The Best Online Casino Bonuses in Canada

What is a Welcome Bonus?

A welcome bonus is a bundle of casino bonuses offered to online gamblers when they first sign up to a new casino site. These bonuses are designed to fend off competition from rival brands who are all vying for your custom with attractive welcome offers. Like most other online casino bonuses, welcome bonuses are almost always contingent on a monetary deposit into an account.

Given that casino sites use welcome bonuses to muscle out their competitors, they tend to be far more substantial than standard online casino bonuses. Some welcome bonuses are delivered in staggered phases, with the initial parts of the bonus released after the first deposit, and other parts made available following subsequent deposits. It’s unlikely that you’ll be offered another bonus as generous as your initial welcome bonus by the same online casino, but that isn’t to say the fun stops there.

The best Canadian casino sites will continue to offer smaller casino bonuses throughout your time at the site, usually either as part of a loyalty package or a structured promotions timetable.

Types of Casino Bonus

Welcome bonuses take many different forms. As a new player signing up to a casino, it’s up to you to decide which offer works best for you. Before you commit to one site and one bonus, consider what it is you’re looking for from your new casino, and how the welcome bonus on offer suits your playing preferences. For example, if you’re interested in playing Canada’s best online slot games, you’ll probably want to look for a welcome bonus that offers plenty of free spins. 

Below we’ve broken down some of the most common types of casino bonuses you’ll find included in welcome bonus packages. Many of these bonuses will continue to pop up in smaller sizes throughout your time at the casino. 

Matched Deposits

Matched deposit bonuses see online casinos boosting their players’ accounts with bonus money. With a matched deposit, casino sites will equal your deposit at a certain percentage and up to a specified limit. For example, you might come across a matched deposit of ‘100% up to $200’ – this would be an offer typical of the generosity of welcome bonuses, but one that you’re unlikely to come across again. With this offer, a $200 deposit would give you a total of $400 in your casino account, with half of this being on the casino’s behalf. 

Free Spins

Slot games tend to dominate the games libraries of online casinos, so free spin bonuses are consistently included in welcome bonus packages. Free spin bonuses will see you gain a set number of extra spins following a minimum deposit; for example, 100 free spins when you deposit $50.

No Deposit Bonuses

Most casino bonuses are contingent on minimum deposits, but online casino no deposit bonuses are the exception. With a no deposit bonus, your account will be boosted entirely at the casino’s expense, but be aware that stringent wagering requirements and other terms are likely to apply.

Cashbacks

With cashback bonuses, players insure a portion of their bet – usually in the region of 10% – that’s paid back by the gambling site if the bet loses. Cashbacks can be used on both sportsbooks and on all the classic casino games. 

Bonus Codes

Online casinos also issue promo codes through a number of different marketing channels, including emails, referrals, TV advertisements, and ongoing campaigns to existing players. Bonus codes can include any of the above bonus types.

Wagering Requirements

The most major restriction you’ll encounter on your casino bonuses will be wagering requirements. These stipulate that you must wager the value of your bonus a certain number of times before your casino will allow you to withdraw any bonus-related winnings.

Let’s say you’ve claimed a matched deposit bonus of 100% up to $100, netting you $200 to play with. Your casino will either calculate your wagering requirements based on the bonus alone, or the bonus and deposit values added together. The average wagering requirement is 35x, so let’s apply that to this bonus using both possible scenarios.

1. Just the bonus: $100 x 35 = $3,500 wagering requirement
2. The bonus and the deposit together: $200 x 35 = $7,000 wagering requirement

As you can see, the way your casino calculates your wagering requirements has a huge impact on the figure you’ll need to meet. Details of your bonus’s wagering requirements, as well as which casino games contribute the most by percentage of your wagers, will be available in the terms and conditions.

Free spins wagering requirements are handled differently. Instead of using the bonus’s monetary value, the casino calculates your wagering requirements using the total amount you win with your free spins. Let’s say you’ve won $20 from 50 free spins, with 35x wagering. In order to withdraw those winnings, you would need to wager $700.

Low Wagering Bonuses

Standard wagering requirements sit somewhere between 25-40x the value of the bonus, but you’ll come across both steeper and more lenient figures than this. 

With a low wagering bonus, wagering requirements will be lower than this 25x benchmark. Let’s take a low wagering example of 15x with a bonus amount of $25 – with this offer, you’d have to wager $375 (15 x 25) before you could claim any winnings from the bonus. 

No Wagering Bonuses

The best online casino bonuses will include those with no wagering terms. With these bonuses, what you see is what you get, and the bonus amount is yours to enjoy freely. Bear in mind, however, that other terms and conditions are likely to apply. Always read the small print.

Bonus Terms and Conditions

The quality of any online casino bonus is subject to its terms and conditions. To get the most out of all your bonuses, make sure you read these in full to understand what’s required of you, and how you can avoid any nasty surprises. The best casino bonus isn’t necessarily the one offering the most money – determining the overall value of a bonus involves weighing up what’s on offer in balance with those T&Cs. We’ve already taken a look at wagering requirements above, but below are other terms and conditions you’re likely to come across. 

Minimum Deposits

Minimum deposits are more like a qualifier than a condition, unlocking bonus rewards following a specified deposit into your account. Minimum deposit bonuses will look something like ‘30 free spins when you deposit $10’.

Game Restrictions

If you want to take your bonus over to popular table games like roulette or blackjack sites, check first to see whether the bonus is subject to game restrictions – a condition that excludes certain games from being eligible to play with your bonus. 

Payment Exclusions

There are lots of ways to pay for your wagers, but not all of them may be available to use when it comes to casino bonuses. Payment exclusions essentially block certain payment methods from being eligible to claim a bonus. Check the small print to make sure you’re depositing with an accepted method – once you miss out on a welcome bonus with an ineligible deposit, you won’t get a second chance.

Time Limits

Some casino bonuses have a ticking clock attached to them, meaning that you must satisfy all of the terms and conditions before the time runs out or your bonus and associated winnings will become void. You’ll need to keep a close eye on time limits, and they’re usually connected to wagering requirements.

Game Weightings

Game weightings are also closely connected to wagering requirements – a condition that discourages gamblers from playing certain games with their bonus by restricting its contribution to the wagering requirements. A game weighting condition might mean that only 10% of your wagers on blackjack, for example, will chip away at the wagering requirements, while 100% of your wagers on the slots may go towards your wagering requirements target.

Winning Caps

Winning caps can either be applied to the bonus as a whole, or to one specific game, both of which limit the amount you can win with the bonus. Once you’ve exceeded the winnings cap, any further funds won with the bonus will be returned to the casino.

Responsible Gambling

Gambling is an entertaining pastime, but it isn’t without its pitfalls. Because gambling plays on the brain’s reward mechanisms, chasing the high of a win can become addictive for some people.

It’s important to be mindful and wary of the warning signs of problem gambling and gambling addiction, as well as to exercise best practice whilst playing and managing your cash.

Some of the warning signs of a gambling problem include:

• Becoming preoccupied with gambling;
• Chasing losses compulsively;
• Borrowing or stealing money to fund your gambling habits;
• Becoming moody or closed off from your friends and family, with your mood potentially lifting when you gamble;
• Accruing debts that you can’t repay as a result of your gambling;
• Lying to others about how much time and/or money you spend on gambling;
• Believing that your luck will turn, or that you’re due a win – this is known as the gambler’s fallacy.

If you or someone you know is exhibiting any of these behaviours, it’s important to seek help before the problem gets worse. There are plenty of organizations out there that offer free and impartial advice and support for people with gambling problems, such as the Responsible Gambling Council.

There are steps you can take to protect yourself whilst gambling online, such as:

• Only playing whilst sober and level-headed. This includes avoiding playing when you are upset or stressed;
• Making use of on-site limiters to ensure you don’t spend more time or money at an online casino than you want to;
• Keeping close tabs on your spending, and ensuring you only deposit what you can afford to lose. If the thought of losing the entirety of your deposit wouldn’t sit right with you, you may want to reduce the amount to something you’re comfortable with;
• Never play games or bet on sports you’re unfamiliar with. It’s important to do your research and make sure you know what you’re doing;
• Know when to walk away. Chasing losses is a bad idea and will most likely lead to your losses mounting up. If you’re on a bad run, you’re better to walk away than potentially make things worse;
• Never gamble as a way to make money or achieve financial stability. Everyone loves to win a bit of cash at an online casino, but it should not be viewed as a way to make a living.
• Always remember that help is available. If you’re at all concerned about your habits, you’re not alone. Speaking with family, gambling charities, and even a doctor can be an effective way to get a handle on your gambling habits.