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Claiming one or more of the best Canada casino bonuses is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best way to sink your teeth into a new online casino. But which iGaming sites serve up today’s top bonuses?
Well… Even for someone with my experience, that’s a tough cookie. You see, the online casinos available in Canada vary from province to province, meaning the best bonus in one region is rarely the same as in another. Having said that, all bonuses regardless should be easy-to-claim and relatively restriction free.
Canadian players from Victoria to Cape Spear can get their hands on all kinds of bonuses from the endless variety of gaming sites and real money casino apps in Canada. While what’s on the table specifically will always vary by province, there are a select few general kinds of bonuses that you can pretty much always expect to find advertised at popular casino sites.
These include, but are not limited to, the following:
Type of bonus | What you get | How it works |
---|---|---|
Matched deposit bonus | When you make a deposit with a casino, they’ll “match” it up to a certain percentage amount. | Let’s say you’re looking at a “100% matched deposit” bonus. Drop a deposit above a qualifying amount, say, $100, and you’ll get another $100 back in bonus bets, giving you $200 to play with in total. You’ll need to play through the whole lot a set number of times, depending on the offer’s “wagering requirements”. |
No deposit bonus | These offers are basically a free-for-all. You’ll get some bonus bets for nothing – but T&Cs will of course apply… | Imagine you receive $50 in no deposit bets, but these have 35x wagering requirements. Basically, you’d need to play through your $50 at least 35x on qualifying games before you can cash-out. A failure to do so could cost you everything – so be careful! |
bonus spins offer | The casino will grant you some bonus spins on selected slots games. | Let’s say you get 10 bonus spins on the classic slot game Book of Dead, with 10x wagering requirements. Your spins can only be played on that game, and, yet again, you can’t withdraw until the wagering terms have been met. |
VIP and loyalty bonuses | Some brands let regulars accumulate points that can be swapped out for bonus spins, no deposit bonuses or any of the above once you’ve racked up a certain amount. | The rules will vary depending on which of the above kind of bonus you trade your loyalty points for. |
For the purposes of this guide, I’m mainly going to be talking about Canada casinos welcome bonus offers. Why? Well, while many trusted online casino sites serve-up repeat promotions and rewards to their regulars, like the VIP bonuses I explored above, the rest are, nine times out of ten, offered exclusively to newbies.
The banners you’ll see on this page promote regionalised casinos and welcome bonuses that are available in whichever part of Canada you reside. But before clicking around for a sneak peek of what’s available with each brand, I’d strongly recommend familiarising yourself with how to separate the wheat from the chaff, bonus-wise.
Well… A whole bunch of things, actually. And of course, knowing exactly what these all-important features are is key to identifying which bonuses in your province offer the most all-round potential.
So, I’m going to quit beating around the bush already. Here are the five key things you should keep an eye out for:
Bigger is better, right? Or at least that’s usually the case with bonuses. The good news is that the Canadian online casino market is crazy-competitive, which means there are plenty of literally gigantic deals out there. The bad news is that some offers might not be all they’re cracked up to be once you start reading the fine print.
So, how do you tell whether an offer is fair? Well, that depends on the bonus. Any good deposit bonus at a casino in Canada should have a sensible minimum qualifying deposit that doesn’t break the bank, for example. Likewise, decent bonus spins deals shouldn’t limit you to having to play at a game with a low Return to Player (RTP) percentage that probably isn’t worth your while.
Picture this. You’re keen to sink your teeth into some casino free spins in Canada, but the brand’s T&Cs are a minefield and it’s totally unclear what you need to do to activate them. Sounds like a bonus to avoid, right?
Right indeed. But equally, you did the right thing. Reading up on how a bonus is claimed is essential before jumping into bed with a new one. I’ll go into more detail about this later, but basically, a good bonus should:
I’ve mentioned “wagering requirements” a fair few times already throughout this guide. If you’re not familiar with the term, it basically refers to the number of times you need to play through your bonus bets or bonus spins before you can cash-out.
Any half-decent casino bonus in Canada should ideally come with wagering requirements of 35x or less on bonus bets, and 40x or less on bonus spins. Why? Well, my long-running industry experiences suggest these figures are round about average. So, my advice? Use these stats as a benchmark to check out the market’s best deals.
Offers with appropriate and achievable time limits
Until now I’ve been holding back a bit about this, but it’s worth noting that most bonuses come with time restrictions on top of their wagering requirements. Now, these generally come in two different variations, which are:
Type of time limit | How it works |
---|---|
Claim-related time limits | A bonus’ T&Cs will state that the offer must be claimed within a certain time frame. For example “offer only available within the first 30 days of registration”. |
Wagering-related time limits | You’ll need to hit the stated wagering limits within a certain amount of time. For example “wager all your bonus spins 20x within 7 days”. |
Whether you’re claiming a Canada casino no deposit bonus or a bonus spins promotion, I wouldn’t worry too much about claim-related time limits. These can easily be beaten by simply claiming your bonus the very same day you register with the brand regardless – something I’d always recommend doing.
Wagering-related time limits, mind, can be a little trickier. The best way to avoid falling foul of these is to keep a wagering diary to track your bets, and to set reminders on your smartphone ahead of D-Day.
I’ve already mentioned that bonus spins offers are routinely limited to specific slots games only. Well, unfortunately, similar game-related restrictions sometimes apply to other kinds of bonuses, too.
The best Canada casino bonuses will of course be incredibly flexible in this regard, letting players like yourselves bet on any casino game or sporting event you please. But I’d strongly suggest you always double-check in advance that the bonus T&Cs permit you to play on your favourite games before claiming it, just to be on the safe side. Compatibility with your preferred payment method is important, too. It’s weirdly common for casinos to state that only certain credit cards or e-wallets can be used for qualifying deposits – so watch out for this, too.
More often than not, you’ll be able to activate a welcome bonus in five or less quick-and-easy steps. And as I outlined earlier, you should ideally be able to claim and start betting within 10 minutes at most. I’d recommend following my guide here every time:
I’d suggest starting out by giving your desired casino bonus in Canada’s T&Cs a good once-over, and jotting down any important details, such as the likes of:
Once you know what’s what, you can click the ad for the brand’s bonus and start filling out your details to create a new customer account and claim. If the offer requires a province-specific promo code, now’s the time to enter it.
Not every casino bonus in Canada will require an activation deposit, but if your offer does, be sure to drop one that exceeds the stated threshold. Oh, and double-check you’re doing so via a bonus-friendly payment method, as I mentioned earlier…
Right. Once your bonus bets and/or bonus spins land in your online account, it’s time to start playing them through. This is where those all-important wagering requirements and time limits come in – miss a beat here, and you could invalidate your bonus altogether, so it’s essential not to put a foot wrong.
If the time limits are a little on the tight side, I’d recommend sticking to high-RTP games that’ll help you meet the offer’s wagering terms quickly. It’s also worth keeping in mind that slots tend to contribute more to your overall wagering than table games with most Canadian online casinos. Translation: stick to slots, basically.
Quick reminder: you won’t usually be able to request a withdrawal until the wagering requirements have been met in full within any time limits stated in the brand’s T&Cs.
If you’re dealing with any of the new casino sites in Canada , keep in mind there’s a chance T&Cs could be rehashed and updated as the site gains more of a presence in the market. My advice? Keep the T&Cs open in a separate tab every single time you come to play through part of a bonus. Last-minute changes are actually quite common everywhere…
Before I round things up and we say our goodbyes, here’s a quick recap on the general pros and cons of claiming the best Canada casino bonuses out there:
Canada’s online casino market is booming. All the reason to shop around extensively if you’re looking for the best possible bonus. Remember, brands are incredibly competitive and bonuses need to be compared head-to-head if you want to get the best deal – which is where my deep-dive bonus comparisons and individual brand reviews can come in handy.
If you leave this guide with one final takeaway, let it be this: the best bonuses should be large but fair, easy-to-claim and use, and not overly restrictive in the T&Cs department. So, go on ahead and use the banners on this page to locate offers available in your province – but don’t go filling out any registration forms until you’ve found an offer that ticks these three, all-important boxes.
Each online casino in Canada sets its own rules in this regard, but generally you just need to click the ad for their bonus, enter any required promo codes and drop a qualifying deposit. Find out how all this works by reading my guides.
This all depends on which part of the country you live in. Fortunately, the banners in my expert guides will always automatically recommend trusted options available where you live.
Ordinarily, a brand will give you a few free goes or “spins” at a selected slot game. But be careful – you might need to play any winnings through a set number of times. Find out more in my guide.
A no deposit bonus is, quite simply, a casino bonus offer that doesn’t require you to put down a cash deposit to unlock it. Discover no deposit bonuses in your region today using my bonus comparisons.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.