your session with a positive balance. Some video poker formats also run with a lower than 1% house edge.

As a hint, never assume that the house edge will be the same in the same game from one casino to the next. Always check the game info screen to be sure before betting.

There are many different ways to deposit and withdraw from your online casino account. The casinos we review here will offer a wide range of payment services to make sure they can cover every players preference. This includes debit and credit cards, eWallets, transfer services, prepaid cards, SMS payments and cryptocurrencies. Each has its advantages but generally speaking you want a service that is quick and easy to use and above all, secure.

The good news is that all payment gateways are now very safe thanks to highly sophisticated security protocols. The speed of service however, varies from one payment option to the next. Here are six of the most popular options for players in Canada right now.

If you spend big money gambling online then you may be invited to join the VIP club at one of the casinos you play at. High rollers are given special treatment at Canadian online casinos in the same way that they are in land-based casinos. The kind of VIP casino rewards that you can expect at these sites include exclusive bonuses, faster withdrawals, birthday and Christmas gifts, personal account management and invitations to big sporting events and concerts with hospitality service. At online casinos, VIP also extends to access to Salon Prive tables in the live casino area too.

The best VIP online casinos in Canada are those from the Rewards Group who have built a reputation for first class customer service and big brands like 888 who have been in the business for years. Remember that VIP clubs are only open to players who spend a lot of money and you will need to be depositing $10,000 or more at most casinos each month to qualify.

You can read more on about how to find the best sites for high spending players on our VIP casinos page.