What do Canadians Bet Online in 2020?

Every betting website and casino has games you can play. Some of these games are entertaining and thought-provoking. Others, not so much. In Canada, most bettors choose games that are not only fun to play; but games through which you can win money.

Wait a minute. Is online betting even legal in Canada? Well, it's not illegal, and that means it doesn't amount to breaking the law. However, Canada doesn't license online casinos. So, you won't find a website regulated by the government.

Instead, Canadians bet at casinos and sportsbooks based overseas. Here are some of the most popular markets they bet on.

North American Sports

Canadians watch and participate in almost the same sports as their neighbours in the US. From hockey and basketball to football and soccer, most American sports leagues also include teams based in Canada.

For that reason, many Canadian sports punters wager on popular American sports leagues: NHL, MLB, MLS, CFA and NBA. Of course, they’re not limited to local sports. Quite the contrary, Canadian bettors can also bet on games in Europe, South America or Australia.

Interestingly, a significant number of Canadian punters use their mobile devices for betting. And it’s easy to see why. Although lots of people have computers, they don’t use them as often as they use their iPhones and Android devices.

Slot Machines

Slot machines make up over 70% of games in the average casino. That’s because they’re incredibly popular with players. Also, they make the most money for gambling sites. People like slots because they’re easy to play, fun and can be profitable.

Sometimes people also play slots because they attract bonuses. Precisely, you can easily get free spins to play slots at a 10 CAD free casino slots for just registering an account. If you deposit money, you receive even more rewards.

On the flip side, casinos feature so many slots because they're games of luck. What's more, they are designed to give the house a guaranteed profit over time. Sure, they produce winners sometimes. But over time, it's hard to make consistent profits playing these games.

That said, there’s always a good slot for everyone. Whether you love sports or TV shows, video games or history, you can easily find a game you’ll like online. But first, join a good online casino. You can't find great games on unreliable websites.

Instead, you find them at top-rated sites. That’s where you also find high-paying slots and progressive jackpots. Speaking of which, at least five Canadians have won over $1 million playing jackpot games.

Roulette

Roulette is a popular game of chance. It features a wheel numbered 0 to 36. The numbers are coloured black or red except for 0 or (00), which are green in colour. The game is simple to play.

A casino professional called a dealer spins the wheel and throws a small ball in there. When the spinning stops, the ball lands on a specific number. With that in mind, your objective is to predict where the number lands.

You can choose a specific number. Or you can predict the ball to land on one of two, three or four numbers. Another bet is to choose whether the ball lands on a black or red pocket, odd or even number.

Of course, the odds of each bet type differ, and so does the payout ratios. That said, there are many types of roulette games. Some of them have better odds than others. So, choose your roulette type carefully.

Blackjack

Like roulette, blackjack comes in many variations. There’s the original version—the objective is to produce cards whose total value equals twenty-one. That’s why the game of blackjack is known as 21 sometimes.

Then there are other variations: Atlantic City, European, Spanish 21, Pontoon and Vegas Strip Blackjack. These variations share the same goal as classic blackjack. But they tweak the rules a bit to spice up gameplay.

All the same, Blackjack is a game of luck. However, it beats slots in that you don’t depend on chance alone. You could also use certain strategies to lower the casino’s house edge. And in doing so, you increase your chances of winning.

Poker

After its huge boom in the 2000s, poker went from an average game to Hollywood's favourite game within a decade. Even James Bond couldn't resist Texas Hold'EM, with the famous agent switching up things to play poker instead of baccarat in Casino Royale.

Like many card games, poker comes in many variants. There’s Texas Hold’em, stud poker, Hi-Lo, Caribbean poker and three-card poker. Texas Hold’em is undoubtedly the most popular variation.

That’s because it relies more on skills rather than luck. If you need evidence, check out past winners of the World Series of Poker tournaments. Canada’s Daniel Negreanu has won at least six bracelets and cashed out 100+ times. Some players have won the event more than once, meaning it asks for more than pure luck.

Baccarat

Baccarat is James Bond's favourite casino game. It's also the most popular card game in the world, mainly due to its popularity in Macau, China. In Canada, Baccarat isn't as popular as blackjack or poker.

But it’s available in many Canadian casinos, nonetheless. So, how does it work? The objective is to produce a hand whose total value equals nine (9). Essentially, it’s somewhat like blackjack. But it differs in several ways.

For example, baccarat cards hold their face value (1-9) apart from tens and royal cards, which hold zero points. There are also three-bet outcomes: the banker, a tie or and he player. Another rule is that exceeding a hand of nine doesn’t mean you bust. If you hit 13, your hand is the number on the left.

Other Games

Casinos have many games, some of which aren't very popular. For example, you can play Monopoly for real money. Then there's video poker, a game that combines the elements of slots and poker.

On the flip side, there’s craps, a pretty popular game of dice. Another popular game is Keno, which looks like lotto and has equally low odds of winning. Some casinos also provide online bingo, scratch cards and virtual sports. Most of these games are based on pure chance. But they’re cheap and easy to play.