Top Canadian Poker Sites

Canadian poker players have plenty of options when it comes to choosing an online poker site. Nearly all poker rooms accept Canadians however not all of them are worth playing. This page ranks the top Canadian poker sites. By choosing one of the Canadian poker rooms listed below, you will qualify for our top bonus, in addition to special VIP programs where you can win entry into some of Canada's biggest tournaments. All of our Canadian poker sites are legally licensed and regulated in their respective jurisdictions.

Legal Online Poker Sites in Canada

Playing online poker in Canada is 100% legal. Canada has no laws stating that Canadians can't play poker online for free or real money, and the recent launch of B.C's own www.PlayNow.com website is a testament to this. What makes our top Canadian poker sites different from the provincially run casinos is that they are audited and regulated by an independent third-party company.  This means that the games, random number generator and software is reviewed and tested by a certified testing facility to verify that the games are fair and the software is secure. The provincial casinos don't do this. Furthermore, our Canadian poker rooms are regulated in Antigua, Gibraltar, Canada and Costa Rica.

Deposit Options Available for Canadian Players

For the most part Canadians should not have any problems when it comes to depositing to and from an online poker site in Canada. Unlike their southern friends, Canadian poker players have multiple ewallet options available to them including EcoCard, MoneyBookers, echecks. Similar to the United States, Canadian financial institutions do not allow gambling transactions using any credit card issued by a Canadian bank. This includes pre-paid Visa's.  If you prefer to deposit using a credit card we strongly recommend trying Players Only or Sportsbook Poker. They are among the top Canadian poker sites on the market and have a very good rate for processing gambling transactions via a credit card, including credit cards issued in Canada.

Online Poker in Canada

Canada has mixed feelings about online poker. Up until recently, the idea of allowing internet gambling sites to cater to Canadian players was without a doubt out of the question. Nevertheless, the cash strapped provinces soon realized, legalizing online poker in Canada would provide a viable source of income they otherwise don't have. It is estimated that Canadians spend more than $600 million online at casinos and poker sites and of course, this money is taking away from the provincially run casinos and lottery corporations.

In 2006, the Ontario government attempted to ban online gambling which would have amended the Ontario's Consumer Protection Act of 2002. The bill was supported by multiple ridings and of course local casinos, horse tracks and the OLG who claimed they were loosing millions to off-shore gambling sits. The government said it was near impossible to ban online gambling and poker sites in Canada. Similar to Australian poker laws, they revised the bill so that it would was illegal to advertise gambling sites in Ontario. Other provinces soon followed suit.

In 2009, a handful of the provinces began talks to legalize provincially run online casinos and poker rooms. This would allow the Canadian government to regulate online poker in Canada while at the same time provide a source of revenue to offset their deficits. By 2010, British Columbia and Quebec became the first two of the ten provinces to operate an online casino and poker site in Canada.

Poker Rooms in Canada

Live poker is as widespread in Canada as online poker. In fact, all of the provinces in Canada operate legal poker rooms throughout their casinos and the majority of them run daily cash games and tournaments. Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia offer the largest number of games in the country. Ontario's own Casino Rama(5899 Rama Road, Orillia, Ontario Canada (705) 329-3325), Falls View Casino(6380 Fallsview Boulevard, Niagara Falls, Ontario 1-888-325-5788) and Casino Niagara (5705 Falls Avenue, Niagara Falls, ON Canada, (905)-374-3598)   boast 35+ poker tables combined. British Columbia has a more than a dozen casinos, with Edgewater Casino(750 Pacific Boulevard, Vancouver, BC Canada, (604) 687-3343) the largest and offering over 75 different tables games including poker. Alberta on the other hand has 24+ casinos and is one of the major destinations for the Canadian Poker Tour with events scheduled at nearly every Alberta casino including; Deerfoot Inn (1000 35 Street Southeast, Calgary, AB (403) 236-7529), Cash Casino(4040 Blackfoot Trail SE Calgary, Alberta (403) 287-1635), Casino Edmonton (Casino Edmonton, 7055 Argyll Road, Edmonton, Alberta Canada, (780) 463 -9467) and Casino Yellowhead (12464 153 Street Northwest Edmonton, AB Canada, (780) 424-9467).