Canada’s Online Casino Market is Opening up to Regulated Casinos
Online casinos have been growing in popularity around the world. Legislating gambling has always been a tricky issue and adding a digital element has made it even more complex. Some countries have taken a heavy-handed approach while others have only intervened when problems arise.
Canada, like the United States, has tried to balance federal and provincial interests when regulating online casinos. In the last ten years, the laws surrounding online gambling have moved from restrictive but poorly defined to clearing the way for legalization.
As the market grows, new casinos are appearing all the time. We have innumerable options when choosing where to play table games and slots. The new casinos for 2022 are some of the best on the market and they offer some of the best bonuses to new and returning players.
This article will break down what the new regulations are to give a clear understanding of the laws around online casinos in Canada. Then it will explain why it’s a great idea to choose a new casino and suggest some of the best new online casinos.
Changes to regulations
As recently as 2015, online casinos were seen as existing in a “legal grey area”. Land-based casinos were regulated by each province and the restrictions were clear. However, there were no statutes that directly addressed online gambling.
What it boiled down to is that it was legal for Canadians to place bets at offshore casinos, but it wasn’t strictly legal for those same casinos to accept the bets. It all came down to licensing. Existing Canadian legislation required local licenses, but if online casinos weren’t recognized they couldn’t be licensed.
Since then, most provinces have introduced their own online gambling legislation. Provinces that have legalized online gambling also run their own online casinos. For example, Quebec has Espacejeux, Manitoba offers PlayNow Manitoba and British Colombia has its own version of PlayNow.
Some provinces are considering changing the regulations to make gambling at offshore casinos legal because they worry about losing out on tax revenue as online casinos replace traditional land-based casinos.
These types of regulations could limit the number of online casinos that cater to Canadian customers. However, they would also increase the protection available to Canadian gamblers who currently have little to no recourse if they run into a problem with an offshore provider.
Why choose a new casino?
If you’re browsing the internet looking for an online casino to play at, you’re likely to see a lot of advertisements and articles suggesting that you should play at a new casino. This is partly because new things tend to catch our eyes – but there are also some solid reasons for it.
New online casinos have had the time to see what does and doesn’t work. Unlike older brands who had to break new ground in an emerging industry, new casinos are able to learn from the growing pains of their older competitors.
As any hardcore gamer will tell you, no matter how good the first version of something is – the upgrade is going to be better. Similarly to graphics cards and CPUs, the technology behind online casinos is constantly being developed and improved on.
The last reason is that with so many competitors, new online casinos have to do something really different to stand out from the pack. When a new casino needs to make a name for itself, you see the craziest themes, the best bonuses and the biggest game libraries.
Best new Canadian online casinos
On the subject of crazy themes helping online casinos to differentiate themselves from the rest of the field, let’s take a look at some of the best new online casinos out there with the wildest themes.
Cookie Casino
Cookie Casino’s mascot isn’t just a cookie, he’s a king cookie! True, it’s an incredibly silly theme, but that’s a big part of what makes it unique. It holds a Malta license, which is a good sign as they are one of the major licensing bodies in the world.
Alongside hundreds of regular slots, they also offer 40 progressive slots. All the big table games are here too, in regular and live dealer format. If you don’t take gambling too seriously and treat it like the fun pastime it is, you’re going to love Cookie Casino.
SupaCasi
The waving lucky cat — known as Maneki-neko — is a fairly standard symbol for a casino. The waving lucky cat who is also a caped superhero? That’s a pretty new twist! SupaCasi’s SuperCat mascot is super cute and hopefully helps players be super lucky.
What is definitely super about SupaCasi is the variety offered. Besides the usual slots and table games you’ll find both sports betting and bingo. They also offer a weekly bonus, rather than just a welcome bonus for new players.
SpinPug
SpinPug has two mascots: the cartoon pink and purple pug that features in their logo and an adorable real pug wearing a necklace and a bow. Their tagline is ‘cutest casino’ and they aren’t lying. If you need a dose of cute in your day, this is the casino for you.
It isn’t just cuteness on offer. SpinPug boasts a library of 2,500 games. The name might make you think they only offer slot games when in reality they have one of the biggest selections of live dealer table games on the market.
Not everyone wants their gambling time to be full of cutesy characters or goofy interfaces. Some players would rather have an online casino that captures the feel of a classy Las Vegas casino. Here are some of the best new options for that Rat Pack feel.
Neon Vegas
Neon Vegas somehow manages to capture that 1980s throwback vibe without feeling dated. Their user interface definitely has a bit of a neon cyberpunk feel that is very cool. Their welcome bonus is pretty cool too: a 500% bonus with no minimum deposit.
Another cool aspect of this casino is that it has several safe gambling features. This includes a Time Out feature and the ability to set yourself a spending limit.
Plaza Royal
The Plaza Royal casino gets its logo from the iconic ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas’ sign at the end of the Strip. As the name suggests, Plaza Royal knows how to treat its regular players like royalty. They have one of the most rewarding VIP programs in the business.
With tiers from Bronze to Prestige, there are rewards and perks for gamblers at every level. You don’t have to play constantly or be a big spender to be treated like you matter. With a great library of games, it’s easy to see why they’re one of the hottest new online casinos.
