The Best Online Casinos in Newfoundland and Labrador

Online Gambling’s Legality in Newfoundland and Labrador

Since the 1970 Canadian Criminal Code was introduced, Canadian provinces have been free to set their own gambling laws, to a certain extent. In that time, Newfoundland and Labrador has stood fast as one of the areas with the strictest laws around betting.

Newfoundland and Labrador is one of the last Canadian provinces to not offer a state-run online casino to its residents. The Atlantic Lottery Commission, which regulates New Brunswick and Nova Scotia as well as Newfoundland and Labrador, offers its own site, ALC.ca, but this is limited to lotteries, iBingo, and Pro-Line sports betting. Even land-based casinos are outlawed in the province, with suggestions for opening brick and mortar betting locations consistently shut down by local lawmakers.

But in recent years, this steadfast approach has started to soften. Although the legalization of Newfoundland and Labrador-based online casinos is still a way off, attitudes on the opening of a physical casino are slowly changing and may even bend at the right price. 

Players looking for real-money online casino games will not find them offered from within the borders of Newfoundland and Labrador. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t choice, thanks to Canada’s flexible regulation on operators based outside of the country. 

‘The Grey Zone’

The Grey Zone refers to a loophole in Canadian online gambling laws. While casino sites based in Canada are heavily regulated ‒ even in provinces where online casinos are allowed, these sites are entirely state-run ‒ offshore sites continue to offer their services to Canadian online gamblers.  

These casinos are regulated by other gambling jurisdictions, and since these sites aren’t based within Canada, they aren’t in breach of any Canadian laws. This gives Canadians a wide choice of playing options ‒ big-name sites include Barz, Casumo, Dream Vegas, all of which offer Newfoundland and Labrador residents an outstanding experience, despite stringent local gambling regulations. 

How We Review the Best Online Casinos in Newfoundland and Labrador

Before we recommend any online casino, we conduct an extensive review to ensure we’re giving our users access to the best sites. Here are some of the main factors we consider during our reviewing process.

Licensing

While an offshore casino operating in Newfoundland and Labrador doesn’t require a licence from any Canadian authority, we still look for at least one trusted regulatory body’s name at the bottom of the website. This could be from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) or the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), for example ‒ two of the most respected regulators in the industry. Licences are a mark of recognition that standards of fair play and player safety are upheld on site; for that reason, we’ll never recommend an unlicensed online casino to our users. 

Games Selection

All online casinos have games, sure, but the number of titles ‒ and the variety within them ‒ differs greatly depending on where you’re playing. In order to get the seal of approval from us, a site needs to offer a wide array of gaming categories including slots, jackpots, live dealer games, and more. Additionally, we also like to see an interesting selection of software developers behind the supplying of these games. 

Bonuses and Promotions

We like to see a broad range of promotional offers from any online casino we recommend, including a generous welcome bonus, followed up by lots of opportunities for existing members to make use of bonuses ‒ matched deposits, free spins, and tournaments are all welcome sights. This part of our review also demands that we take a look at the site’s stance on bonus terms and conditions, which can often prove to be too much of a hindrance to those looking to convert bonuses into withdrawable cash; sites with more favourable terms will be well-reviewed here. 

Customer Support

We want our players to be able to receive assistance whenever they need it. While an e-mail address is a basic requirement, we appreciate those operators that offer a greater choice for players. Phone numbers help, but what we really look for is a live chat service, preferably one that is available and responsive 24/7. 

Site Design and Layout

How a site looks is important, but good site design is more than just skin deep. We look for online casinos that offer simple navigation, with most, if not all sections of the site one click away, and a good range of sub-categories to aid browsing for players. 

Casino Games in Newfoundland and Labrador

As mentioned above, a wide selection of games is of the utmost importance at a Newfoundland and Labrador casino site. Here are some of the top categories to keep an eye out for. 

Slots

The most popular category at most online casinos, slots can number into the thousands at the best Newfoundland and Labrador sites. We look for big-name developers such as NetEnt and Play’n Go, creators of the immensely popular slots Starburst and Book of Dead respectively. 

We also look for a decent number of progressive jackpot titles like Playtech’s Age of the Gods and Microgaming’s Mega Moolah. To ensure the widest possible variety in themes, features, and return to player (RTP) percentages, the very best casino sites will offer titles from a wide variety of software developers, both big and small.

Table Games

With so many attracted to the slots, table games can sometimes feel like an afterthought at online casinos, but we want to see an impressive range here as well. The likes of Felt Gaming and Switch Studios provide excellent and unique random number generated (RNG) blackjack and roulette titles, among many others. The rise of live casinos may have had a negative impact on the popularity of this gaming category, but there are still some phenomenal RNG table games available. 

Poker

Dedicated poker sites can be found for Newfoundland and Labrador players, but there are also strong portfolios of exciting variants at some of the best online casinos in the province. Video poker is one option you’ll come across, where players compete against the house as opposed to other players.  

Live Casino

Evolution Gaming changed everything with the introduction of its live dealer catalogue of games, where players take part in real casino games in real time. Ezugi, Pragmatic Play, and others also provide good live dealer options, but with titles like Lightning Roulette and Monopoly Live, Evolution still leads the pack. 

Online Casino Bonuses

There’s high competition among casinos offering their services in Newfoundland and Labrador and other Canadian provinces. As a result, sites will often offer impressive promotions to ensure they catch the attention of players. Here are a few of the most popular casino bonuses to look out for.

Matched Deposits

Matched deposits are the most common bonus type at online casinos, offering a percentage of your deposit up to a set limit. Usually, this is a 100% bonus ‒ 100% up to $200, for example, where players would receive $400 from a $100 deposit. However, some casino sites stretch their matched deposit welcome bonuses to 200% or more. 

Free Spins

Often given alongside matched deposits, free spins give players ammunition for the site’s slots. The concept here is simple: make a qualifying deposit in exchange for a set number of spins to use on a specific slot or selection of titles. Anything you win from your free spins is normally yours to keep, as long as you meet certain wagering requirements. 

No Deposit Bonuses

No deposit bonuses are promotions offered before you even make a deposit at a Newfoundland and Labrador online casino site. These offers usually come in the shape of bonus funds or free spins, but since there’s no deposit needed, these offers won’t be as large as others. However, no deposit bonuses are a fantastic way to get a sense of how an online casino works and try out a few games for yourself before parting with any of your hard-earned cash. 

Common Terms and Conditions

We mentioned wagering requirements above, a condition stating that any bonus funds ‒ or winnings from free spins ‒ must be wagered a set number of times before any profits can be withdrawn. 

For example, a 20x requirement on a $10 bonus would necessitate a total of $200 (20 x 10) being wagered. Wagering requirements vary, with some sites attaching conditions as high as 40x, and others using the combined value of the bonus and the deposit to calculate the requirements. On the other side of the coin, some casinos, like PlayOJO, have no wagering requirements on any of their bonuses.

Other terms and conditions that crop up regularly include max caps, which limit how much you can win from a bonus, and time limits, which require you to spend your bonus funds and meet any additional terms before a set deadline.

Payment Options in Newfoundland and Labrador

There are many ways to deposit and withdraw at Newfoundland and Labrador’s best online casinos ‒ here are some of the most frequently available.

Bank Cards

Bank cards are accepted at all Newfoundland and Labrador casino sites, and this availability is one of this method’s major perks. Bank card players will also find that these deposits will also qualify them for any bonus offers, but withdrawal times are among the slowest, sometimes taking up to five working days.

e-Wallets

e-Wallets allow players to hold their money in an online account, and make transactions directly from that. This method also has the added bonus of not requiring layers to share any banking information with a casino, which provides a layer of security on payments. 

Casinos in Canada tend not to accept PayPal payments, but other e-wallets like Neteller, Skrill and ecoPayz are all excellent alternatives. The biggest plus for this banking option, aside from the added security, is that e-wallets offer very fast casino payouts, with withdrawn funds usually arriving in an instant. 

Prepaid Cards

Prepaid cards include those offered by financial giants like Mastercard, as well as popular modern options like Paysafecard. A prepaid card has a set amount of money preloaded onto it, similar to a gift voucher, which can then be used to deposit at your chosen casino site. 

Because the money for a transaction is already attached to a card, this method has very limited withdrawal opportunities. 

Pay by Phone Bill

PayForIt is the most popular pay by phone bill banking method at Canadian casinos. Your chosen deposit amount will simply be taken from your monthly phone bill, or your pay as you go balance if you’re old school. While this method is easy to use, limits on deposits are strict compared to others, and there may also be a small fee attached, so be sure to check this with your provider. Due to the nature of this banking option, withdrawals aren’t possible. 

Interac

One of the most popular online payment methods in Canada, Interac comes in two forms. The more frequently available of the two is Interac e-transfer, where users are given an e-mail and a security key by the casino to make their deposit. Interac Online is a direct bank transfer system, but this option has less availability at Newfoundland and Labrador casinos.