Online gambling has been legal across the province of Ontario as of April 4, 2022, and in light of these changes, players in Illinois can now travel to Ontario to play at top online casino sites. As any seasoned player would know, playing in Ontario offers one of the best and most exciting gaming experiences, as developers are bringing their top games and offers when it comes to this province’s online casino market.
In this review, we’ll look at some of the best Ontario online casino sites that people can get access to when they’re in the Ontario province, and we’ll also offer helpful tips regarding criteria you’ll need to look out for if you’re interested in doing your own research when it comes to playing these games at safe online sites. Later on, we’ll also look at the types of games you can find when playing at these sites, so you’ll know just what to expect especially if you’re new to playing online.
Choosing Ontario for Casinos
Similarly to gambling laws in Ontario in the past, online gambling in Illinois can be considered a grey area. First things first, it’s illegal for a casino site to operate on Illinois soil, so this means that many online casino sites in the province are unregulated. That being said, players are still allowed to play online casino games at these online casino sites, but often, these sites simply won’t offer the same set of safety and security standards that comes with playing at regulated casino sites.
For a long time, Ontario was also in the same position as Illinois when it came to online gambling, however, this all changed on the 4th of April 2022 when the state of Ontario finally regulated the market. Illinois players now have the option to play online casino games from Ontario, and subsequently, play at casinos that are regulated, safe, and offer the best standards for all Canadian players.
Online Casinos Ontario: Our Top Recommended Ontario sites
Online entertainment is becoming all the rage in today’s day and age, and there are several new online casino sites popping up every month that are promising the best online casino gaming experience. With this in mind, it can be quite overwhelming to decide which online casino site you’d like to create an account with and make your first deposit with.
To make things easy for our readers, we’ve listed some of the best Ontario online casino sites that promise a safe and secure casino experience, a fantastic selection of games, great promotions, and a customer care team that’s got your back every step of the way.
BetMGM Online Casino Ontario
One of the best Ontario online casinos and sports betting sites that players simply can’t get enough of is BetMGM Casino Ontario, which happens to be one of the biggest casino brands around. This site has over 900 games available on its site, including a great selection of live casino games from one of the biggest names in the industry together with several fun poker titles which you won’t find on every online site you visit! BetMGM also has its own in-built casino app, so we highly recommend downloading it to enjoy these on the go!
LeoVegas Ontario Online Casino
With millions of people signed up, LeoVegas is another well-known Ontario online casino site, and seasoned players will have probably come across their iconic lion-head logo several times in their online gaming journey! LeoVegas is home to over 3500+ games to get your paws on from some of the most well-established online gaming providers around, such as Microgaming, Evolution Gaming, IGT, and Play’n GO, to mention a few. Apart from a great selection of games, this award-winning site also has a 24⁄7 customer service team that’s got your back every step of the way!
888 Online Casino Ontario
With over 25 years of experience, 888 Casino is another fantastic site that we just have to mention in our Ontario online casinos list. When playing here, players have four sites which they can choose from, all of which offer an unforgettable gaming experience; 888 Casino, 888 Poker, 888 Ladies, and 888 Sport. This multi-award-winning casino site has over 2000+ top-quality games on offer, ranging from popular and well-loved titles together with more underground and niche ones, promising a unique and versatile casino experience. Just like the casinos mentioned above, they also have an in-built app that you can choose to download if you’re interested in playing when you’re out and about.
Royal Panda Ontario Online Casino
Equipped with both a comprehensive sports book and a superb casino site, Royal Panda is a casino you won’t want to snooze out on! Royal Panda’s mission is to offer the best casino experience possible, so apart from an excellent range of online casino games, you can expect a professional and friendly customer service team, a great loyalty programme, plenty of banking options to choose from, fast payouts, and an overall smooth and pleasant gaming experience! This site also has a handy ‘Hot’ feature, which allows players to view the site’s most popular titles available, making it perfect for players looking to play something new!
Bwin Ontario Online Casino
When playing at Bwin, you’ll have access to over 30,000 sports events daily and 90 sports markets to bet on, together with over 1000 slot games to enjoy from over 30 software developers, including NetEnt, Microgaming, Pragmatic Play, Play’n GO, and ELK Studios. Apart from a great variety of live games and table games, Bwin is also a slot’s heaven, and you’ll find titles ranging from all kinds of themes, such as horror, anime, or fantasy, together with all kinds of gaming mechanics, so you’ll definitely be spoilt for choice here!
Types of Legal Online Gambling in Ontario
Apart from online casino games, players playing in Ontario have several other online gambling options to choose from. Provincial lottery was the first legal gaming option available for Ontario players, followed by Ontario casino gambling. Later on, in August 2021, sports betting also became legal, when the bill for single sports betting was passed in the province. Indeed, after the 2021 iGaming bill was passed, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario formed a subsidiary called iGaming Ontario, and their task was to manage this new market in the Ontario Province.
How to judge the Best Online Casinos in Ontario
Now that we’ve outlined some of the best Ontario online casino sites available for players playing in Ontario, it’s time to have a closer look at the criteria that tell apart a safe online casino site from an unsafe one. As previously mentioned, with the rise of online casino games, there are hundreds of online casino sites popping up on a very regular basis, however, not all of them offer the same standards when it comes to protecting their player’s rights.
If you’re new to the world of online gaming, it’s very easy to end up on the wrong site, so with this in mind, we’ve outlined some of the main criteria that are essential to keep in mind when looking for an online casino site to make an account with.
Customer Service
When looking for an online casino site to make an account with, you’ll want to make sure that your site of choice has a customer service team that’s professional and friendly, and that deals with queries in a relatively quick manner. There’s nothing more annoying than having to wait around for someone to get back to you when you’re playing online, so with this in mind, we highly recommend choosing a site that has a live chat feature available on its site that will connect you to a member of their team in a matter of seconds. Ideally, your site’s customer service team should also be available 24⁄7.
Banking Options
Before you sign up with a casino, you’ll want to check out whether your site of choice has your preferred banking options on offer. The best Ontario online casinos will have an array of banking options to choose from, ranging from classic methods such as Visa and Mastercard, e-wallets such as Revolut, Skrill, and Neteller, and also cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. You’ll also want to check out how long a casino will take to deal with withdrawals, especially if you’re not keen on waiting around a couple of weeks for your withdrawals to be processed!
Licenses
Regulated Ontario online casino sites are very easy to distinguish, and this is because these sites are licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and iGaming Ontario, so watch out for their seal before you go ahead and make an account with a casino site! These licences ensure that players’ personal details are kept encrypted and protected, and they also make sure that the games on offer are completely fair and secure.
Game Selection
Last but definitely not least, before you sign up with an online casino site you’ll want to make sure that your site of choice has a great selection of casino games from software providers that you love. Our favourite casino sites all have plenty of gaming options to choose from, and more importantly, these casino games are provided by industry leaders in the field such as Evolution Gaming, Play’n GO, Microgaming, and NetEnt. Playing games from these developers means playing titles that have top-quality graphics, immersive soundtracks, and plenty of fun features that are sure to keep things exciting!
Types of Online Casino Games in Ontario
As mentioned earlier, most top-class Ontario online casinos will have a range of game options on offer, giving players a versatile casino experience where they can play different games with all kinds of themes, features, and mechanics. Here are the top five types of games you’ll often find when playing at online casino sites:
Online Slots
The slots section will often be the largest category of games you’ll find when playing online, and these games are also one of the easiest to play as generally, they simply involve placing a wager and then spinning the reels! That being said, most new online slots being launched nowadays can come with all kinds of features which might take a couple of spins to get used to, so it might be wise to try out some games in the demo mode before you go ahead and play them for real money.
Video Poker
Based on a five-card draw poker, Video poker is a fun and immersive way to play your favourite poker games online, and you’ll find plenty of variants of this iconic game when playing at casino sites.
Roulette
Roulette is a thrilling game that involves making a bet on where you think the ball will land on a wheel. You can choose to play this game either in virtual form or in live casino form, just like other table games.
Blackjack
Blackjack is probably one of the most popular table games in the casino world. The rules of the game are simple; the player’s card amounts have to go over the dealer’s card amounts, without going over 21, making for an exciting gaming experience.
Live casino games
Live casino games are some of the most exciting titles games you can play, as here, you’ll be playing in real-time with a real live dealer who’s being streamed from luxury studios, offering the most authentic casino experience possible from the comfort of your own home. Choose from table games and fun game shows that will surely leave you on the edge of your seat!
Jackpots
Jackpot games are those slots that come with relatively high prizes, making them perfect for any high rollers out there. Jackpot games come in mainly two groups; progressive or fixed. The prizes of progressive jackpots can reach very high amounts as they take a portion from every wager that a player makes which in turn increases the main jackpot prize. On the other hand, the prizes of fixed jackpots don’t fluctuate in size, no matter how many players are making wagers on it.