Honest Online Casinos

Find and Join Honest Online Casinos

One of our goals here is to bring only the best online casinos to our fellow players in Canada.

With so many to choose from, where do we begin?

The answer to that question is simpler than you might imagine!

No single gaming site will be best suited to every individual player, so the term “Best” becomes subjective (an opinion).

However, there is one objective quality that any site must possess before we even consider drilling down into the particulars of what they have to offer our readers.

That quality is honesty.

Top 5 Honest Casinos in Canada

All of our hard work in identifying and detailing online gambling venues for our readers would be for naught if we couldn’t trust our partners to tell the truth and act in accord with their statements.

Yes, a site must offer:

1. Fair games from tested and certified software
2. Transparent and fair terms to all players whether they use bonuses or not
3. They must be licensed, offer a secure gaming and communications environment, protect your personal and financial data, be responsive to questions and complaints, they must believe that a bet laid is a bet paid, and they must pay all of their bills or they shouldn’t be in the business of taking your bets.
4. Above all, they must be honest casino operators so that we can trust them to pay you when you win and you will continue to visit us for information, entertainment, and special offers.

That is the objective fact.

We’ll talk more about honest online casinos and why that is the first thing we look for in an operator, but first, we’ll share some of our overall criteria for choosing the casino partners we list on this site.

We always look deep into an operator’s credibility, their history, their license, the management team, and sometimes the owners. While we can’t share all of the information in the public domain, you can rest assured that we have inspected each property’s bonafides before we begin to review them online.

Part of examining a property’s credibility and history involves soaking up and analyzing player feedback posted across the web. It can help identify areas of weakness in customer service, payout times, and even Canadian payment processing.

While the frontend, the part you see, always relays as much information as possible, there are many other things we also consider on the backend, before we decide to list them, and as the time goes by.

You can expect to see the following elements covered in nearly all casino reviews here:

Expert’s opinion – The site owner, Tom Wilson, examines all of the information presented in the review, and after asking for clarifications or challenging any statements he thinks might not be 100% accurate, he sums up the casino briefly. Experienced readers can simply examine the software, games, bonus offers, and payment methods on the top of the page and play, or they can look for more detailed information in the review itself.

Security and fair play – The site’s gaming license is explored, as are other elements such as games testing, website security, and responsible gambling among other important items.

Banking review – Deposit and withdrawal methods for Canadian players are listed. Many of the payment methods have in-depth reviews and/or step-by-step guides on the linked pages.

Support – Customer service hours, phone numbers, email addresses, and whether the site offers live chat are listed.

Client feedback – Here we look around the web at active and inactive player forums and complaint sites to get a better feel of how the ”person on the street”  feels and thinks about the operation. We take the pros and cons, the good and the bad and list the most important feedback found.

Credibility (licensing, operator, time in business, etc.) Anything not covered above is explored in this section. If it is a new casino, run by a trusted operator, that will be mentioned here.

Welcome bonus overview – We take an in-depth look at the welcome bonus, the amount you’ll need to deposit in order to maximize the offer, any small print in the terms and conditions, wagering requirements, restricted games, etc.

Bonus in practice – Details on using the bonus.

Bonus sum up – Here we go into the value of the bonus for different types of players… if it’s best suited to recreational players who are just looking for a little extra playtime with a chance to cash out, or if one or more stages or elements are good for more serious gamblers, we’ll let you know what we think in a careful analysis.

Games Overview:

• slots
• table games
• live casino

Mobile casino – Android, iOS

Bottom line – We wrap it up with a summation of the casino, its offers, what to look for in the future, and why we feel comfortable recommending them to you.

You might be asking yourself…

Why does CanadianCasinos.ca go to all that work for me?

We are what you could call marketing partners. When you find value in our work and click through to a casino, we usually get some sort of compensation if you visit them. The affiliate model is far and away the most common form of advertising compensation on the internet.

A quick example…

If you are reading a foodie blog and the article has a link in it for a blender, that link might send you to Amazon or another retailer. When you buy something there, the merchant rewards the referring website for sending your business to them.

It’s simple and straightforward. We don’t attempt to hide it, and we’re proud of our casino partners, as they are proud to work with us. The managers of the properties you see here know they are in good company because we only promote sites that possess the inimitable quality of honesty.

Casinos with honesty and integrity

Another quality that goes hand in hand with honesty is integrity.

“…[we] trust our partners to tell the truth and act in accord with their statements.“

Integrity… The word comes from the Latin adjective “integer”, which means whole and complete. When one acts in accord with their beliefs and statements they are said to have integrity. Personally, if honesty and consistency of character are important to you, you may also have an inner sense of “wholeness” and well-being when you act with integrity.

When an online casino is not only honest but “walks the walk” as it “talks the talk” the operation shows integrity in how they deal with their players. Without honesty and integrity, they don’t stand a chance of getting listed and reviewed here.

Honesty is very objective. A statement is either true or untrue, it is either a fact or it is not. A gaming site cannot be ‘a little bit crooked’ or ‘a little bit honest’.

They are honest or they are not.

Opinions are very subjective. What may be true to someone else (I like overripe bananas), may not be true to you or vice versa (I despise overripe bananas!).

“Fairness” can be a fact or a matter of opinion

This is where the term “fair” can become a fact – based on the objective reality, or an opinion – based on a person’s wants or needs.

If a casino’s terms are clearly stated and don’t contain any predatory conditions, those can objectively be called fair terms.

Fair terms are:

• True
• Transparent
• Adhered to by the casino
• Not predatory (contain no caveat that can be used to ‘get you’)

If the terms and conditions contradict themselves on different pages of the website, or if they can best be described as ‘murky‘, or even if they are predatory – like an obscure term that states only 10% of your balance can be used for a single bet (does it refer to the initial balance, the bonus balance, or your current balance?) – we would consider those terms to be patently unfair.

If you play with a bonus and the terms seem to cover everything, and winnings are denied for some imaginary “spirit of the bonus” rule – those terms are not fair either.

Lying by omission is still lying…

A casino that leaves out key details or buries them deep in the general terms in nearly indecipherable legalese, is not an honest casino and is not operating with integrity. You will not find such operations listed here.

But, if you simply don’t like the terms and you accept them anyway, that is not unfair… is it?

We’re of the opinion that as long as the terms are spelled out clearly, and the casino honestly abides by their side of the deal, the bonus offer is honest and fair.

We pour over all welcome bonus terms in detail, with a fine-tooth comb, and with an eye out for anything untoward or unusual.  If casino management isn’t willing to change a “squishy” or unclear term for all players when we point it out to them, we might still list the operation but we will always let you know in the review that one term or another might be out of the ordinary.

As long as all other aspects of the operation are fair, and they are honest about their reasoning behind the term, we don’t see that as a reason to disqualify them – but – we will inform you in no uncertain terms.

Fair does not necessarily mean “attractive” to all players

Some fair offers are more attractive than others, some are easier to profit from, some may give you hours and hours of gambling enjoyment without much of a chance to make a big cashout – but the desirability of a fair offer is down to personal preference and each individual’s gambling style.

The expected value for an advantage player and the expected value for a purely recreational player can be completely different.

Let’s look at a couple of objectively fair offers – one attractive to certain players and the other more attractive to another playing personality with different preferences:

To make the math easy, we’ll assume each player deposits $100 and cash funds are used before bonus funds when betting. Any wins prior to using bonus funds have no encumbrances. Win on your money and cash out at any time. Dip into the bonus funds and you accept the limitations (bonus terms).

The advantage player may choose a welcome bonus of 100% with a low wagering requirement and an unlimited or otherwise mathematically attractive cashout potential. The maximum bet is $5 per spin when playing with bonus funds.

The player deposits $100, the casino matches the deposit with $100, and the player has $200 to gamble with.

The terms are clear and there are no hidden or predatory conditions. The first $100 is played through with no rules and the gambler doesn’t win much, giving back what they do win until their bankroll is depleted to $100. Now they make sure not to bet over $5 when playing with the bonus funds. They complete the wagering requirements with a balance of $8,500 and the casino pays out in the time frame stated.

This is a fair offer that might appeal to all players, but especially someone who likes to bet big or play highly volatile slots.

Now, let’s look at another offer that may be attractive to another sort of online gambler, this one, more of a recreational player or someone just starting out.

A welcome bonus of 200% is offered. However, certain highly volatile slots are not allowed. These titles are clearly stated. The playthrough is 40 times the bonus plus deposit (40xb+d). The most that can be cashed out is 40 times the deposit. The maximum bet is $5 per spin.

The player deposits $100, the casino matches the deposit with $200, and the player has a $300 bankroll.

The player spins on a good mix of slots with their balance going up and down… sometimes higher at a new peak, sometimes less to a new low.

The player is down to the last $30 of their initial $300 bankroll and hits a jackpot worth $8,000. After completing the wagering requirement ($300×40=$12,000) they have $6,500 in their account.

They attempt to cash out the full amount and it is denied. They are reminded that the most they can cash out from the offer is 40xd ($100×40=$4,000).

They submit a new withdrawal request and receive $4,000 within the stated time frame.

Are both bonuses “fair”?

Yes.

The recreational player might be a little hot under the collar thinking the casino ‘stole’ $2,500 – but – they had spent all of their own $100 long ago, had played through $170 of the $200 bonus and were almost defeated playing through the last of the “casino’s money“.

The fact they hit the jackpot was directly related to the fact that they were playing on a bonus. They won for $4,000 and made a profit of $3,900 ($4k minus their recouped deposit of $100).

We call that a good thing!

Now, you might not even consider taking a bonus with an extremely low bet limit, a very high turnover (wagering requirement), and a max cashout. We don’t blame you! But those bonuses are just fine for some people.

That begs the question…

What sort of player are you?

Now that you know we only deal with honest casinos and that we reassess those relationships from time to time as well as update bonuses, terms, and deposit methods, etc., on an ongoing basis, you might be wondering which sort of casino operations are best suited to your style of play. Have you decided what sort of bonuses you should accept that will contribute the most to your player satisfaction?

We might be able to help with that too!

You can check out our article on Casino Playing Personalities to learn more about the types of casinos, the types of games, and the types of bonuses that might appeal most to you and give you the greatest fulfillment.