How we compare live casinos
Casino Select Canada has scoured the internet to bring you the finest live dealer casino sites. Our team assesses numerous criteria to ensure each site matches the standards that you expect and deserve. Here are the key areas of our research.
Licensed and regulated
We only choose casinos that are licensed and regulated to operate in Canada. These sites offer greater security to players, and all the games are checked to guarantee fairness.
Bonuses
Most live casinos reward their players with bonuses, but some offers are better than others in terms of wagering requirements. We assess the complete package to bring you the top offers.
Games
There’s a huge range of live casino games available, and we only select sites that provide a diverse selection of tables with a choice of betting limits. From recreational players to high-rollers – we have the casinos for you.
Payments
Deposit and withdrawal options, banking fees, and payout times; we review everything before choosing which live casinos make our list.
Live roulette
For many, live roulette is the king of casino games. At the best live dealer casinos in Canada, you can enjoy traditional roulette games like French Roulette, European Roulette and American Roulette. There are also others, including:
Double Ball Roulette
It’s roulette, but with two balls instead of one. That means double the chance of winning on every game. Naturally, the traditional paytable has been adjusted to accommodate the extra ball, with the addition of special payouts if both balls come to rest in the same numbered slot.
Instant Roulette
Live Instant Roulette is a new innovation from Evolution Gaming. The game itself is European Roulette, but the studio is fitted out with 12 roulette wheels, so you only have to wait 5 to 7 seconds for the result of your bet. It’s fast and furious, which can lead to big wins – or big losses – in a short period of time.
Lightning Roulette
Using the same concept as Lightning Baccarat, this roulette variant randomly chooses between one and five numbers on the wheel and gives them a win multiplier from 50x up to 500x. These multipliers only apply to single number (straight up) bets, however. It’s a great way to play roulette with small stakes and still have the chance of landing some mega wins.
Live blackjack
Optimized for desktop, tablet and mobile; live dealer blackjack brings the full experience of this world-famous card game to life on your device. You can play multiple variants including:
European Blackjack
Blackjack’s high RTP makes it very appealing. The majority of live dealer casinos in Canada offer European blackjack, which is simply labelled as Live Blackjack. Players can test their strategy against the dealer to see who comes out on top. You’ll also find a selection of side bets and insurance on each table.
Power Blackjack
The best payouts in blackjack come when a player doubles down and wins. Power Blackjack takes this a step further by allowing players to treble or quadruple down on any two-card hand. To offset this player-friendly rule, all the 9s and 10s have been removed from the shoe. So, you need to adopt a slightly different strategy to the basic one which applies to regular blackjack games.
Infinite Blackjack
Live blackjack games were once limited to tables with a maximum of seven seats. However, Infinite Blackjack is a ‘one to many’ game. All the players at the table (and there could be thousands) play the same hand. The live tables have chat functionality so you can send messages to the croupier and see what bets other players have made.
Live poker
Many newcomers associate poker with games like Texas Hold’em, Five Card Stud and Omaha, which are played against other players. However, the best live casinos in Canada also host an array of exciting poker variants which are played against the house dealer.
Three Card Poker
Three Card Poker is a fast-paced game which is equally suited to beginners and experienced players. The objective is to get a better hand than the dealer and the payouts are awarded according to the player’s hand and the paytable. It also offers a series of side bets to provide multiple opportunities to win.
Caribbean Stud
This popular game is offered by all the top live casinos. In Caribbean Stud, both the player and dealer are dealt five cards. The player must decide if they want to raise or fold before the dealer reveals their hand. Evolution Gaming’s live Caribbean Stud has a progressive jackpot side bet which can offer some enormous payouts.
Casino Hold’em
Casino Hold’em is based on Texas Hold’em poker. Both the player and dealer get two cards each, and there are five community cards in the middle of the table. The objective is to create the strongest 5-card hand from the two cards in your hand and the five on the table. With payouts up to 100:1 and a range of side bets, there are multiple ways you can win with this game.
Live baccarat
With its combination of being easy to play and having a low house edge, baccarat is one of the best live casino games. If you’ve never played before, baccarat can appear a little confusing at first glance, but it’s not.
Put simply, it’s a game of chance where the player bets on which hand they think will win or if they think the round will be a tie. Among the baccarat games you can play at our recommended live casinos are:
Regular baccarat
If you want to enjoy live baccarat in its pure form, all you have to do is play at a regular table. In fact, there are different tables with separate betting limits to cater to low-limit and high stakes players. As this game follows the original rules, 5% commission is paid to the house on all winning banker bets.
No commission baccarat
This variant changes the rulebook so that you don’t pay the 5% commission on winning banker bets. However, if you bet on the banker’s hand and it wins with a score of 6, the payout is 0.5 to 1, which is half of the normal payout.
Lightning Baccarat
Developed by Evolution Gaming, Lightning Baccarat is one of the most exciting live casino games around. Before each round, 1-5 Lightning Cards with win multipliers are randomly drawn from a virtual deck. If these cards match those which are dealt and bet on, the payouts are multiplied.
Other live games
Roulette and blackjack are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many other live casino games for you to explore.
- Baccarat
- Sic bo
- Craps
- Dragon Tiger
- Monopoly live
- Mega Ball
- Crazy Time
- Deal or No Deal
- Dream Catcher
- Lightning dice
Banking
When deciding which live dealer casino is right for you, it’s vital that you weigh up the available banking options. The majority of sites accept payments from the following providers, among others.
Interac
Interac is a bank-to-bank payment service exclusively for customers in Canada who hold a local bank account. When you use Interac, the payment from your bank to the casino’s bank takes place behind the scenes, so no private information is shared online. A large number of Canadian casinos now accept Interac deposits. However, not all sites process deposits using this payment option.
Visa and Mastercard
Despite the influx of new payment methods, debit cards such as those backed by Visa and Mastercard, remain popular. The perks of using a debit card are clear. Players can trust the security features of their bank, they get instant deposits and the payment limits are high. The major drawback is that withdrawals can be a little slower than some other methods, such as e-Wallets.
ecoPayz
ecoPayz is one of the leading e-Wallets used at online live casinos in Canada. As with all e-Wallets, players do not need to share any sensitive information with the casino and payments – for both deposits and withdrawals – are fast. However, several sites won’t let e-Wallet depositors claim their welcome bonuses, so be aware of that.
Paysafe
It’s possible to fund your casino account in Canada using prepaid cards like Paysafecard. These can be purchased with cash from convenience stores and gas stations across the country. The Paysafecard contains a unique 16-digit PIN which you enter when making your deposit. Prepaid cards are an excellent way to control what you spend on gambling each month, but you are usually unable to make withdrawals with them.
Software
The software provider operating the live casino makes a big difference to the overall quality of the product and service, which, in turn, reflects on the experience you will have playing live games. These are some of the leading providers right now.
Evolution Gaming
Regarded as the number one live casino software provider, Evolution Gaming has an impressive portfolio of games. Many Canadian casinos are in partnership with Evolution, meaning players can enjoy premium-quality roulette, blackjack, baccarat, and a host of game show-themed titles.
NetEnt Live
NetEnt Live offers a range of roulette and blackjack games at several online casinos. While the portfolio is not as extensive as Evolution Gaming’s, NetEnt Live is known for having tables with higher bet limits. If you want to play roulette for $50,000 a spin, this is the software provider to choose.
Playtech Live
Playtech is the complete casino software company. In addition to its vast slot catalogue, Playtech Live provides live casino games, such as baccarat, roulette, blackjack and sic bo. Currently, Playtech is not as prominent in Canada as the two providers above.
Bonuses
Casino bonuses add more value to your live dealer experience. Even though not all offers, like free spins, are applicable to live casino players, there’s still enough to keep you entertained and make your cash go further.
Match deposit
Most welcome bonuses and reload offers are match deposits. With these bonuses, you get a percentage match of the amount you deposit. For example, if the bonus is 100% matched up to $500, and you deposit $200, you get $200 extra in bonus funds. Although you will encounter wagering requirements that need to be cleared before you can withdraw any winnings, match deposit bonuses are great for increasing your time at the tables.
Cashback
Cashback bonuses are very popular in live casinos. They work by giving players a percentage of their losses back. Usually, the cashback bonus will be time-sensitive and only available on selected games.
No deposit bonuses
It’s rare to find no deposit bonuses for live casinos, but they do come along every so often. A typical live casino no deposit offer would be FreePlay cash. This gives players the option as to what games they want to play, although it’s likely there would be exclusions. Also, you can expect the usual terms and conditions, such as wagering requirements and maximum win caps.
Reload bonuses
Reload bonuses are a common sight at online casinos. They are another type of matched deposit offer – like a welcome bonus, but smaller. An example of a reload bonus would be 25% up to $50 if you deposit any time on a Monday. Although the amount of bonus cash is restricted, these offers still provide a little boost to your bankroll, which means you can play more of your favourite games.
New sites
There are obvious benefits to joining an established online site, but there are also advantages to playing at a new live dealer casino. Firstly, the bonuses are often more generous because the casino uses them to attract players. Also, most new sites run on the latest platform software, and they are 100% mobile-friendly. You can check out our list of new casinos and compare them to find your favourite.
