Top Free Slot Sites in Canada

Free Slots vs Real Money Slots

The only difference between free slots and real money slots is that players can win real cash prizes on the latter. Everything else – from the graphics to the bonus features – play out in exactly the same way.

Here at BestOnlineCasinos, we always advocate for online casino players to make use of free-to-play versions of slot games before committing to real money wagers. This gives players a chance to get to grips with the gameplay, and understand how paylines are formed and when certain bonus features are triggered. 

Indeed, for many iGamers, spinning slots from the world’s best developers is enough of an incentive to play on its own, without the need to add in the extra spice of gambling for real money. These developers concentrate a significant portion of their resources into creating the next blockbuster slot, producing games that are light-hearted, entertaining, and always worth playing.

Places to Play Free Slots and Demos

The best free online slots in Canada can be found in the following places.

Online Casinos

To encourage responsible gambling, and to give members the chance of getting up to speed before staking their own cash, online casinos will host both free and real money versions of their games on their sites. You won’t need to have any funds in your casino account to start playing, but of course any prizes you manage to win during the game won’t translate into real cash you can withdraw.

Developer Websites

Game developers are proud to show off their new products, which is why many of them host free-to-play slots on their own websites. These are the only games you’ll find at these sites, and you may even be able to try out titles before they’re rolled out across online casinos globally.

Slot Review Sites

Often the best place to play free slot games is at slot review sites. These sites not only allow players to try out games for nothing, but also present games alongside detailed reviews, covering everything you’ll need to know about that particular title. Playing free online slots this way can therefore stand you in good stead for the real money equivalents. 

Here at BestOnlineCasinos.ca

We’re working hard to bring free slot games to our own site, which will bring another dimension to our service. Watch this space for updates.

Top Slots to Try Out

The best free slot sites will host a wide range of games, but here are some of our top recommendations. 

Starburst

Starburst is arguably the most famous of the bejewelled-style games that grew to prominence in the early 2010s. Developed by NetEnt in 2013, Starburst is a five-reel, ten payline slot famed for its win-both-ways payout structure. Of course, at a free slot site, you won’t be concerned with winning cash prizes, but the game’s payouts are satisfying nonetheless. The reels are laid over an interplanetary backdrop and are filled with dazzling jewels of all colours, as well as familiar bars and sevens. Starburst has one key bonus feature related to its most prized symbol, the multi-coloured star. When this appears on one of the middle three rows, it will expand to fill that reel with wilds and players will receive a re-spin. With a return to player (RTP) rate of 96.1%, Starburst has been one of the most popular slots of the last decade. 

Gonzo’s Quest

If we’re talking about the best slots of the last ten years, then Gonzo’s Quest will always make the shortlist. Another NetEnt product, Gonzo’s Quest tells the tale of Gonzalo Pizarro – the Spanish conquistador sent to discover the lost city of gold at El Dorado in 1541. By all accounts, Pizarro had a pretty torrid time of it, but you couldn’t tell from this game’s infectious personality. Gonzo joins us next to the 5×3 grid, where ancient Incan busts fill the reels. This game’s most exciting feature is the avalanche, which gives players bigger wins and increased multipliers when hit consecutively. These avalanches – also known as free falls – will be triggered when three gold coins are used in a winning payline, launching ten free falls. With twenty paylines and an RTP of 96%, there’s so much to love about Gonzo’s Quest.

Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead

Play’n Go’s Rich Wilde series owes a lot to the creators of Indiana Jones, as this brave adventurer travels across the globe in search of ancient treasures. In Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead, we encounter the eponymous hero in the Tomb of the Pharaohs, where authentic Egyptian music adds a layer of intrigue to the mission. This slot has five reels, ten paylines, and an RTP of 96.2%, and the reels themselves are filled with stunning phoenix, pharaoh and Anubis symbols. Pay attention to the book of dead symbol which serves as the slot’s scatter, rewarding players with ten free spins when three or more appear on the reels. During these extra spins, one of the game’s other symbols will be selected at random to expand over the reels, providing opportunities for bigger wins. 

Cleopatra

Sticking with the ancient Egyptian theme is IGT’s Cleopatra – a five-reel, 20 payline slot with an RTP of 95.7%. Players will immediately notice the rolling tumbling drums that provide a sultry atmosphere inside the golden sandy temple. From there, players will be looking for winning combos on the 5×3 grid, which is filled with stunningly rendered symbols of ancient Egypt: pyramids, scarab beetles, the Sphinx, the Eye of Horus, and of course Cleopatra herself. The Sphinx is the game’s scatter, and will launch a series of free spins when appearing anywhere on the reels; any wins generated by these bonus spins will have a 3x multiplier applied to them. 

Eye of Horus

In comparison to the previous two slots we’ve reviewed here, Eye of Horus is an Egyptian-themed game with a more modern twist. There’s a naivety to this slot that we like, epitomized by the Gameboy-style soundtrack in the background – it shouldn’t work, but it absolutely does, and adds to the charm of the game. Eye of Horus was developed by Blueprint Gaming, with five reels, ten paylines, and an RTP of 96.3%. There’s another free spins bonus round here, which is triggered by the golden door symbol appearing three or more times on the reels. Players will then be given twelve free spins, and if the Eye of Horus pops up during these bonus spins, it will expand to fill the entire reel, generating bigger winning potential.

RTP and Variance

RTP rates have been mentioned already on this page, and together with variance, these two features underpin the mechanics behind any slot game. Let’s take a look at what these mean. 

RTP

RTP percentages indicate how much players can reasonably expect to win back from a slot over time. The industry average is around 96%, which means that if you were to wager $100 on a slot with this RTP, you could theoretically expect to receive $96 back. 

But a word of warning: RTP calculations are an average taken from massive data sets, providing plenty of room for fluctuations on returns. After all, if players were guaranteed to win back the advertised RTP rate in every session, there’d be no point in playing at all. 

RTP rates are independently audited by industry regulators such as eCOGRA, who run these games through their calculators to ensure that players are receiving a fair and safe exchange. 

Variance

Alongside RTP rates, players will also notice that slots come with a variance measure. Variance is an indication of the frequency and size of a slot’s payout rate, and can be marked as either high, low, or medium. If a slot’s variance is high, this means it will pay out infrequent but large prizes; low variance slots, by contrast, do the opposite. 

Play Free Slots on Mobile

Online slot players are now split pretty evenly between desktop and mobile gamers; as such, all free online slots will be available to play in both formats, covering Android and iOS mobile devices. The best free slot sites will also develop their own native apps, where players can enjoy faster loading times, special gameplay features, and push notifications alerting them to bonuses and promotions.