Welcome Bonus Canada
Online casinos are popping all over the place and, together with thousands of them that have existed for years, you have almost unlimited options for playing your favorite gambling games on the web. Many of these websites accept players from Canada and offer them exciting and rewarding welcome bonuses.
A welcome bonus is an online casino promotion that rewards new players who join a particular casino site. These bonuses usually come in the form of bonus cash or video slot free spins, both of which you can use to play real money casino games and make a profit.
If you’re a seasoned player, you probably won’t find a lot of new information in this article. However, if you’re new to the world of online casinos, you might have a lot of questions. But don’t worry. Getting your hands on a casino welcome bonus in Canada is not all that complicated. You just got to follow a simple procedure that we will explain in the text below.
Apart from teaching you how to collect a welcome promotion, we will also talk about the different kinds of welcome bonuses and what sets them apart, as well as terms and conditions that are often associated with these offers.
More importantly, we will give you suggestions on where to claim welcome bonuses. As we mentioned earlier, almost every Canadian casino site has a welcome bonus. However, not all these websites and their bonuses are worth the trouble. As a matter of fact, there are only a handful of casino sites in Canada with welcome bonuses that are actually valuable.
Some of our personal favorites include PlayAmo where you will get a 100% bonus up to C$100 and 100 free spins after you complete the first deposit. Moreover, you will get 50% up to C$200 and 50 free spins for your second deposit. Neat!
Another great casino welcome bonus we found was on Captain Spins. As you can guess from the name, this casino site is all about video slots, so you can expect to win hundreds of free spins. To be exact, the casino’s welcome package consists of 260 free spins that you can use on the site’s most popular video slot titles.
Of course, these are just some of our suggestions. You can feel free to go rogue and search for welcome bonuses by yourself. If you don’t know where to start and what to look for, we are more than willing to share some tips. Read on!
Contents
- 1 Welcome Bonus Canada
- 1.1 Best Online Casino Welcome Bonuses in Canada
- 1.2 Welcome Bonuses Are Just as Important as the Casinos That Offer Them
- 1.3 Understanding Welcome Bonuses
- 1.4 Our Guide on How to Sign Up for Welcome Bonuses
- 1.5 Why You Should Always Read Bonus T&Cs
- 1.6 What Are Wagering Requirements for Welcome Bonuses?
- 1.7 Welcome Bonuses Canada — The Final Word
- 1.8 Welcome Bonuses FAQs
Best Online Casino Welcome Bonuses in Canada
Finding a valuable welcome bonus is not as easy as it might seem. You really have to dig deep and browse through dozens of casino sites before you find a few that are considered good. But what is a good welcome bonus? In the next several paragraphs, we will name some of the most important things to look at when searching for valuable welcome offers.
Bonus Size
One of the most important things about any online casino promotion is its size. You want to take advantage of the bonus by playing risk-free for as much as you can. In order to do that, you must find an offer that will grand you sufficient funds.
What’s sufficient also depends on the type of welcome bonus. For example, when it comes to match deposit bonuses, there are two things you should be looking at — the percentage of the money that the casino will match in relation to your deposit, and the maximum amount of bonus funds you can get from the offer. You shouldn’t settle for anything less than 100% when it comes to percentage. This means that the casino will match your deposit dollar-for-dollar. So, if you decide to deposit C$75, you will get another C$75 to play with. Of course, there are those casinos that offer more than 100%, but these are quite rare. When it comes to total bonus funds, the minimum amount you should search for is C$100. However, don’t be surprised if you see offers that will cap their welcome bonus to C$200, C$500, or even more.
If you run into a no deposit bonus, the things will work a little bit differently. Since claiming this offer doesn’t require you to make a payment on the site, the amount of bonus money will be much smaller compared to a deposit bonus. You might think that a C$20 is not something particularly worthy, but this actually is a great offer. Think about it; you are not required to deposit anything, so there’s no real risk involved. Therefore, any amount of money that you get from a no deposit bonus is worth using.
Finally, there are free spins. These welcome promotions are usually offered together with match deposit or no deposit bonuses, but they can sometimes be a standalone bonus. The number of free spins you can get will vary from 10 to 1,000. If the free spins are tied with another offer, don’t expect to get more than a few dozen of them. But if they are offered on their own, you can be rewarded with much more than that.
Bonus Codes
In order to unlock the welcome bonus, you will often have to use casino bonus codes. These codes are put to use as a safety measure from the casinos, but they are also a way to get more from a given promotion. Namely, bonus codes can also be acquired through affiliate sites. These sites have different bonus codes than the ones you might find at a casino site itself. By using these affiliate codes, you will get a bigger and better promotion.
Casino codes are found on the casino site, but they don’t give you anything extra for using them, as they are merely a key for unlocking the welcome bonus. The reason why codes from affiliate sites are more valuable is that the casino will give that site a commission for every player that joins using their bonus code. The problem, however, is that you will have to search for these codes yourself. Nevertheless, affiliate sites where you can find bonus codes are all over the web, so you won’t have that much trouble finding them.
Terms and Conditions
When you run into a welcome bonus, you will probably read something like a 100% bonus up to C$100 + 100 free spins. Okay, that’s great, but is there anything else? Unfortunately, there is a lot more hiding behind these first few lines that the promotion describes. You may notice that below each welcome bonus banner on a casino site there are tiny letters that say something along the lines of “full bonus terms and conditions apply”.
The bonus T&Cs are the rules that you will have to follow in order to properly unlock and use the bonus. These rules consist of minimum deposit limits, the maximum amount of money you can win from the bonus, wagering requirements, bonus expiration dates, potential game restrictions, and more. Terms and conditions are a bit more complex, so we will give a more thorough explanation of them a little later on.
Welcome Bonuses Are Just as Important as the Casinos That Offer Them
One of the most useful tips we can give you is to never pick a casino site based just on its welcome offer. There are plenty of other things you need to pay attention to before deciding that a given casino site is right for you.
Namely, the first thing you need to look at is whether a casino site is safe and legal. There are many fraudulent websites out there who just want to scam players into giving them money. The way they perform these scams is by offering ridiculously high welcome promotions to diverge the players’ attention from everything else. So, always check to see if an online casino has a proper license. They need to provide clear information about their licensing by giving out the name of the online gambling authority that gave them the license, and by writing down a license number so you can easily check whether that casino site is in the registry of its jurisdiction.
After you’ve confirmed that the casino site is legal and safe, you should check what kind of games you can play there. A worthwhile online casino should be able to offer you hundreds of video slots and table games, live dealer tables, and more. Of course, don’t just get blinded by the sheer number of games, but also check whether they are any good. Some of the best online casino games are made by software developers such as NetEnt, Microgaming, Evolution Gaming, Playtech, NextGen, and others.
A quality casino site should be spotted as soon as you open the home page. However, that’s not always the case. Some casinos look good on the surface, but they don’t justify it with great user experience. Always check if the platform you selected provides easy navigation, instant play technology, and mobile compatibility, among other things.
As a beginner player, you will likely run into some dead ends while scouring through the casino site. Most new players are a little confused when it comes to unlocking welcome bonuses, and that’s why it’s also important that the site has 24/7 live chat customer support that can help you out.
Lastly, you would want to check what kind of payment methods you can use on a given casino site. This is very important, as most bonuses can only be unlocked after you make a deposit. A casino should have safe and convenient deposit options such as credit cards, e-wallets, bank transfers, cryptocurrency, and more. As a Canadian, you would also want to use local methods like Interac, iDebit, and InstaDebit. See what kind of deposit and withdrawal limits are associated with these methods and if there are any service charges.
Understanding Welcome Bonuses
It is essential that you understand how welcome bonuses work, but also what kind of welcome bonuses you can run into while browsing top Canadian casino sites. Below are some of the most common online casino welcome promotions explained in detail.
Welcome Bonus
A welcome bonus is a casino promotion that can only be used by first-time customers. This bonus is unlocked after you create an account on the casino site and complete an initial deposit (deposit is not necessary for no deposit bonuses). Welcome bonuses are limited only to one person, one device, one IP address, and one household. If you previously had an account on a given website, you won’t be able to claim the promotion.
Welcome bonuses are very common on casino sites in Canada. As the online casino industry became very competitive in the last several years, operators started to top each other off by giving rewarding promotions, thus effectively luring new customers. Regardless of the fact that welcome promotions are more of a marketing tactic than anything else, they can sometimes be rewarding. Even if you don’t turn your bonus funds into withdrawable money, you still get to play quality casino games risk-free.
Welcome bonuses can sometimes come in packages. This means that, apart from making an account and completing the first deposit, you will get something for your second, third, fourth, or even fifth deposit. However, online casinos can sometimes promote all the bonuses in their welcome package together, so don’t get fooled into thinking that this is just one big promotion. For example, a casino can say that their welcome bonus is 500% up to C$2000 + 300 free spins, but what they will be referring to is the total size of their welcome package and not just an individual bonus.
No Deposit Bonus
No deposit bonuses are not so common, but they sometimes appear on Canadian casino sites. These bonuses are exclusively welcome bonuses, meaning that they can only be used by first-time players. To claim such a bonus, you will just need to create an account on a casino site that offers it. In some cases, you will also need to use a bonus code.
Since a casino doesn’t require you to make a payment before claiming this kind of promotion, the size of the bonus will not be that great, especially not in comparison to deposit bonuses. In most cases, a no deposit bonus will reward you with just C$10 or C$20. Some casinos also offer no deposit free spins, but don’t expect to get more than a few dozen of them.
No deposit promotions are known for having high wagering requirements. This means that you won’t easily turn them into real money. Also, the potential winnings you can make with the bonus will often be capped at a low amount. Nevertheless, no deposit welcome bonuses are always worth picking up. They involve no risk on your part and are ideal for testing the games on the website.
Casino Deposit Bonus
The most common type of welcome bonus is a deposit bonus. As the name suggests, you will be eligible for this bonus once you make a minimum deposit on the website. Most casinos will match that deposit 100%, but some will go beyond that and offer 150% or even 200% bonuses. Apart from cash bonuses, you can sometimes get free spins for completing a deposit as well.
A deposit bonus is also offered for regular customers and not just first-time players. Many Canadian casino operators have reload bonuses which are reserved for players who have already used their welcome promotion. These reload bonuses can be usually taken advantage of on specific days, like the beginning of a week or a month.
Free Spins
The majority of games you will find on any Canadian casino site include video slots. Slots are easy to learn and play, and the progressive versions of these games can have massive jackpots. Since video slots are favorite games of the majority of Canadian players, you will find a lot of bonuses that specifically relate to them. These are called free spins, and they refer to the number of free plays you can have on certain slot titles.
For example, if the casino offers 100 free spins, this means that you will be able to play a video slot for 100 rounds without having to place a real-money wager. However, free spins promotions are rarely applicable to all the games on the website. While a casino can have hundreds of video slots in its library, the free spins will only be compatible with a few of them, and usually just one.
Just like deposit and no deposit promotions, welcome free spins are tied to wagering requirements and other terms of use. Sometimes, the casinos will release free spins in installments. So, for example, if you get 50 free spins as a welcoming gift, the casino might release you these spins in increments of 10 spins for the next five days upon claiming the offer.
VIP Bonus
VIP and loyalty programs technically are not welcome promotions, but you will become a part of them as soon as you join a casino site. These programs allow you to progress through the levels after earning enough points on the website. To earn points, you will simply need to place wagers on different casino games. The size of the money you wager correlates with the points you earn. After you’ve collected a specified number of points, you will move one level up and acquire a new membership status (bronze, silver, gold, platinum, prestige, and so on).
Each new level earns you a chance to take advantage of exclusive cash bonuses, free spins, VIP table games, higher deposit and withdrawal limits, and better overall playing conditions. However, you can only benefit from VIP programs if you play on that website long enough. It can sometimes take months or even years before you acquire enough points to make your status worthwhile.
So, if you’re only looking for good welcome promotions, you can disregard this part, but keep it in mind if you’re planning on being loyal to one particular website.
Our Guide on How to Sign Up for Welcome Bonuses
Modern Canadian casino sites have made it easy for players to claim their welcome offers. In order to pick up the promotion, you will just need to complete a few steps that we will explain below. Don’t worry, as this shouldn’t take more than a few minutes of your time.
Step 1: Pick a Casino
The first thing that you need to do is pick a casino site with a rewarding welcome bonus. You can choose a casino by yourself, but we recommend that you select one from our list. All the sites that we selected are legal, highly reputable and, most importantly, have great bonuses for their first-time customers.
Step 2: Register
Once you’ve picked a casino site, you must create an account there. To do that, just go to the casino’s homepage and click on the Join button (it can also be Register, Sign-Up, Create an Account, or something along those lines). The operator will first ask you to set up your username (or email) and password. After that, you will need to fill out a registration form. This form will consist of some personal details that you need to provide in order for the casino to confirm your identity. The details will include your full name, address, date of birth (you must be 18 or 19 years old in order to gamble online in Canada, depending on the province/territory), and other stuff.
Some registration forms will also ask you to click on the checkbox claiming that you want to use the welcome offer. Others will ask you to use the bonus code upon registration.
After you’re done with all that, you should receive an email with an activation link. Click on the link in the email will redirect you back to the casino site. Log in using your details and you’re all set.
Step 3: Make a Deposit
If you’re looking for no deposit bonuses, you can feel free to skip this part. However, if the casino you’re playing on has a welcome deposit bonus, here’s what you need to do.
Once your account is ready to use, you need to go to the site’s cashier page (go to My Account). There, you will be able to choose a deposit method that you prefer (credit card, e-wallet, Bitcoin, and similar). Type in the amount you wish to deposit, making sure that you are depositing at least the minimum amount required to get the bonus. Have in mind that some sites will require you to type in the bonus code while making a deposit.
Confirm the transaction and wait a few minutes for the money to go through. Most deposit methods have short transaction times and will move the money to your account almost instantly.
Step 4: Claim the Welcome Bonus
Some Canadian casino sites will automatically give you a welcome bonus when you deposit the money. However, others will make you go through one last step. The reason for this is that some players do not wish to use their welcome bonus funds right away, so they can have an option to save them up for later.
To claim the welcome bonus, go to your account and find a section named Bonuses or Promotions. Click to claim the bonus and the casino will notify you that your bonus is ready to use.
Step 5: Play!
Now that your bonus is fresh and ready, you can start playing with it. Go to the website’s library of games and find a title that you like. Remember, not all games are compatible with the welcome bonus, which is why you will need to carefully look through the bonus terms and conditions. Depending on the website’s rules, you will either have to play with real money first or start by spending your bonus funds.
Why You Should Always Read Bonus T&Cs
All casino bonuses look great at first. It almost seems like a casino is giving away free money. However, that’s never the case. Every welcome bonus comes with a set of rules that you must follow in order to use it properly and to have a chance at withdrawing your winnings. These terms can sometimes be detrimental to the true value of the bonus, which is why you always need to read them in full.
With that said, here are some of the most important terms and conditions that relate to welcome promotions on Canadian casino sites:
Minimum deposit limits — In order to unlock a deposit bonus, you must meet a requirement for the minimum deposit. The limit is usually around C$10 or C$20. Of course, there will also be a maximum limit on how much bonus money you can be rewarded with. Don’t confuse these limits with general deposit limits for that website. Some casinos can have a minimum deposit limit of C$10, but the limit for the bonus can be higher than that.
Bonus codes — Casino sites will usually put the information about their bonus codes in plain sight, but you will sometimes need to look for them through the bonus’ T&C page. The codes will look something like WELCOME100 or 20BONUS. Make sure to use the bonus codes correctly when typing them in.
Wagering requirements — Bonus wagering or rollover is something that you need to pay attention to when looking at bonus terms. These requirements represent the number of times you need to play the bonus money over in order to be eligible for a cashout. We will explain this in more detail below.
Time limits — No bonus can last forever. The casino will usually put a limit on how much time you need to use the promotions. Depending on the size of the offer and its wagering requirements, you will usually have several days to use the bonus and between one week and one month to meet the rollover.
Win limits — The amount of money you can win with the bonus will usually be capped. This is rather unfortunate, as sometimes you can hit a jackpot and win millions of dollars, only to find out that the most you can cash out are several hundred bucks.
Game restrictions — Unfortunately, not all games can be played with the welcome bonus funds, nor do all games count toward the wagering requirements in the same way. This is especially the case with free spins. The casino can give you hundreds of free spins, but you will only be able to use them on one or two titles.
Payment restrictions — When looking for a deposit bonus, you will need to pay attention to which method you’re using for depositing. Some methods can be excluded from the offer, and this will almost exclusively be written on the T&C page. For various legal reasons, some payment methods like Neteller and Skrill cannot be used for welcome promotions, but this is not the case with all websites.
Geographical restrictions — Similarly to payment restrictions, some casinos reserve the right to forbid players from certain countries to use the bonus. Carefully read the terms and conditions and see whether Canada is on the list of banned countries and territories.
What Are Wagering Requirements for Welcome Bonuses?
A lot of beginner online casino players are confused when they meet with the term wagering requirements. If they don’t understand how these requirements work, they will probably find themselves wondering why they can’t cash out their winnings from the welcome bonus. But don’t worry, as we are here to explain wagering requirements in the simplest way possible. It’s nothing all that complicated really.
Wagering requirements (also called rollover or playthrough) are the casino’s insurance that their welcome bonus doesn’t get exploited by players. For example, if you deposit C$100 and get another C$100 in bonus money, you won’t be able to withdraw all C$200 right away. Instead, you will have to go through wagering requirements that force you to play with the bonus for a certain number of times before being eligible for a withdrawal.
To explain this further, we will use another example. Let’s say that you’ve won a C$20 no deposit bonus with wagering requirements of 40x. Before being allowed to cash out, you must wager at least C$800 (C$20 x 40) with your bonus funds. To make things clear, you don’t need to win C$800. Instead, your collective wagers while using the bonus must reach at least C$800. After you’ve done so, everything that’s left from your bonus is free to be cashed out.
Wagering requirements work the same way for free spins, but the amount of bonus money you need to wager will depend on how much money you win after using the spins, and not on the number of spins themselves. For example, if you’ve received 100 free spins with the rollover requirements of 30x, this doesn’t mean that you need to play a total of 3,000 spins to justify your withdrawal. Instead, the wagering requirements will be related to your total winnings from the spin. So, if you’ve won C$50 with the spins, you will need to wager at least C$1,500 (C$50 x 30).
Additionally, not all games count towards the wagering requirements in the same way. Table games and video poker usually contribute only 5% to 10% to the wagering requirements, while live dealer games often don’t count at all. The only games that contribute fully to the rollover are video slots, but even there you will find some exceptions.
All this wagering might seem like a lot, and it honestly is. Most players who use welcome bonuses end up losing the bonus money when trying to meet the requirements. However, that’s the name of the game. Canadian online casinos don’t have a habit of giving anything away for free, so you will still have to be very lucky in order to get something out of their welcome promotions.
Welcome Bonuses Canada — The Final Word
We hope that you had fun reading our article and that you learned some valuable information about welcome bonuses on Canadian websites. If you want to start playing with a welcome bonus today, refer to our list of the best Canadian casino sites. Pay attention to everything that we discussed above and you’re guaranteed to have a great time.
While you’re here, check out some of our other content relating to online casino gaming. Good luck!
Welcome Bonuses FAQs
How to pick up the best welcome bonuses in Canadian casinos?
First, you will need to find a trusted and legal casino site that accepts Canadian players. Next, you need to register on that site, make a deposit (if necessary), and claim the offer through your account.
What are the wagering requirements for welcome bonuses?
Wagering, rollover, or playthrough is a requirement that you need to meet in order to cash out your bonus winnings. This requirement suggests how many times you need to play the bonus money over before being allowed to withdraw. On most Canadian casino sites, the wagering requirements for welcome bonuses are between 30x and 60x.
Are there any welcome bonuses for mobile?
All modern Canadian casino sites can be accessed via your iOS or Android mobile device. The same bonuses that you can find on the desktop version of the site can be found on mobile as well. Additionally, some casinos offer special bonuses for their mobile players.
Are welcome bonuses a scam?
As long as you are playing on a trusted and legal Canadian casino site, you don’t need to worry about being scammed. If you comply with the bonus terms and conditions, you will get fair treatment from the casino.
