The Best New Online Casinos in Canada

New Casinos vs Established Brands

Healthy competition is good news for the Canadian casino players as gambling sites look to outmuscle one another and attract as many customers as possible. The most efficient way for them to do this is with outstanding welcome bonus packages that suit a range of casino games. As new casino sites have a lot of catching up to do if they want to jostle with the big names, their welcome bonus offers can be even more generous than their more established rivals. 

But more than this, the best new online casinos in Canada will have their finger on the pulse. It’s fair to expect that your new casino site features the modern trends of online gambling, including fast payout payment infrastructure, seamless mobile capabilities, and a full suite of live dealer table games, offering you an excellent casino experience as a result.

How We Review New Online Casinos

Our extensive reviews cover several key areas of the online gambling Canada experience as we seek out the best online casinos. These reviews are then used to provide an overall picture of each casino, while our segmented lists help to highlight a particular specialism and enable our users to zero-in on exactly what they’re looking for. Each of our users might prioritize these areas in a different order, but it’s important that we cover all the bases to help you to make an informed decision on which site to play at. Here are some of the categories we assess in our casino reviews.

Licensing

Casino operator licences protect players from rigged sites, manipulated games, and malicious online threats. Without an appropriate licence from a recognized gaming authority, players can be left vulnerable to serious malpractice. Licensing therefore marks an important first port of call in our reviewing process, and you’ll never find an unlicensed casino on this site. 

Game Libraries

A great introductory offer is only as good as the casino games you can play – that’s why it’s important for casinos on our site to offer good value in their game libraries. This isn’t just about the range of games on offer, such as video slots, table games, and live dealer options, but also depth within these games, such as the number of variants and innovative ideas available in the casino’s library. 

Customer Support

Are there plenty of customer support communication channels open at the casino, such as on-site chat features, social media accounts, and email services? And are these channels available and responsive around the clock? The best online casino customer support answers ‘yes’ to both of these questions, and we’re always keen to highlight it when they do.

Software

When we take a look at a new online casino’s games library, we also make a note of how well-represented the industry’s biggest software providers are on the site. For an eclectic mix of games and styles, we look for the big trio – Microgaming, NetEnt, and Evolution Gaming – in addition to newer and edgier game developers like Yggdrasil.

Bonuses

Bonuses are perhaps the biggest selling point for many players at a new online casino. The best online casino bonus offers from new casino sites may not appear as generous as rival offers from bigger brands, but to determine the true value of a bonus it’s important to look beyond its monetary worth and read the small print closely. New online casinos will often try and attract new players with friendly terms and conditions, such as low wagering requirements and generous time limits.

Mobile

The best new online Canadian casinos make an effort to offer outstanding mobile gameplay for their customers. Online gambling now resides strongly in the mobile world, with players looking to play wherever and whenever they like, so it’s important for online casinos to be compatible with mobile devices on both Android and iOS.

Design and User Experience

Aesthetics may not be a top priority for some users, but we believe that clever design goes a long way to making a good first impression and offering a pleasant online casino atmosphere. Clear optics, functioning dashboards, and a site free of technical glitches are a must if a new casino site is to perform well in this category.

Games Available at New Online Casinos

To cater to as many players as possible, new online casinos will often have deep games libraries covering all the popular options. Before committing real money to your wagers, we recommend getting yourself up to speed by checking out the free to play versions of these games. Here are some of the casino games you’ll come across.

New Online Casino Bonuses

To get the most out of your casino bonuses, make sure you always read the terms and conditions in full. Players will receive a generous welcome bonus upon signing up to a new site, and a string of subsequent bonuses thereafter. Here are some of the most common and what they entail.

Matched Deposits

You’ll receive a percentage of your deposit up to a specified amount with a matched deposit bonus. For example, a substantial matched deposit will look something like ‘100% up to $200’, meaning you’d land $400 from a $200 deposit. Matched deposits often have the harshest wagering requirements, with the average being 35x your bonus or, worse yet, your bonus and your initial deposit combined. 

New online casinos often offer lower wagering requirements than the more established brands, meaning it’s more realistic for the average player to be able to clear them and access any bonus-related winnings before time runs out.

Free Spins

Free spin bonuses are typically contingent on a minimum deposit, and offers will look something like ‘100 free spins when you deposit $50’. When it comes to free spins, wagering requirements are calculated against the amount you win with your bonus spins rather than the bonus’s monetary value.

No Deposit Bonuses

Much like your typical welcome bonus, minus the deposit! If this looks like free money, remember that the T&Cs are likely to be more stringent. Still, a handful of cash or free spins with no commitment on your part is a nice way to get acquainted with a new site and its features.

What are Wagering Requirements?

Wagering requirements are a common fixture in casino bonus terms and conditions. Essentially, wagering requirements lock withdrawals for your bonus-related winnings until you’ve staked a certain amount of your own cash at the casino.

Let’s say you’ve claimed a 100% up to $100 bonus in full, and your new online casino offers 20x wagering on the bonus. Your casino will calculate the wagering requirements in one of two ways:

1 – Just the bonus: $100 x 20 = $2,000

2 – The bonus and the initial deposit: $200 x 20 = $4,000

As you can see, the way your online casino calculates your wagering requirements can make a huge difference to the amount you need to deposit, so ensure you check the terms and conditions to find out how they do it.

Free spins’ wagering requirements are calculated differently, with the value of your winnings being used to calculate them. For example, you might have won $20 from your 50 free spins at 20x wagering. Your wagering requirements will be $20 x 20, or $400 – once you’ve wagered this much, you’ll be able to withdraw the $20 in winnings.

Bear in mind that game weightings often affect the amount that goes towards your wagering requirements. Slots, for example, typically contribute 100% of your wagers to your wagering requirement tally, while table games may contribute as little as 10%. This is casino-dependent, so be sure to check the bonus T&Cs to find out more.

A time limit will likely be in place, too. Generally speaking, a bonus is valid for 30 days, and your wagering requirements typically need to be completed in the same timeframe.

With all this in mind, wagering requirements are typically quite difficult, or expensive, to clear. That being said, this doesn’t make the bonus worthless, as you can instead view the free funds or spins as a way to get accustomed to a new site and its games without staking any of your own cash.

Features at New Online Casinos

As the market becomes more competitive and as technology continues to improve, new online casinos are finding innovative ways to offer something different to their members. We want to bring our readers the best online gambling experiences available, so it’s always a pleasure for our team of reviewers to report on something fresh and exciting. Here are some of the most recent trends you might find at new Canadian online casinos. 

Player vs. Player

Casino sites like Duelz and Voodoo Dreams are making a name for themselves with a refreshing approach to bonuses. These casinos assimilate elements from the wider world of gaming and combine them with online gambling, creating an entirely new experience known as player vs. player (PvP). 

For example, at Duelz, members will be invited to create a character, through which they’ll be able to take part in battles against fellow members at the casino. These battles take place in various different arenas, where players cast spells against their foe in a bid to win collectibles such as treasure chests, trophies, and casino-related bonuses. The more success you have in this duelling environment, the better your rewards will be. 

Voodoo’s PvP structure takes place within the casino game itself. Let’s say you’re having a spin of Red Tiger Gaming’s Aztec Spins: you and your opponent will take it in turns to spin the reels. If you find a winning combo, you’ll inflict damage to your opponent, and vice versa; the more successful the spin, the more damage you’ll inflict. You’ll collect bonuses as you play, as well as Health Points and Spirit Points, both of which bolster your duelling abilities in later battles. 

Tournaments

In a similar fashion, new online casinos in Canada may also introduce tournaments to bring a competitive edge to the site. These are usually targeted at the slots, but you may also find tournaments aimed at the site’s collection of table games. 

For slots tournaments, players compete against one another for their share of a fixed jackpot prize. As you spin the reels, your scores will be posted onto a leaderboard for the duration of the tournament. The player who tops the list will take home the largest share of the jackpot, but there are often smaller prizes for those finishing in lower positions — this can sometimes stretch all the way down to the 20th place. 

The casino will select which game it wants to promote via a tournament — it may be one of its latest additions, or simply the casino’s most popular slot at that moment. While most tournaments require players to opt-in, you may find that spinning the reels of the selected slot will automatically see your score posted on the leaderboard, meaning you won’t miss out on prizes if your luck’s in.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) has been a buzzword in gaming technology for decades, but it’s finally starting to be deployed at new Canadian casinos. VR immerses players in simulated representations of reality, creating new territory for game developers to explore. Evolution Gaming’s Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt — the latest iteration of the hugely successful NetEnt slot, Gonzo’s Quest — is the first casino game to make use of VR technology. In this live game show-style title, the eponymous hero will merge the worlds of 16th century South America with wherever you happen to be playing. You’ll need a VR headset and a controller to play this version of the game, but it’s a trend that will only grow in popularity in the coming years.