Ontario Online Casinos
When Ontario online gambling launched on April 4 in the province, 14 new online casinos entered the market. BetMGM, theScore Bet, PointsBet, BetRivers, Caesars, and many other casino sites are among the available choices in Ontario for playing online slots, table games, video poker and live dealer games.
While a handful of regulated online casinos launched on day one, more iGaming brands continue to follow. Ontario’s online gambling enthusiasts have almost unlimited choice when it comes to choosing where to play.
Check out our selection of the best online casinos in Ontario and stay on top of new gambling sites and offers as new operators launch.
Best Ontario online casino apps in 2022
This week in Ontario online casinos
Updated: May 26, 2022
More than one month after the launch of private online casinos in Ontario, still more to are on their way.
Ontario residents and visitors now have access to multiple legal online casinos with the addition of BetMGM, BetRivers, TheScore, Unibet and others. iGaming Ontario approved 14 online casino apps that went live on day one. With NorthStar Bets and DraftKings’ recent appearance, 18 operators and 24 active sites are now in the province. Still, more are expected to follow. We’ll keep you posted on those details here.
The new apps come well equipped with games. BetMGM, for instance, hosts more than 30 live dealer games at launch, more than you see at even mature markets in the US. There was also $1.3 million in jackpots available at the four most popular progressive online slots.
Skeptical of online casinos? Here’s how to choose one!
Latest Ontario casino news
Are online casinos legal in Ontario?
Yes, online casinos are legal in Ontario. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.’s online casino is legal in the province, of course. As of April 4, Ontario is home to multiple legal online casinos after the province established a competitive, open market. The province allowed online casinos that registered and entered into an agreement with iGaming Ontario to start offering their products and services.
Ultimately, this will mean more safe and legal online casino options for players in Ontario, giving them more choice and variety alongside the OLG site.
Best real money casinos in Ontario
The online casino sites in Ontario’s market feature the latest innovations in gambling software, new games, plus all the classics, and integrated sports betting options. Here is our list of the best real money online casinos in Ontario:
BetMGM Casino
Built by one of the world’s biggest casino companies and its software partners, BetMGM Casino offers a large number of exclusive slots, making it a popular spot for slot enthusiasts. Two weeks after its launch, BetMGM announced the opening of its branded live dealer studio and the expansion of its games portfolio in Ontario. On April 18, the brand launched a studio of its own, a built-in partnership with Evolution.
- Best game: Exclusive slots
- App rating: 4.7 out of 5; 28.1K ratings on the Apple App Store
- Launch date: April 4
BetRivers Casino
BetRivers Casino is one part of Rush Street Interactive’s two-pronged offering in Ontario. Provincial residents and visitors can now take part in both sports betting and casino games without having to switch from one app to another. In fact, the integration of the two sites is smooth enough to be a key selling point for the app itself. BetRivers Casino also has an extensive library of games, particularly with regard to table games. Playing on BetRivers also puts players in line to benefit from iRush Rewards, a top loyalty program.
- Best feature: Table games
- App rating: 2.0 out of 5; 195 ratings on the Apple App Store
- Launch date: April 4
Caesars Casino
From another of the largest casino companies in the world, Caesars Casino offers a quality selection of casino games and online integration with Caesars Rewards, a loyalty program with a variety of perks available. The casino features slots from IGT, Bally, Konami and Scientific Games.
- Best feature: Loyalty program
- App rating: 2.0 out of 5; 195 ratings on the Apple App Store
- Launch date: April 4
Golden Nugget
Golden Nugget online casino is a market leader with an extensive collection of games. It’s also the originator of live dealer games and remains the best destination for these online and live hybrid games. The casino will most likely offer more than 200 casino games on launch and could bring as many as 800+ slots, once established.
- Best game: Live dealer games
- App rating: 3.6 out of 5; 382 ratings on the Apple App Store
DraftKings Casino
DraftKings Casino is a popular spot for table game players, offering a variety that can include more than 20 versions of blackjack. The casino has close to a dozen DraftKings branded online casino games, including games specific to sporting events.
- Best game: Blackjack
- App rating: 4.7 out of 5; 17.2K ratings on the Apple App Store
Stars Casino
Stars Casino is the online casino arm of PokerStars. The casino provides Ontario players with weekly slot races with a $10,000 prize pool. Quarterly events are held monthly, with a prize pool worth $1,000,000. If you’re looking for instant cash bonuses, this is the casino to try.
- Best games: Slot races
- App rating: 4.4 out of 5; 130 ratings on the Apple App Store
Comparing the best ON online casino offers
Here are the new player welcome offers at some of Ontario’s top online casinos:
| Online Casino | Offer Info | Top Game |
|---|---|---|
| BetMGM Casino | Click for details | MGM Grand Millions |
| BetRivers Casino | Click for details | Divine Fortune |
| Caesars Casino | Click for details | Casino Hold'Em Live Dealer |
| Bet365 | Click for details | Age of the Gods |
| Unibet Casino | Click for details | 777 Surge |
| Party Casino | Click for details | Blackjack Fortune Spinner |
| DraftKings Casino | Click for details | DraftKings Basketball Blackjack |
What are the most popular games at Ontario casinos?
Slots form the majority of games at any casino, online and live. But while the online casinos in Ontario have an abundance of real money slot games, they also have a selection of online table games that are exact replicas of, or at the very least based on, traditional casino classics. Here are some popular categories:
- Blackjack: The top card game at every casino, with dozens of online blackjack versions available, from live dealer to single-deck blackjack.
- Casino poker: Poker as a casino table game — you play against the dealer online and have the chance to win big bonuses with the right hand.
- Baccarat: Popular low-volatility card game that plays the same online as it does live.
- Craps: A great learning tool online, but lacks the excitement and social nature of the live dice game.
- Slots: Plenty of games you might recognize from your favourite local casino, and more that are exclusively available online.
- Roulette: Popular luck-based game. There are a variety of roulette games available online, from live dealer to double-ball.
- Video poker: Still popular after all these years, this low volatility card game translates perfectly online.
- Live casino games: Online and live casino hybrid versions of the most popular casino table games.
- Game show styles: A combination of traditional table and money wheel games with elements from well-known game shows or popular board games.
- Scratch-offs: If traditional scratch-offs and online slots had a baby, it would look like these lottery-style games do online.
Most popular casino games to play online in ON
Downloading a casino app
If you have a sportsbook account with one of the bigger online gambling brands that just landed in Ontario, you should be able to cross over easily and start playing the casino games. If you’re new to online casino gambling in Ontario entirely, you’ll need to create an account to get started playing. Fortunately, most make this easy, requiring a minimal amount of personal and account information.
After you’ve signed up, you can play most games right on an online casino’s website, or you can download its app and play them there. There’s usually more of a selection on the website, but the app may be more stable. Where to play is really more of a personal choice and one you should base on what games are available versus what you actually play.
Downloading and installing the app is simple, and you’re never really more than a click or two away from playing your favourite games:
- Go to the website for the online casino.
- Find the Android or iOS download link, depending on your device, and click on it.
- Open the app after the installation is complete.
- Sign up for an account on the website or click something that says “sign up” or “register” on the app and do it there.
- Deposit funds using any of the banking methods available.
- Browse through the games and click on something to start playing it.
Legal vs. offshore casinos
There are some significant differences between provincially run and provincially licensed online casinos and offshore online casinos. The biggest one is that legal online casinos must abide by provincial regulations. That means everything from the games to the banking functions must be fair and safe. You can be sure the games have undergone testing and that mainstream banking options — including credit cards, PayPal, Interac, and online bank transfers — are available.
Offshore casinos might promise the same, but they are under no provincial or federal obligation to deliver. If something goes wrong with your money or your personal information, you likely have no legal recourse. Banking can be difficult, as well.
Benefits of Ontario online casinos
Ontario runs its own online casino and is stepping in to regulate the additional online casinos that want to operate in the province. There are several benefits to online gambling with this kind of government oversight:
- Safety: iGaming Ontario is there to help if you have a dispute or something else goes wrong. Strict licensing requirements ensure that approved online casinos in Ontario are legitimate and take measures to protect your privacy and your money.
- Mainstream banking methods: Banking options include major credit cards, PayPal, Interac and online banking, not mysterious wire transfers from the Caribbean that your bank may not want to deal with.
- Responsible gambling: Licensed online casinos have measures in place to protect minors and problem gamblers. They do this by instituting options like deposit limits, timeouts and self-exclusion programs. Offshore casinos may pay little more than lip service to these ideas because there’s no legitimate government body forcing them to.
- Bonuses and promotions: The new Ontario online casino market will do everything they can to get your business. You can benefit from the various promotions and bonus offers they use to do that.
Legal gambling in Ontario
- Casinos: You have a choice of government-owned casinos and tribal casinos. The facilities range from luxury resorts in Toronto and Niagara Falls to smaller operations around the province.
- Sports betting: You can place traditional single-event wagers with Proline Plus, OLG’s online sportsbook. Plus, more online sportsbooks launched in the province on April 4, 2022.
- Horse racing: Ontario has a lot of racetracks. You will find thoroughbred, standardbred, and harness racing in the warmer months. OTB offices allow you to bet on national and international races. Horse racing bets are pooled, using the pari-mutuel system.
- Lottery: There are draws every night of the week, many with multimillion-dollar prize pools. They include Lotto Max, which has a jackpot that can reach $70 million. You can also play keno and instant games on the Ontario Lottery.
- Poker: You will find poker rooms at many of the larger casinos around Ontario. Cash games and tournaments featuring Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and other poker variants run 24/7.
- Online casino gambling: PlayOLG is the Ontario gambling portal. It offers casino games, slots, real money video poker, and sports betting options. Compared to many offshore sites, the selection of games and promotions is limited. Licensed online casinos went live in April 2022, and feature a strong selection of slots, table games and live dealer.
- Bingo/charitable gambling: Depending on the size of the prizes, charitable gambling falls under the oversight of the provincial government or the relevant municipality. There are bingo halls in many towns and cities in the province.
Ontario gambling FAQ
Yes. OLG’s online gambling website gives Ontario residents an explicitly legal way to play slots online. Plus, the first provincially licensed online casinos launched on April 4, 2022.
It already is. Ontario Lottery and Gaming’s website is a fully functional online casino and sportsbook. Many more brands launched their online sportsbooks and casinos on April 4, 2022.
This province splits the gambling age into two. To play lottery games, you need to be 18 or older. However, casino games, slots, and any type of online play are restricted to players who are 19 or older.
No. Ontario does not tax gambling winnings unless you are a “pro” gambler — for example playing poker or betting on sports professionally. You can win lottery games or slot jackpots, or strike it lucky with a big parlay bet, and keep all your winnings as long as you are not a professional gambler.
Offshore gambling sites don’t necessarily break any Ontario or federal laws. This makes it legal to gamble for real money at these offshore sites. However, a federal statute prevents the sites from operating gambling houses in Canada. The difficulty in distinguishing exactly where these online gambling houses are operating when you place a bet with one from inside Canada is why most consider offshore sites to be operating in a grey area. They may be technically against the law, but it’s not a law anyone is doing anything about. Of course, with a provincially run online casino already here, and more legal online casinos available as well, you can now stay out of the grey area.
You can find details about the bonus offer by clicking the links above. Operators are allowed to have them, but the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario doesn’t allow advertising such incentives anywhere other than on the operators’ websites or through emails the customer has opted to receive. This rule extends to PlayCanada. If you’re interested, just click our signup links and see for yourself; there’s no commitment involved.