Gambling has been popular in Ontario, Canada since 1994, when the first commercial land-based casino was opened in the province. Since then, close to thirty land-based casinos have established themselves throughout Ontario, each controlled by Ontario’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission. While land-based casinos are popular, they’ve been overshadowed in recent years by the development of online casino gaming.
Online casinos give players access to all their favorite games, including slots, poker, blackjack, roulette, and more. They’re accessible on desktop computers as well as mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones and make casino gaming even more exciting. However, only the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation is allowed to offer legal online casinos within the province.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation website is called OLG.com, and it offers a wide range of gambling, including casino gaming and sports betting. However, other casinos aren’t permitted to operate legally. Instead, Ontario casino fans must play at a licensed offshore site if they don’t want to play at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation site.
Offshore Online Casinos
An offshore online casino is any casino site that’s operating from another country. While online casinos not owned by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation aren’t allowed to operate in Ontario, players can still legally sign up and play at any offshore site. Canadian players are completely safe when playing at legal online casinos in Ontario, provided they’re licensed. No Canadian has ever been prosecuted for using these offshore sites, and any winnings won’t be taxed.
If you want to sign up to an offshore account, you’ll need to make sure that it’s licensed from a trusted gambling authority and that it has a good reputation. While playing at offshore online casinos is normally safe, some sites have bad reputations for treating players unfairly. Examples of gambling licenses you can look for include:
- UK Gambling Commission
- Malta Gaming Authority
- Curacao Gaming Control Board
Offshore casinos provide a wide range of games, including slots, table games, and live dealer games. They also usually offer bonuses to Canadian players. Not all offshore sites will accept players from Canada, but you can check whether Canadian dollars are accepted before you sign up. You’ll also find that many of these sites accept payment methods such as InstaDebit and Interac, making it easy for you to make safe and quick deposits and withdrawals.
OLG.com Online Casino
OLG is technically the site that Ontario players are meant to use if they want to play online casino games. While offshore sites aren’t illegal, the government does want to encourage people to use OLG as it means greater tax revenue for the province. The site is easy to use, and it also has a lot to offer in terms of games.
Games you can play at OLG include all the typical games you’d find at any popular online casino. There’s a huge range of exciting slots as well as classic table games such as blackjack, baccarat, poker, and more. You’ll also find live dealer games, which let you play against real dealers who are live-streamed from a casino studio.
OLG is available on desktop and from mobile devices, including Android and iOS. One thing that holds it back compared to many other online casinos is that it doesn’t offer a bonus. You won’t be able to claim a welcome bonus when you first sign up, and there also aren’t any loyalty rewards or current player bonuses to collect either.
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