Canada's Best Gambling Sites in 2023

The National Hockey League (NHL) is the most popular ice hockey league in the world. It comprises 32 teams, 7 of which — including the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs — are from Canada. The Stanley Cup is the ultimate prize, awarded annually to the NHL playoff champion.

Football betting at Canadian gambling sites peaks with the annual Super Bowl, held in February each year. However, there are regular opportunities to bet on the National Football League (NFL), which is split into the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). College betting is also immensely popular, with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Soccer is the biggest sport in the world, so there are always tons of games and markets available to bettors. The biggest leagues include the Premier League in England, La Liga in Spain, and Major League Soccer (MLS) in North America. You’ll even find plenty of markets on Canadian Premier League (CPL) games. And if you’re more into international matches, the World Cup is the holy grail — coming to Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 2026.

Whether you’re a keen gamer or just looking for some fast-paced betting action, esports are some of the most exciting markets at online betting sites. Popular esports to watch and bet on include Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and League of Legends.

Horse racing is another sport that’s great to bet on ahead of time, or in-play if it’s a longer race. There are lots of promotions available for the top meetings, such as free bets and best odds guaranteed. The most prominent events include the Kentucky Derby, Cheltenham Festival, and the Grand National.

There are also lots of opportunities to bet on simulated virtual sports. These aren’t real matches, but are still played out on screen so you can watch along as you bet. The best thing about virtual sports betting is that matches take place all throughout the day, so you can jump into some in-play action whenever the mood strikes.

When you bet on point spread, you’re betting on a team to win or lose by a certain number of points. Let’s say the Raptors are playing the Celtics with the following point spread: 

• Toronto Raptors -5
• Boston Celtics +5

Raptors are the favourite, ‘giving five’ — they need to win by at least six points for your bet to come good. However, bet on the Celtics who are ‘getting five’ and they need to either win the game or lose by less than six points for your bet to win. If the Raptors win by exactly five points, it’s a push and all bets are refunded.

Sometimes called over/under bets, totals are bets on a specific aspect of the game, commonly how many points, runs, or goals will be scored. For example, you might bet on over 5.5 goals to be scored in an upcoming Oilers v Kings match. A final score of 3–3 would see your bet win as that’s six goals in total — over the threshold. Depending on the sport, there can be many different totals markets. Take soccer: you can also bet on things like the number of yellow or red cards given.

Parlay bets are a special kind of bet where you chain together multiple different wagers. Also called accas, accumulators, or multis, these bets come with much longer odds for a chance at a huge payout. Of course, every bet needs to come good for you to win — drastically lowering your chances of success.

Free spins apply exclusively to online slots. They give players the chance to spin the slot reels free of charge and still collect real money prizes. Naturally, there are limits on how much players can win using free spins, but they’re a great way to try out some new slot games without risking your own cash. Free spins are available in-game too, and traditionally are triggered by landing three or more scatter symbols.

Free bets are the free spins of the betting world. They may be acquired in different ways, but the premise is simple: sports bettors are given a free bet set to a particular value, which can then be staked on eligible markets. If the bet wins, the bettor keeps the profit. Free bets may be offered as part of a welcome offer, or as part of a regular deal for existing customers.

A deposit isn’t always required to unlock exciting bonuses — with a no deposit deal, you can claim a bundle of free spins or bet credit as soon as you sign up. The rewards tend to be smaller with no deposit bonuses, but it’s a great way to try out a site before committing any cash.

Wagering requirements apply to most casino bonuses and many promotions at sports betting sites too. This pesky stipulation can make it very challenging for bettors to withdraw any winnings gained from a bonus. However, the lower the wagering demands are, the easier they are to fulfil. Sports betting bonuses often only require punters to wager the bonus once, ensuring there’s still plenty of value in the deal. In the online casino space, 20x wagering or below is generally considered low.

Wagering requirements introduce any extra step before you can withdraw any cash from a bonus. Let’s say there’s a 50x wagering requirement on a $10 casino bonus — you’d need to wager a further $500 (50 x $10) of your own money before any bonus winnings are converted into withdrawable cash. Sports betting sites tend to have much lower wagering requirements, if at all.

The best gambling sites in Canada give bettors plenty of time to use a bonus and fulfil any wagering requirements, but others are more stringent. You may have just a few days to a week to claim and use your bonus rewards, although it’s common to have up to a month to satisfy the wagering demands.

When it’s time to add funds to your account to receive a bonus, some deposit methods may be off limits. Canadian gambling sites often exclude e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller from claiming deposit bonuses, so be sure to check you’re using an eligible method before going ahead.

Some betting bonuses may only be eligible for certain sports markets — for example, an offer may be aimed towards a specific competition like the Champions League, or a particular market such as both teams to score. Similar terms apply to casino bonuses. For example, free spins can generally only be used on one or two selected slot games.

There may be a cap on how much players can win using a set of free spins or bonus credit. This is another important one to check before you play, to avoid any disappointment after landing a seemingly big win.

Game weighting applies to the process of fulfilling wagering requirements. Wagers on most slots count in full, but on games with a low house edge like blackjack, often only a portion of the wager — usually around 5% or 10% — will contribute to the requirements. 

While 17th century French mathematician Blaise Pascal failed to invent a perpetual motion machine, he inadvertently created one of the world’s most popular casino games: roulette. Players at roulette sites have the option to wager on low odds outside bets – such as red or black – or high odds inside bets – such as a specific number. You’ll find American, European and French variants at the top Canadian sites, as well as other interesting innovations. 

Texas Hold’em, Omaha 8, or 7-card Stud – whatever your preferred poker variant, you can play it online at the best Canadian casinos. Although there are many different poker variants, the hand rankings remain the same in each. The order and sequence of bets – and the number of cards dealt to each player – are the variables, so make sure you’re familiar with the rules before you start committing real money to wagers.

Similar to blackjack, baccarat is a card game where players bet on a hand to get as close to nine as possible. Cards 2-10 hold their face value, while each picture card (jack, queen and king) is worth nothing. Aces will count as one. 

Poker is one of the most famous casino card games in the world, so naturally it’s available at a number of Canadian gambling sites. When it comes to online poker, players have a number of options. If you’re not all that familiar with the game, we recommend you try playing RNG poker against the house — either for free or for real money — before you think about entering tournaments and playing against other players. 

Although, if you’re a seasoned poker player, feel free to start playing more competitively right off the bat, but be aware that you may have to download some poker software in order to do so.

Video Poker

Video poker works differently to the more traditional forms of online poker. It combines slot mechanics with elements of poker to create a mix of luck and skill that is seldom found in slot-based games. To play, you press ‘deal’ to reveal your five-card hand, at which point you get to decide which cards you’d like to hold onto before the hand is redealt, with a view of achieving the best possible poker hand. After the redeal, your hand is paid out according to conventional poker hand rankings.