To newcomers and veteran gamblers alike, trying to figure out online casino bonuses can be a daunting task. This gets even more confusing for anyone wanting to pick up the best casino bonuses in Canada, as the quality, availability, and legality can vary massively between provinces and territories.
Casino Bonuses are Better than Ever Before
Canada, unlike its neighbors, the USA to the south, has had regulated online gambling for well over 15 years. In 2022, Ontario launched its own online gambling regulator. Since then, Canada has experienced a renaissance in terms of online casino availability and quality. Prior to this, gamblers in all provinces were required to play through either a government-owned monopoly, such as PlayNow in British Columbia, or Espacejeux in Québec.
With the creation of the regulator, iGO (iGaming Ontario), and the licensing provided by AGCO (the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario), Canadian players are seeing more casinos offering better bonuses and offers in order to entice new players. These offer increased value and play time when gambling for real money. The sheer number of offers and requirements can be overwhelming, but for those looking to get the most bang for their buck, it is worth taking the time to figure out these perks. Gamification is increasing in popularity, but casino bonuses remain incredibly popular.
So let’s try to demystify some of this! To begin with, let’s look at what a casino bonus actually is, and how players can identify the best offers.
Casino Bonuses Bring Players to New Casinos
Simply put, a casino bonus allows players to have more money to play with, or more turns to win, at their casino of choice. This is great for players, as they can enjoy their favorite games for longer, and great for casinos, as this promotional tool allows them to attract new players who may otherwise be content playing at casinos they already know and trust.
For example, when you head to a comparison site like casino.ca to find the best online casino bonus in Canada, you might see offers such as 100% up to $6,000 + 500 free spins. This means that the casino will match any deposit you make of up to $6,000, as well as provide a generous number of free spins on selected online slots. If you deposit the minimum, in this case, $20, you will have $40 to play around with, along with whatever you win from the free spins.
Most Bonuses are Only Available to New Players
Online casinos use welcome bonuses to attract new customers. Changing between online casinos can be somewhat arduous, as it requires sharing personal information, setting up payment methods, and, in some cases, verifying your identity as a safety measure against fraud or money laundering.
This is all without the added complexity of gamblers having to ensure the casino they are using is safe and legitimate. Therefore, the very best casino bonuses are usually welcome bonuses, which are applied to the accounts of new players when they finish registration and make their first deposit.
At a glance, these offers can look pretty enticing. Who doesn’t want more money to play with at a casino and more chances to win? However, as you can imagine, these bonuses do come with strings attached. These are called wagering requirements, and can vary massively depending on the casino you choose to play at.
Ensure Pain-Free Withdrawals
So, you signed up at an online casino that tickled your fancy and deposited $20. Now, how do you go about making your welcome bonus into something that you can actually withdraw?
First of all, you’ll need to ensure that your identity is verified – this can often cause issues when it comes to withdrawal, as many casinos allow you to delay verification until you want to withdraw your winnings. If you don’t verify your identity beforehand, it will add more time to your payout. You may also need to enter a bonus code or opt in to an offer.
Wagering Requirements Explained
When you picked your bonus, you will have seen that it had a wagering requirement. Some go as low as 20x, some as high as 50x. This means that you will need to wager all of the funds (your deposit plus your match bonus) through the casino 20 to 50 times. The lower the requirement, the easier it is to meet and to have winnings to withdraw.
Usually, casinos have a validity period as well. Make sure to check this before you start, as it’s much harder to hit a 50x wagering requirement over 7 days than a 35x requirement over 60 days!
Identifying the Best Offers
Now that you understand the basics, you might be wondering if the offer you’ve picked is the best one out there. The truth is, new bonuses appear all the time, so a certain amount of casino-hopping is necessary to make the most of them. There is no reason why a player shouldn’t sign up with a new casino to take advantage of the latest offer. It is useful to bear in mind that you will need to clear your wagering requirements before you can receive your first payout.
The best casino bonuses are subjective and depend on what the player is looking for – some players want to have a huge match bonus, some prefer to get the maximum number of free spins, and some want to have the lowest possible wagering requirements or the longest amount of time to hit them.
With that in mind, the hypothetical best casino bonus would be one that hits all of these – gives you the ability to make a relatively small deposit, but the flexibility to go large for the high rollers among us. It would also have a low wagering requirement, which you can play through at your leisure. 20x over 30 days is considered very good in Canada. And lastly, you’d get the most free spins, so you can hit the best lines on your favorite slot!
Safety, Trustworthiness, and Regulation
Last, but not least, gamblers should make sure to only deposit and play at safe online casinos. The simplest way to do this is to check the licensing – the Ontarian iGO has a list of operators on their website, for example. The MGA, or Maltese Gaming Authority, is also a mark of legitimacy for offshore operators.
If you make sure to follow all of these tips, you’ll be sure to get the most out of the best available casino bonuses in Canada in no time. And don’t forget the most important thing – remember to have fun!
