The Canadian poker sites we’ve listed above have the best promotions online and also provide mobile equivalents of their platform. Additionally, those who choose to stick with a brand will potentially have the opportunity to become a VIP player. Best Canadian Poker Sites Home » Poker Rooms by Country » Poker Sites in Canada While often overlooked during conversations regarding the global online poker industry, Canada is a substantial market both in terms of absolute size and of participation rate per capita.
The best Canadian poker rooms offer special qualifying tournaments and promotions specifically designed for you and other players in your region. For example, a site like PokerStars, Party Poker or 888 Poker Canada will offer a freeroll qualifying tournament to play in a live WPT tournament nearby. A top poker site wouldn’t get our recommendation without a wide selection of poker games to choose from, and from reliable software developers. Poker Tournaments The best and biggest poker sites will offer regular poker tournaments for you to take part in.
Looking for the best Canadian online poker sites December 2020? Poker players in Canada want simply the best online poker sites for Canadians. Canadians want the best online poker sites to play at and they must be safe, licensed and regulated. Many Canadian players have played at Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and UB, are not happy and are looking for safer alternatives. The best real money poker sites are not simply safe they are also high traffic, have outstanding software, game variety and support. they also offer superior sign up bonuses for new players, run constant and exciting promotions and have outstanding player rewards programs. You also want to be able to play in English or in French and have support in your language of choice. Below we have listed the top online poker sites for Canadians for you to choose from.
Best Online Poker Sites For Canadians
| # | Poker Room | Rating | Features | Bonus | Visit Site |
| 1 | #1 Rated Online Poker Site Great Software + Fishiest Players $4500 Welcome Package | $8 free + 100% up to$600 | |||
| 2 | Top North American Site Traffic Peak is Opposite Other Sites Anonymous Poker | 100% up to$1000 | |||
| 3 | Many Soft Poker Tournaments Up to 50% Cashback Rewards Very Popular Globally | 100% up to$500 | |||
| 4 | Sunday Millions Poker Tournament Excellent VIP Loyalty Program Worlds Largest Online Poker Site | 100% up to$600 |
#1 Online Poker Site For Canadians - 888 Poker
888 PokerFeatures
|
Online Poker in Canada
Online poker is legal in Canada and your winnings are tax free as long as it is not your primary source of income. The government's of Quebec and BC operate online poker sites but they are truly horrid with very low stakes and player volumes on bad software.
Online poker is popular in Canada and Canadians are some of the best poker players in the world. Canadian players win more often online and off. Canadian Jonathan Duhamel won the WSOP Main Event in 2010.
The most popular cities for online poker are Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal and Edmonton in that order. Toronto is not only the biggest city in Canada - but the nearest Casino poker room is Casino Rama near Orillia Ontario and is run by the OLG (The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission)
Online Poker is also very popular in rural parts of the country like Nunavut, Newfoundland and the Yukon as well as many small towns across the country. You can play online poker via satellite high speed internet which is popular in the most rural parts where cable and DSL are not available.
Canadians play the most online poker in the winter months especially December through May. Peak Canadian Online Poker traffic runs from around Christmas time to the end of May.
Peak traffic times for different poker sites in Canada. Most online poker sites have traffic that peak between 3 in the afternoon (Central Time) and 8:00pm. The exception to this rule would be Bodog which has peak traffic between the hours of 7:00pm and 10:00pm. Peak traffic is important because it not only makes it easier to find a sit n go or cash game of the type and stakes that you desire it is also when the casual poker players play and if you have even a little skill you will be more profitable playing during peak hours. So for you night owls Bodog Poker would be a good choice.
Contents
- 3 Frequently Asked Questions
Finding The Best Canadian Poker Sites
The key points which we have listed above only begin to scratch the surface of what is considered to be a quality poker website in Canada. In order to have the best online poker experience as a Canadian you should also look for the websites where you will have an option to qualify for live events, earn loyalty points and reach for the VIP membership. You will also have a chance to be awarded with other bonuses and unlock more features. It’s a lot to ask for, but there are websites that offer all of this and more. Another important aspect we haven’t mentioned is the mobile-friendliness. In this day and age, a lot of people demand the “on the go” access for playing poker and other games, so online casinos either must have a mobile-friendly website – or preferably an app – in order to attract new players.
Best Canadian Poker Sites
When talking about poker websites in Canada we can divide them into two main categories – websites exclusive to poker, and general online casinos. The first category might be the best option if you’re only looking to play poker and nothing else. These usually offer several variants of poker and are what professional poker players prefer. What can be considered as a drawback here is the competitiveness. Poker pros are constantly lurking on these websites and it might be hard for you to win any matchups against them, especially if you’re a newcomer. However, the majority of websites that we have listed here are online casinos that have poker alongside other games as well. Some fall in the category of bookies that focus mainly on sports betting, but also have casino games such as poker, roulette, blackjack, baccarat, etc. Some sites, on the other hand, have slots as their main game type, but don’t leave out table games in their offer. These websites are great for first-time poker players so they can learn and develop their game on more of a “beginner level”. Note that most of these websites aren’t Canadian but only allow Canadian players to have an account along with the players from other countries. As a matter of fact, these websites attract players from all across the globe, so there are several languages that you can choose for browsing them. Canadian players won’t have to worry about this since almost all the websites we listed here have both English and French in their language options.
So, there you go. We did the homework and now it’s up to you to choose a website that’s going to be your new poker room. Take all the aforementioned details into consideration and your choice should be easy. All the listed websites are somewhat different from each other, with one thing in common: they will cater to the needs of any Canadian poker player and make the poker experience enjoyable with them.
Understanding Canadian Gambling Laws
The good news about Canada in general is that online gambling is considered legal to a certain extent.
The laws about online gambling as an illegal activity aren’t very clear, so you can say that it’s somewhat a gray area. This means there are no specific laws that prohibit you from playing real money poker online in Canada. The same can’t really be said for the US, so it’s no wonder a lot of online poker players are crossing the border to enjoy playing worry-free at their neighbours’ up North.
In order to fully understand how this works we must put some Canadian gambling laws under a microscope. As we mentioned before, the sites we listed aren’t strictly Canadian, but rather only allow Canadians to gamble on them. While some forms of online gambling are legal in Canada, the gambling laws that include foreign websites and companies aren’t very clear. That’s why we dug a little deeper and tried to explain what is and what isn’t allowed when it comes to online poker in Canada.
But first, let’s take a quick look into the history of gambling in this country. The “Criminal Code” that was introduced back in 1892 banned all forms of gambling in Canada. [1] However, this ban wasn’t strictly followed through and a lot of horse racing bets were present at the turn of the century, only to become legal in 1925. Fast-forward to a few decades later, to 1969 to be precise, when a new addition to the Criminal Code gave provincial governments the authority to conduct their own laws (similar to how state laws function in the US). In 1985, a new amendment gave permission to provincial governments that could now administer laws related to slot machine use. It’s safe to say that Canadian laws on gambling have “loosened up” over the years so today we have many forms of gambling that are completely legal in the country.
But what about online gambling? This is where it gets a little confusing. One thing that is clear is that it’s not legal to operate an online casino in Canada. However, there’s an exception. Just like with Native American reservations in the US, Canada has a similar system. The country’s laws consider online casino in Canada legal only if they operate from the Kahnawake reservation in Quebec. They even have their own commision called the Kahnawake Gaming Commission that can give out licences to casinos, but only if they operate from within the boundaries of the reservation. [2] Additionally, any action involving casinos that operate online but are based outside of Canada is not clearly legislated in the country. Note that this only includes operating and not playing at an online casino. So from a player’s standpoint, you really shouldn’t be worried either way. Generally speaking, Canada is considered pretty safe for all online gamblers. More importantly, there aren’t any records we found about people getting prosecuted or arrested for playing online poker at an overseas website.
Best Canadian Online Poker Sites
As Canadian gambling laws have their roots in the late 19th century, you wouldn’t be wrong if you said that they were a bit outdated. Especially with the new form of gambling (online), Canadian gambling laws remain confusing and in desperate need of some additions. There are mentions about Canadian government sitting to discuss online gambling, but no reports prove that such talks have been scheduled to take place. However, have in mind that this might change in the future, and if it does, we will make sure to update this article as soon as possible.