1-2-Done! How to find an Interac casino Canada can trust.
Have you ever had to do a task you
really didn’t feel up to? Did you wish there was an easier way? Some
way to skip through all the hard work and get straight to the reward
at the end? Rarely do such shortcuts exist in life. If you do find
one, chances are it could either get you fired or locked up. But
sometimes, often when you least expect it, something comes along to
make your life a whole lot easier.
I’ve mentioned this little tip in other publications, but I feel it’s so important, it deserves its own section on this website. It is going to be the easiest casino-seeking tutorial you’ve ever read – and I’ve ever written. If you live in Canada, enjoy online gambling, and trust Interac, keep reading…
How to find an Interac Casino Canada can Trust
This is a simple two step process.
Ready? Here goes…
Step #1 Find
an online casino that accepts Interac.
Step #2 Join
the casino.
1 – 2 – Done! Was that easy
enough? You probably think I’m crazy. I can just imagine the thoughts
racing through your brain right now…
You can’t just go trusting the
first Interac casino you come across. It’s never been that easy
before! Why would it be so easy now?They can’t all be trustworthy.
Maybe they were trustworthy at one point, but what if a new one
launched since this was written – are they to be trusted, too?
Yes, as a matter of fact, they are.
All of them are. If it’s promoting Interac, you can trust it, and you
can join it from Canada. It’s that simple.
How do I know Canadian players are accepted?
They just are. If Interac is on the
banking menu, Canadians are accepted. You see, Interac is a
Canadian-made monetary transfer service that only serves customers in
Canada. The transfer can come from or go to any bank, domestic or
international, but either the sender or recipient account must be a
Canadian financial institution.
Simply put, if Interac is accepted,
Canadians are accepted, as they are the only players who can use it.
How do I know the casino operator can be trusted?
The beauty of Interac is that it is
powered by Canada’s largest banks. Those banks have no desire to get
ripped off or caught up in any scandals. They insure their user
accounts, and like any insurance company, they do not want to pay out
any claims if they don’t have to. To that end, they have hired
commerce investigators that look closely at the business practices of
every international company that requests the use of their services
for Canadian customers.
Suffice it to say, if the online
casino wasn’t entirely on the up and up, boasting a proven track
record for best practices and customer satisfaction, Interac wouldn’t
do business with them in the first place.
How do I find an Interac casino?
This is the only difficult part of
the task. Then again, it’s the only task, so you’ll just have to suck
it up, buttercup! It’s not that difficult, but less than 2% of the
world’s online casinos take Interac. That shouldn’t be too
surprising, considering how strict Interac is in investigating
businesses.
To make things a little easier, I’ll
suggest LeoVegas Casino, accepting Interac
Online (instant EFT) and Interac E-Transfer (via
email or mobile) deposits and withdrawals.
Judging a Safe Online Casino by its
Cover: Why licensing jurisdiction is everything.
When you were
growing up, did your parents or mentors every teach you don’t
judge a book by its cover? I’m sure you understand the
meaning of this age-old idiom. And in many ways, it is excellent
advice. You should never judge or negatively label anything or anyone
without giving it a chance; finding out for yourself if it’s worthy
of appreciation. That’s all well and good for most things in life,
but not online gambling.
Joining a
disreputable casino site can be a devastating experience. It can
result in anything from identity theft to financial ruin; both of
which have long-lasting consequences. If you’re lucky, the rogue
operator takes your first deposit and disappeared into the great blue
yonder. If not, you could end up investing time and again into games
that are fraudulently designed to rip you off – much more so than
the legitimate, low-edge casino games we choose to play.
Any educated
gambler knows very well that every single casino game is built to
favor the house. Only knowing we have a chance to win makes it fun.
It provides an entertaining experience that’s worthy of our spare
cash. Take away that reasonable chance, and what you’re left with is
disappointment, despair, and downright illegal activity.
Judging a Safe Online Casino by its Cover
In years past,
evaluating the legitimacy of an online casino was a tedious task.
There were multiple features you had to look for, sifting through a
website’s many pages and terms of service, reading the fine print…
Who wants to do that?
While this method
was extremely effective for those who took the time to do it right,
most people didn’t. Instead, they went to one of thousands of the
world wide web’s online gambling review websites and trusted the
information they found there. But iGaming affiliates are comparable
to the online casino industry. Some sites are safe, and some are not.
Some affiliate
reviews sites are great. They’re honest, diligent in their reviews,
and updated regularly with helpful information. Others are biased,
lacking any integrity, saying anything and everything they can to get
players to click their links. And why wouldn’t some do this? Let’s
not forget, just like the casinos, affiliates are looking to make
money. So if you can’t trust every casino, you can’t trust every
review, either.
The good news is,
thanks to the increasing rate of iGaming regulation in some parts of
the world, no one has to go through all that trouble anymore. In
fact, the whole process can be narrowed down to the evaluation of one
single item.
Jurisdiction of License and Regulation
If you want to
know if an online casino is safe, go to its website, scroll down to
the bottom of the page, and look for the licensing info. The
jurisdiction in which an operator is licensed and regulated is more
telling than Kim Kardashian playing poker in mirrored sunglasses…
yeah, she really did that.
There are good
jurisdictions and bad ones. Any province of Canada (B.C., Ontario or
Quebec) is good. Each hosts its own self-regulated iGaming website,
but you must live in that province to access its home-grown gambling
operation. Any US state that regulates iGaming is also good, but the
same stipulation exists. Outside of these, you’re looking for any
country in Europe.
If you come across
a country name you don’t know, look it up on Google or Wikipedia to
find out where it is. There are several small island nations off the
coast of Europe that North Americans may not be familiar with, and
several of them make good business out of licensing iGaming
operations. So if you’re not sure, look it up! It only takes a couple
of seconds.
Safe Licensing Jurisdictions
The UK is
top of the line. UKGC sets the standard for bet practices, player
protection, anti-fraud and anti-money laundering, the works. Malta
and Isle of Man are right up there, too. Gibraltar, Alderney,
Estonia, Cypress, Latvia – pretty much
anywhere in Europe. France, Italy and Spain are
also top-notch, but they are ring-fenced like Canada, so you
can only access those sites if your physically located within their
respective borders.
The same goes for
any direct regulation by a US state. Acceptance of American
players means nothing. If a US-facing operator isn’t regulated in the
US, it can’t possibly be licensed and regulated by a responsible
authority. Which brings us to…
Lax Regulatory Jurisdictions
Anything that
doesn’t qualify under the description above is not a jurisdiction
that you can put 100% trust in. Costa Rica, Curacao,
Panama – places like these love to dole out licenses and
collect fees for them, but they take no responsibility for the
legitimacy of the companies they license. They offer little, if
anything, in the way of a legal framework.
Costa Rica, for
example, has only one rule – do not accept players from within
Costa Rica. Anything else goes. Operators can appear one day,
disappear the next, taking all player account balances with them. So
long as they don’t violate that one rule, Costa Rica’s government
won’t do a thing about it. There are absolutely no player protections
in place; no one to turn to if the worst happens.
Similar licenses
are sold in Panama. Curacao isn’t as bad, but it’s not much better,
either. The fact that Curacao licensees can accept American players
is very telling. Look at it this way. If it’s illegal for people in
New York to gambling online, and a Curacao licensed site is accepting
New Yorkers, it’s pretty clear the regulations aren’t all that tight.
Double Check the Credentials
Once you’ve
scrolled to the bottom of the online casino’s homepage and determined
where it is licensed, you can go one step further to make sure the
license is genuine. The safest online casinos will provide a logo for
the licensing jurisdiction, and link it back to their licensing info
on the regulatory body’s website. Clicking this logo should prove the
license is valid and active.
If there is no clickable link or logo, you can take a moment to look up the regulatory authority’s website. For instance, if it’s in Malta, search for “Malta Gaming Regulator”, or “Malta Gaming License”, etc. These searches will lead you directly to the Malta Gaming Authority, found at www.mga.org.mt.
Then, from the
regulator’s website, you should be able to search for the casino name
or the owner/operator company, generally listed in the copyright info
(bottom of homepage).
Of course, if
you’re not finding the information you’re looking for – no license
info, no name of owner/operator, no valid license number – if any
of this is difficult to find, you know it’s time to move on. Don’t
waste your time on a website that isn’t making this search easy for
you. Remember, it should be a quick, one step process. If the website
seems like it has something to hide, it probably does. It’s not a
safe online casino.
Tips for finding the right debit card casino in Canada.
You decide you
want to try casino games online. You’ve got enough experience with
online merchants to know that debit cards are among the fastest, most
secure ways to pay for things over the internet. You take a seat at
your computer, or hop on the couch with your iPad, all ready to get
started. You type “debit card online casino Canada” into the
Google search windows and… 4,810,000 results come up.
This scenario has
become all too common. Canadians are trying to find the right
interactive casino to suit their needs, but there are just too many
to choose from. The majority of people in this situation will do one
of two things – click the first result that appears and hope for
the best, or close the browser and forget about it. Either way is
going to be problematic.
If you click the
first result, you’re going to end up at an information site, not an
online casino. Information is good, but you’re already at an
information site right now. Yes, this one. Thank you, by the way. But
you don’t need more info – you need the right casino. And if you go
the second route, you’re certainly not going to find it. Even if you
scroll down the results far enough to click the first real casino on
the list, you have no idea where you’re going to end up
So, to avoid these
cyclomatic perplexities, I offer you this…
Tips for Finding the Right Debit Card Casino in Canada
There are four
major features you need to look for in a gambling website before
deciding whether it’s the right casino for you. If all of these
features are present, you’ve got nothing to worry about.
Canadian Player Acceptance
If Canadians
aren’t accepted, that’s a huge deal breaker. Mark that site right off
the list!
How can you be sure? Try searching for the word “Canada” within the website’s URL. For example, you would search the Royal Vegas Casino website like so…
All of the top
search results specify, or at least insinuate, that Canadians are
accepted. Half of them even call it “Royal Vegas Canada”. See
what happens when you try another casino’s domain name within the
“site:” search. Odds are you’ll get lucky, or you’ll get a link
to the “terms of service page” listing Canada among the
restricted countries.
Debit Card Deposits Accepted
This used to be a given. Credit and debit card were always listed highest on the list of available deposit option at every online casino from here to Sachs Harbour. Now, that’s no longer the case. While 99% of online casinos do still advertise debit card acceptance, there are some out there that are commuted to a single type of deposit. More often than not, it’s going to be Bitcoin and/or some other crypto-currency.
Licensed and Regulated in Canada or Europe
There are lots of
iGaming regulators out there. The jurisdiction that licenses your
favorite casino will determine, above all, how trustworthy it might
be. The rule of thumb here is to only choose a site that’s regulated
in your own Canadian province of residency, or one regulated in any
country of Europe.
Provincial
online casinos are absolutely safe and reputable. But their game
variety will be more restricted, and if you’re a slots fan, the
house edge can be a lot higher (more akin to land-based slots).
Offshore casinos are preferred, but if they’re regulated outside of
Europe, you never know what you’ll get. European jurisdictions like
the UK, Malta, Isle of Man, Cypress and Estonia, hold their operators
to high standards, and will go to bat for any player who files a
legitimate complaint.
Are Your Favorite Games on the Menu?
Be careful what
you search for when looking for the right debit card casino in
Canada. If you look up a general term like “gambling”, instead of
“casino”, you’re likely to get all sorts of iGaming websites.
Don’t join a bingo, poker or sports betting site if that’s not what
you’re looking for.
Not all casino
games menus are alike, either. Some have more slot machines or video
poker machines than others. Some have more table games, or a better
variety of specialty games, like scratch cards, or arcade-style
games. Know what it is you want to play, and pick a site that has it.
Personally, I like
Microgaming powered online casinos because they are the only place
you’ll find the Mega Moolah Sot. Known as the “Millionaire Maker”,
it’s the only progressive jackpot online slot machine with a seed of
$1,000,000. Yeah, I know my odds of winning aren’t good, but I enjoy
spinning its reels now and again. Since the start of 2019, it’s paid
out once every 4 weeks!
Learn how Canadians are going green with real mobile online casinos.
The human race
spent so many years ignoring the effects of our carbon footprints on
the Earth, it’s devastated our landscape. Forests are shrinking far
more rapidly than we can plant new ones. Oceans, lakes and rivers run
rampant with refuse. The situation has become so critical that today,
environmental groups are among the most worthy charitable
organizations in the world.
The movement
towards environmental friendliness has become universally known as
“going green”. Those aware of the situation are
encouraged to use less electricity, take the train, bus, or car pool
to work, and take full advantage of the Triple R’s – Reduce,
Reuse and Recycle. The last thing that might cross your mind when
considering these things is gambling, but it’s true – even today’s
gamblers are doing their part – wittingly or not – to save the
planet.
Canadian Go Green with Real Mobile Online Casinos
There are several
ways in which a gambler can help preserve the environment, mostly
just by being a bit more choosy about where they do their gaming.
Shifting from land-based to online is the easiest and most obvious
way, worthy of a number-one spot on our list, but there’s more to it
than that.
#1 Online casinos use far less electricity.
This section
really shouldn’t need any elaboration. Picture any Vegas Strip
casino. Imagine how much electricity it takes to power just one of
them. All those lights, sounds, illuminated fountains. Land-based
casinos are all about the glitz and glamour, and they pay atrocious
utility bills to provide it. The MGM Casino, with its signature beam
of light, averages more than $200,000 per month, increasing to around
$350,000 in the summer months. That’s enough to power a small town
for more than a year!
#2 No need to travel to a mobile casino.
Driving to a land-based casino is just another reason to pollute the air with toxic exhaust fumes. Yes, I know the argument, “Most of us drive cars everyday – one trip to the casino isn’t going to change the amount of pollution in the air.” But here’s the same old boring retort – if everyone did it, the reduction in pollution wold be far more significant. Mobile casinos can be played from anywhere you already happen to be, whether it’s on your living room sofa or away from home, doing all those things you really do have to use transportation to get to. And besides, think of all the money you’ll save in gas and tips.
#3 EFT payments don’t deplete trees.
What happens every
time you cash out on a slot machine? You push a button, and the
machine prints a voucher. You withdrawal cash from an ATM, and it
prints a receipt. You give the valet your car, and he prints you a
slip. All that printing requires paper, and paper requires trees.
It’s a renewable resource, yes, but it takes years to grow a new tree
in replacement of the old one that was chopped down to print all
those vouchers and tickets that most people won’t bother to recycle.
After all, it’s just one little piece of paper, right? An electronic
fund transfer (EFT) requires no paper at all. At online gambling
sites, you can make deposits and cash out your winnings directly
from/to your bank account. Need a receipt? They’ll email it to you!
#4 Microgaming BREAM rating of “Excellent”.
BREEAM is the
foremost rating system upon which environmental assessments are made
for commercial businesses. To achieve a positive BREEAM rating is
commendable. When Microgaming, the world’s oldest and foremost
developer of digital gambling software, built its new headquarters in
Douglas, Isle of Man in 2017, the company worked in tandem with
BREEAM to ensure every possible method of sustainability was
integrated into the workplace. Microgaming is one of the few offices
on the planet that put so much “green” into its construction,
they actually received a rating
of “Excellent”.
#5 Online gambling for the greater good.
For this last
section, I turn once more to Microgaming, who instated the Play
It Forward program several years back. Each year, the company
pledges to donate thousands of dollars to multiple charities of their
employees’ and players’ choices. They’ve contributed heavily to
everything from water conservation, to childhood cancer, to saving
the Rhinos of Africa.
Microgaming makes
millions upon millions of dollars every quarter, and makes every
effort to share that wealth in ways that will help to preserve the
planet and all of its innocent creatures. So if reasons # 1, 2, and 3
are enough to convince you that you’re better off playing at real
mobile online casinos, I hope reasons # 4 and 5 encourage you to do
your iGaming with websites that employ Microgaming’s award-winning
software.
RTP comparison reveals the best paying slot machines in Nevada.
When it comes to gambling, people have developed conceptions over the
years as to how and where they can achieve better odds of winning.
Some say it’s the games you play. Others say it’s the casino in which
you play them. I (and everyone else with a higher education in
gaming) say it’s both. But if there’s a specific game you want to
play, location is everything!
I’m talking specifically about slot machines. Everyone knows
these aren’t the best paying games overall. If you want the highest
possible RTP, you have to play blackjack or video poker with a
perfect strategy. That takes time and mental energy that some players
simply aren’t willing to expend.
Slots fans play for the simplicity and entertainment value above all
else. For these players, you won’t convince them there’s a better
overall game out there. And since choice of game is out of the
question, location becomes the primary focus. And with that, we’ve
drug up statistical data that reveals…
…the best paying slot machines in Nevada.
Las Vegas, Nevada is the gambling mecca of the western
hemisphere. When we think of casino hubs, The Vegas Stripis the first place that comes to mind. But it’s not the only
place in the Silver State that caters to gamblers. There’s many more
– some more famous than others. Downtown Vegas, North Las Vegas,
Reno, Carson City, Henderson, Laughlin, Boulder Strip, Silver
Springs, the list goes on and on.
When you compare the best paying slots from one area to the next,
there are two locations that rank highest, appearing consistently on
the list more than any others, Downtown Vegas and
Boulder Strip. And then there’s the two obvious choices
to compare – Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Strip.
If you think Las Vegas and The Strip are the same thing, think again.
As far as reports from the state’s gaming regulators are concerned,
Las Vegas refers to the casinos that are “off the Strip”.
Downtown Vegas is the area North of the Strip, including Freemont
Street. The Boulder Strip isn’t a single location, but rather a
series of 30+ casinos that appear along a long strip of the Boulder
Highway, from Downtown Vegas to Henderson and beyond.
Now that you know where they are, let’s compare the average slot
machine RTP (return to player) between these four locations, based on
recent data from the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB). For absolute
accuracy, we’ll divide the payout ratios by coin denominations (penny
slots, nickel slots, quarter slots, etc).
Highest Paying Slots by Denomination
Location
RTP of 1¢ Penny Slot Machines
The Strip
88.38%
Las Vegas
90.88%
Downtown Vegas
89.15%
Boulder Strip
90.38%
Location
RTP of 5¢ Nickel Slot Machines
The Strip
91.64%
Las Vegas
95.29%
Downtown Vegas
93.40%
Boulder Strip
96.21%
Location
RTP of 25¢ Quarter Slot Machines
The Strip
89.35%
Las Vegas
96.41%
Downtown Vegas
94.25%
Boulder Strip
96.13%
Location
RTP of $1 Dollar Slot Machines
The Strip
92.43%
Las Vegas
95.39%
Downtown Vegas
94.63%
Boulder Strip
96.13%
Location
RTP of All Slot Machines Combined
The Strip
91.96%
Las Vegas
93.53%
Downtown Vegas
92.67%
Boulder Strip
94.34%
Best Paying Slots are Off The Strip and Off the
Grid
The table above clearly shows that the Las Vegas Strip is, in fact
(and as rumored), the worst place to play slot machines. The best
paying slot machines in Nevada are found on the Boulder Strip, with
Off-Strip casinos in Las Vegas coming in a close second.
Not surprisingly, the penny slots are the worst of all. No matter
where you play them, the best average RTP in the reporting period was
only 90.88%. The highest average, 96.41%, was found on quarter slots
in off-Strip Las Vegas casinos. But overall, Boulder Strip casinos
had the highest RTP average out of all categories.
On a final note, you’ll find similarly high RTP slot machines
entirely off the grid. The online casino industry is famous for
housing the highest paying slots of all. For the month of May 2019,
Royal
Vegas Casino recorded an average slots RTP of 96.87%. That’s
higher than any of the slot machine RTPs recorded by the NGCB in a
similar time frame.
Evolution Gaming proves live casino games are still hot.
Live dealer casino games have been around since 2003. It took some years for technology to catch up to their capabilities, delivering a high-quality product players could appreciate, but if there’s any one company that can take credit for it, it’s Evolution Gaming. Once they came along, live casinos became all the rage. That was more than 10 years ago.
Have digital gamers finally burned out on the live dealer realm? Apparently not. In fact, Evolution Gaming‘s performance over the last 12 months proves that the live gaming vertical is hot as ever. At least, that’s the perception we got last week when Evolution won yet another prestigious trophy at the Global Gaming Awards.
Evolution Named 2019 Best Online Casino Supplier
Founded in 2006, Evolution Gaming quickly became known for two things; having the top live casino product in the world, and the most impressive trophy case to back it up. This year’s Global Gaming Awards ceremony, held at the Hippodrome Casino in London on February 4, has taught us something new about Evolution and the industry as a whole. Live online casinos are now the ‘norm’.
Taking home the Online Casino Supplier of the Year award is a tremendous accomplishment for the group. For more than two decade, the term ‘online casino‘ was a general classification for RNG-based games. When referring to live video broadcasts of real dealer tables, the term ‘live casino‘ was applied.
The fact that Evolution—the leading live casino supplier for the last decade—with a trophy case to prove it—took home the award for the best 2019 ‘Online Casino Supplier‘ speaks volumes.
Latest Award Proves Live Casino Games are Still Hot
Not only does it point to exponential growth in the popularity of live dealer games, it gives credit to the company for its expansion into the RNG-based gaming market. As of last year, Evolution now offers a small assortment of RNG-based casino games, but nowhere near enough to be worthy of a ‘online casino’ award, by the traditional meaning of the term.
It’s worth noting that Evolution’s 3-day foray at ICE Totally Gaming, which kicked off at the Excel in London the very next morning, saw the company launch 10 new gaming titles, including 8 new live casino games and 2 new RNG-based titles, which they refer to as ‘First Person‘ games; First Person Dream Catcher and First Person Lightning Roulette.
Proud Moment for Evolution Gaming
Martin Carlesund, CEO of Evolution Gaming, was beyond pleased to comment on the company’s reception of yet another benchmark award. “We are thrilled to have won this award,” he said. “The past twelve months have seen some landmark product launches from Evolution, with the runaway success of Lightning Roulette, the launch of our First Person range of games, plus three new studios opening worldwide.”
Carlesund was especially proud to accept such a prestigious award on the eve of ICE, precluding the company’s exciting revelation of 10 new gaming titles. “We are continually pushing to enrich our offering and provide our operators and their players the next generation of Live Casino games,” he concluded.
Live casino table games launch at Toronto’s Casino Woodbine.
Canada’s land-based gambling industry has been thriving for decades. Several major casinos from British Columbia to Nova Scotia deliver the same great gaming experience you’d expect to find in a Las Vegas casino. But all this time, the great city of Toronto, Ontario—the largest city in Canada—has been lacking.
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is home to three popular OLG Slots destinations. They include the Casino at Woodbine Racetrack, on the outskirts of Northwest Toronto; Casino Ajax, about 50km east of Downtown Toronto in Ajax, ON; and Great Blue Heron Casino, nearly 100km northeast of Toronto. For nearly two decades, this was the closest you’d find to a genuine casino experience in GTA, and it was a long drive to Casino Niagara for anything better.
That finally changed earlier this month when, upon approval from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp (OLG), Casino Woodbine was authorized to install the city’s very first live table games.
Live Casino Table Games Launch at Woodbine
One Toronto Gaming (OTG), subdivision of Great Canadian Gaming and operator of Casino Woodbine, went all out for the launch of Toronto’s first live dealer casino games. Not only have they opened 50 tables with live dealers, they’ve also installed 200+ electronic table games and a ‘stadium’ gaming format that can accommodate 100+ players.
Patrons can now enjoy a wide range of more than a dozen live casino game titles at the Toronto casino. According to the Casino Woodbine website, current live dealer tables include:
Blackjack
Spanish-21 Blackjack
Blazing 7’s Blackjack
Freebet Blackjack
Switchbet Blackjack
21+3 Blackjack
Baccarat
Squeeze Baccarat
Regular Baccarat
Roulette
Roulette American Style
Miscellaneous
Casino War
High Card Flush
Caribbean Stud Poker with Linked Progressive Feature
Mississippi Stud Poker with Linked Progressive Feature
Let-it-Ride with Linked Progressive Feature
Three Card Poker with Linked Progressive Feature
More Live Table Games Coming to Toronto Casino
As previously stated, OTG went all out for the launch of the first casino table games in Toronto, and they’re not done yet. According to reports, an additional 50 live tables are coming to the casino floor sometime in Q4 2018. Another 300 slot machines are also on the list for installment, bringing the casino’s total to 3,000 slots.
“This is another important achievement for One Toronto Gaming,” said OTG President and CEO Rod Baker in the press release. “This not only is a significant step in the expansion and overall development of Casino Woodbine, but this additional gaming amenity has generated over 400 new jobs, and will create another 300 by the end of 2018.”
Players Response Positive, Request for Live Poker Tables
Just over two weeks into the new live casino table games, the response has been very positive from players. They’re getting a lot of action, with most agreeing it’s a necessary change that’s “finally” come to pass.
City native Mark M. said: “It’s about time we have live tables in Toronto. Treat adults like adults!”
The one thing Woodbine is still lacking, as several players were quick to point out, is a live poker room. Woodbine previously hosted electronic poker tables, but they were removed in January 2018. There seems to be a strong push from the community to bring poker back to Toronto with live tables. So far, there’s been no comment from Woodbine on that subject.
Online casino reviews are helpful, but due diligence is better.
Every single day, countless people rely on the information of online gambling review sites. Some of these websites are great, detailing every worthwhile aspect of an operator, its software, and its payment systems. Unfortunately, these types of sites fall into a very small minority.
Most online casino surveyors don’t go nearly that far. They will skim over the basic topics, hitting harder on the promotional aspect than anything else. These sites are managed by indifferent affiliates who are just looking to make a buck. So long as they can convince you to join a casino and make a deposit, they get paid. That’s the only thing they’re interested in.
Only Trust Thorough Online Casino Reviews
A thorough online casino review will cover a lot of topics. They’ll tell you the basics, like software supplier and game variety, welcome bonuses and other promotions, and what payment methods are available. But they go way beyond that.
The reviewer will note the operating company of the casino, its year of establishment and reputation during that time. You’ll learn about where that operator is licenced, and if the software supplier is certified for fairness. The reliability of customer support and modes of contact will be on display. In rare cases, the writer will detail actual communication between them and the online casino support team.
These are the best online casino review sites, and are the first place you’ll want to gather information when seeking out a new gaming site to play at. But once you’ve read enough to select a casino, don’t stop there.
Even the best online gambling site reviews rarely go far enough to deliver 100% peace of mind to their readers. For that, it takes extra due diligence on the player’s part.
Investigative Reviewing of Online Gambling Sites
There are three things you want to investigate for yourself.
Casino Licence: First, go to the casino website, scroll to the bottom and double-check on the licencing info. If they claim to be licenced in Malta, for example (MGA), click on that icon to make sure it goes to the regulator’s websites, and shows that the company is indeed licenced there. If the licencing info/image isn’t linked, chances are the licence either doesn’t exist, or is expired.
Software Certification: Software certification is generally listed at the bottom of the online casino website, near the licencing info. Microgaming-powered casinos, for instance, will always display the Microgaming logo and the eCOGRA Safe & Fair logo, right next to each other. Microgaming is the software supplier, eCOGRA is the auditor that certifies it. Click on the certification link to ensure the software is actually certified by that third-party company. You can even go a step further, investigating the auditing firm to make sure it’s reliable, as well.
Payment Processor: Just knowing the payment methods available is helpful, but what about the company that the casino employs to process its payments? Sometimes, it’s not the casino’s fault for security flaws or slow withdrawals, but rather the payment processing firm that’s to blame. Online casinos that fall under group operation (i.e. Digimedia operates over a dozen brands) often host proprietary payment services, ensuring the payments are as reliable as the casino operator itself. For those that outsource processing companies, you’ll want to check on the reputation of that firm.
If all of these things check out, you can rest assured that you’ve done your homework. Combining the information of unbiased online casino reviews with a little elbow grease will provide ultimate peace of mind.
Canada online games host collects bevy of 2018 gambling industry awards.
The most famous online gaming group in Canada, The Stars Group (formerly Amaya), showed off its superiority last week in London. The ICE Totally Gaming conference attracts anyone and everyone with a vested interest in the land-based and online gambling industry. It also sets the scene for a trio of major gambling industry awards.
The ExCel London played host to ICE and all three awards galas, including:
The Stars Group outshines the competition in 2018, collecting a total of 5 awards, plus 3 spots on the GIA’s Hot 50. The parent company of PokerStars, it’s little surprise that the company continues to collect trophies. But this year’s categories weren’t all typical takings for the Canadian gaming firm.
PokerStars earned the GGA Poker Operator of the Year Award, swiping the honor back from 2017 winner, PartyPoker. It was a celebratory moment for the company, but nothing out of the ordinary.
The company also took home the IGA award for 2018 Gaming Operator of the Year – Americas. That honor was bestowed upon Stars Group for its PokerStars NJ (New Jersey) platform. Again, a great honor, but no big surprise.
Over at the GIAs, The Stars Group scooped three awards, tying Scientific Games and Playtech for the most. This is where the company shined so brightly, earning the following titles:
2018 Poker Operator of the Year – PokerStars
2018 Casino Operator of the Year – PokerStars Casino
2018 Operator Innovation of the Year – Stars Rewards
PokerStars Casino Soars to Stardom
For more than a decade, PokerStars has been the top online poker room in the industry, by leaps and bounds. When the operator entered the online casino vertical a few years back, it was a slow start. Now, PokerStars Casino isn’t just a viable operation, but a proven, award-worthy entity.
The Stars Group has taken great strides to increase the viability of its casino offering. The company now employs a throng of the industry’s most respected software brands, including Microgaming, NetEnt, NextGen, PlayTech, and many others, with Evolution Gaming‘s elite Live Casino in the mix.
Stars Rewards Recognized for Best Innovation
The icing on the cake this year is Stars Group’s recognition for best Operator Innovation. This category is among the most diverse, as any new concept is worthy of notice. This year, the GIA judges felt the company’s new Stars Rewards customer loyalty program was the most notable innovation of all.
“I am proud to see the industry recognition of our company and particularly for our Stars Rewards customer loyalty program which we just launched last July,” said Stars Group CEO Rafi Ashkenazi.
Stars Rewards “has quickly become popular with our customers as one of the most innovative loyalty programs in online gaming.”
Trio of Stars Group Execs make GIA Hot 50
The Gaming Intelligence Awards go one step further than most ceremonies, honoring the managerial staff members who work so hard to for each gaming company. This year, the Canada online games development firm saw three of their esteemed colleagues make the list.
Robin Chhabra – Chief Corporate Development Officer, The Stars Group
Jerry Bowskill – Chief Technology Officer, The Stars Group
David Carrion – Director of Poker Marketing, PokerStars
Ashkenazi was “delighted to see members of our senior management team on this year’s Hot 50”. The CEO lauded the team’s honors, “as it shows that people are watching for the potential innovation and inspiration that we can bring not only to our customers but to the industry as a whole.”
Hard Rock brings casino table games to Rideau Carleton Raceway.
Let the competition begin! That’s the cry of Ottawa gamblers-in-the-know this week as two of the areas casinos are now competing for customers on the felt. CTV News reports on Wednesday confirm the Hard Rock’s Rideau Carleton Raceway is now offering a full layout of live table games for their casino goers.
The Rideau Carleton has been hosting slot machines since it first cut the ribbon in 1998. But it’s taken two long decades to get any table games on the floor. That final step also took a few years to accomplish, thanks to the lobbying efforts and lofty investment of universally-renowned Hard Rock International.
The announcement was made in May 2017 that Hard Rock would take over day-to-day operations, and 51% ownership, of the Rideau Carleton Raceway in Gloucester, Ontario, just south of Ottawa. Hard Rock won the favor of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp (OLG) with a “master plan” to invest millions of dollars into the property, turning it into a full-fledged, integrated entertainment resort.
Hard Rock and OLG agreed to pool their resources, dropping $320 million into the project. This includes the construction of a 250-room hotel, signature Hard Rock music venue, four new restaurants, and an all new 140,000sf gaming floor. There are already 23 live table games installed; a number Hard Rock can increase to 35 in time.
New Casino Table Games at Ridaeu Carleton
Hard Rock went all out when initiating its master plan for the Rideau Carleton Casino. They’ve installed a wide range of table games that goes well beyond the usual favorites. The Ottawa casino now boasts over 1,200 sot machines and the following list of live table games.
Blackjack
Casino War
Craps
Mini-Baccarat
Mississippi Stud
Pai Gow Poker
Roulette
Three Card Poker
Ultimate Texas Holdem
Competition Heating Up w/ Casino du Lac Leamy
There are now two Ottawa casinos offering table games for customers. Hard Rock’s installment eliminates the long-time monopoly on tables held by Casino du Lac Leamy, situated just across the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec. Needless to say, operators there weren’t too thrilled by the news that Hard Rock would become a major competitor.
Operators of that casino are preparing for the competition with a few renovations of their own. Casino du Lac Leamy is set to undergo a $47.3 million rejuvenation, mostly to remind visitors that it’s the number one destination for gaming around Ontario’s capitol.
The Gatineau casino already boasts a much wider variety of casino table games than Hard Rock’s new resort. The current list of electronic and live tables games at Casino du Lac Leamy includes:
Blackjack
Traditional Blackjack
Blackjack Switch
Free Bet Blackjack
Spanish 21
Interactive Blackjack
Baccarat
EZ Baccarat
Caribbean Stud Poker
High Card Flush
Let It Ride Poker
Pai Gow Poker
EZ Pai Gow Poker
Roulette
Interactive Roulette
Texas Hold’em Poker
Three Card Poker
Ultimate Texas Hold’em
Will Hard Rock’s Reputation be Enough?
While the Rideau Carleton Raceway is sure to be a hit in the early days of launch, will it be able to sustain a steady flow of customers? Casino du Lac Leamy may be across the river in Quebec, but it’s still closer to downtown Ottawa than Rideau Carleton. Plus, their game variety goes well beyond that of the Gloucester casino.
Then again, the Hard Rock brand is known throughout the world. The company is renowned for bringing an unrivaled level of entertainment to its properties. The casino table games alone might not be enough, but overall, I think the competition between these Ottawa casinos is going to be fierce!
Live dealer casino games have been around since 2003. It took some years for technology to catch up to their capabilities, delivering a high-quality product players could appreciate, but if there’s any one company that can take credit for it, it’s Evolution Gaming. Once they came along, live casinos became all the rage. That was more than 10 years ago.
Not only does it point to exponential growth in the popularity of live dealer games, it gives credit to the company for its expansion into the RNG-based gaming market. As of last year, Evolution now offers a small assortment of RNG-based casino games, but nowhere near enough to be worthy of a ‘online casino’ award, by the traditional meaning of the term.
Canada’s land-based gambling industry has been thriving for decades. Several major casinos from British Columbia to Nova Scotia deliver the same great gaming experience you’d expect to find in a Las Vegas casino. But all this time, the great city of Toronto, Ontario—the largest city in Canada—has been lacking.
