Top 3 Live Casinos – Details
Above you will our top ten overall online casinos in Canada in terms of best bonuses and selection of live games available. To help you decide which online casino is best for you, below you will further detail of our top three picks: Jackpot City, Leo Vegas, and Spin Casino.
Top 3 – Spin Casino
Spin Casino is our third casino, well-known in the Canadian market and a popular choice for many players. So, what makes Spin Casino so special? Founded In 2002, and later rebranded from Spin Palace, Spin Casino has seen it all, knowing exactly what players want and need from an online live casino experience.At Spin Casino, you will find a large number of deposit methods, including e-wallets, daily promotions and bonuses for regular players, on top of a VIP program with a 100% deposit match.
Advantages
- A lucrative welcome bonus.
- 24/7 customer support services including live chat, email, and phone.
- A wide selection of live table games including roulette, blackjack, monopoly live, and Texas Holdem.
However, one potential disadvantage is that there is no mobile app. Players can play on mobile but must use their browser instead. Nevertheless, the site is mobile compatible and runs smoothly, so long as you have a steady internet connection.
Top 2 – LeoVegas Casino
Leo Vegas is a top casino choice for many, especially those in Canada. This is thanks to their extensive selection of games, both live and regular, their generous welcome offer, quick payout, and generous bonuses for regular players. Founded in 2012, Leo Vegas has been dominating the online live casino market for over a decade, providing high-quality casino games for all users. There is also a mobile app available on the respective app stores, allowing you to play your favourite live table or casino games on the go.
Advantages
- $1,000 CAD bonus & 112 free spins across multiple games.
- An extensive selection of live games.
- New games are added on a regular basis to the site.
Top 1 – Jackpot City Casino
Jackpot City is a Canadian online casino offering new users lucrative sign-up bonuses, a wide selection of live games, slots, and ginormous jackpots to be won, each and every day. Established in 1998 by Digimedia Limited Casinos, Jackpot city has been around for over two decades. Utilizing Microgaming software, Jackpot City is able to deliver a large selection of live table games and live dealer games, offering that authentic experience to all users.
Advantages
- $1,600 CAD sign-up bonus.
- Matched first four deposits up to $400 CAD.
- A wide selection of live table games (100 +).
- Mobile compatibility.
A Beginners Guide to Live Casinos
As a beginner, it can be difficult figuring out the basics concerning live casinos. How do you start playing? What games are available? What software does the casino use? Are online casinos fair? You likely have more questions, these will be answered below, providing you with an introductory guide to live casinos, helping even the most beginner player up the ranks and into their first game of blackjack.
How to Start Playing Live Casinos
For this particular example, we will be using Spin Casino, showing you how to sign-up and start playing.
- First, you will need to create an account, this will require an email address and your card details to place your first deposit – you can access this by clicking the large red “sign-up” button.
- Once your account is created, you will are required to place a minimum deposit (usually $5 – $10 CAD to begin playing).
- To play the live casino, you will need to select the live section from the top task bar – you now have access to the live casino.
- Take your time to familiarise yourself with the site and the live games available.
As a beginner to live casinos, we recommend taking the time to work your way around the site. Look for bonuses, further offers, and any guidance if there’s any available. Likewise, if you don’t already know how to play certain games, you want to slowly begin learning these. You can do this by reading guides online, watching videos on YouTube, or playing yourself with a lower stake or with computer players, otherwise known as NPCs.
Live Casino Games
Regardless of whether you end up playing on Jackpot City, Spin Casino, or Leo Vegas, you’ll have a wide selection of live casino games at your disposal. The most popular live casino games are roulette, baccarat, blackjack and poker. However, there are other games available if you’re interested. The following sections will further explain live casino games, including RTP and the selection of games you can play.
RTP of Live Casino Games
RTP stands for return to player. This is essentially the amount a slot pays back to the player over a set number of spins or games. This number is usually represented as a percentage. For example, the standard RTP for games is around 80%, with some casinos going up to the high 90s. However, this depends on both the casino and the game you’re playing. Below you will find the RTP of classic live casino games.
Live Game | Provider | Theoretical RTP |
---|
Roulette (European) |
| 97.30% |
Roulette (French) |
| 98.65% |
Blackjack |
| 99.28% |
2 Hand Casino Hold’em |
| 97.84% |
Baccarat |
| 98.95% |
MONOPOLY Live |
| 96.23% |
Roulette (European) |
| 97.30% |
Blackjack |
| 99.50% |
Roulette (European) |
| 97.30% |
Blackjack |
| 99.50% |
Roulette (European) |
| 97.30% |
Blackjack |
| 99.28% |
Understandably, players want to play games that have the highest RTP. Games with a higher RTP percentage should hypothetically result in either a higher payout or at least their stake back within a certain number of games. This is what players look for and what you should look for too.
Live Roulette
Live roulette is one of the most popular and simple games available. Players choose a colour; black or red and place a wager on this. If the ball lands on your chosen colour, you win. Roulette can be made harder by betting on specific numbers e.g. red 27, 30, or 23. The ball must land on these numbers to win. Popular versions of roulette in Canada include:
- French Roulette
- Multi-level Roulette
- Double ball Roulette
- Duel play Roulette
Live Blackjack
Live blackjack is an easy to learn casino favourite for players. Playing live allows you to interact with a real-time dealer but enjoying the fun and excitement anywhere in the world. The ultimate goal of blackjack is to beat the dealer’s hand without going over 21. If you go over 21, you are bust and the dealer wins regardless of your hand. Each player starts with two cards, players ask to ‘hit’ for another card whilst one of the dealer’s cards is hidden until the end. Popular versions of blackjack in Canada include:
- Progressive blackjack
- Spanish 21
- European blackjack
- Classic blackjack
Live Baccarat
Baccarat is an exciting game involving both cards and chips. Each game of baccarat has three possible outcomes: Player win, Banker win, and a tie. In-game, players can bet on either their own hard or the bankers, depending on their judgement. Whilst baccarat may take a little to learn, it’s a rewarding and fun game to play both online and in-person. Popular versions of baccarat in Canada include:
- Punto banco
- Chemmy
- Baccarat Banque
Live Poker
Besides roulette, live poker is definitely one of the most popular live and in-person casino games. Players are dealt five cards, followed by a round of betting. Players can fold, raise, call, or go all-in. Playing online is a little different from in-person as you cannot see the emotion on a player’s face, this makes it more difficult to see whether or not they are bluffing. Nevertheless, popular versions of live poker in Canada include:
- Texas Holdem
- All aces poker
- Three-card brag
- Straight poker
Other Live Games
Alongside roulette, baccarat, blackjack, and poker, there are also various other live games on offer. These games include the popular monopoly live, deal or no deal, dream catcher, and various other live casino games. However, the choice of live casino games available is casino dependent. For example, different live casino games are available at Jackpot city compared to Leo Vegas and Spin Casino.
Live Casino Software
In terms of live casino software, there is currently very little competition of choice for larger casinos. These two most popular options are Evolution Gaming and Microgaming. Both Spin Casino and Jackpot city use Microgaming whereas Leo Vegas uses Evolution Gaming. Evolution Gaming, in particular, offers responsive, and world-leading casino games on tablets and smart devices, creating a unique and authentic gaming experience (they also offer desktop too).
On the other hand, Microgaming themselves have the largest progressive jackpot network in the world. In total, they have paid out over $1 billion dollars to date. Likewise, back in 2015, Microgaming set the Guinness world record for the largest payout in an online slot machine game. A player at Betway UK won €17,879,645,12 from a 25p spin.
Security and Fairness in Live Casinos
The majority of mainstream live casinos are both fair and secure. Live casinos, in general, show you the action first hand, this increases the fairness of the game, then say playing regular video poker.
However, you should pay attention to a few safeguards to ensure the casino is secure:
- Data encryption
- The use of RNGs
- Gaming license
- Terms and conditions
- Privacy policies (how they intend to use your information).
If you’re ever unsure whether a not a casino is secure, it’s worth digging around and reading their privacy policy, ensuring they have a security certificate, and looking at their RNGs. Random number generators are the algorithm casinos use to deal their games. All casinos recommended in this article are completely secure and fair. You’ll find the majority of casinos are. With that being said, avoid less mainstream casinos, especially those who do not meet these safeguards.
Special Bonus for Live Casino Games
Many online live casinos will offer a welcome bonus, an act to convince you to sign-up and gamble with them.
Jackpot city currently offers a $1,600 CAD deposit bonus for new players. This is split over four deposits, matched up to $400 CAD. Whilst this is a deposit bonus, you can also use this in live games. Likewise, regularly playing at a live dealer casino rewards you with unique daily bonuses, depending on your gaming experience.
Spin Casino offers a massive $1,000 CAD deposit bonus for first-time live casino sign-ups. This is awarded and split over your first few deposits. Once signed-up, you will also regularly be rewarded with further promotions for playing.
Finally, our third and final casino recommendation is Leo Vegas. Leo Vegas have numerous fantastic live casino bonuses, including a deposit bonus of up to $300 CAD and a live casino welcome offer of up to $500 CAD matched deposit.
Mobile Live Casino Experience
Many online live casinos also have a mobile application, available on smartphones and other smart and portable devices. These apps can be downloaded from the respective app stores, allowing you to play your favourite live games on the go.
However, some casinos, including Spin Casino do not have a mobile app. Instead, and this applies to most online live casinos, you can play via the browser on your device. This is fully supported and almost as seamless as a mobile app. Nonetheless, Jackpot City and Leo Vegas do have a mobile app, both of which are fully supported.
Modern Payment Options of Live Online Casinos
There are many payment options available from live online casinos. Below you can see an extensive list of the payment options you will have available to you from different online casinos.
Some casinos don’t allow you to withdraw money using the same method that you deposited money with. The withdrawal limit for casinos will differ from one casino to the next, this limit can be discovered on the casinos website, or you can ask their customer support. This also goes for the deposit limit. The withdrawal time can also vary from casino to casino, it usually could take around 72 hours for a payment to process or up to 5 days.
Behaviour and Netiquette in Live Casinos
When playing at a live casino, it’s important to know the rules. However, fortunately, thanks to modern technology you don’t need to worry so much about breaking any laws. Instead, this is based more on netiquette; essentially doing things the right way, the way they are supposed to be done. Should you violate the netiquette, this will lead to either a timeban or permanent ban in the live chat or casino as a whole.
When using an online live casino:
- Know the rules of each game before playing with real players.
- Only sit at a table that suits your budget, saving you time and other player’s time.
- Just like a regular casino, don’t drink too much.
- Be nice and respectful to the dealer, if you lose it’s not their fault.
- Be nice and respectful to other players.
- Your nickname should not offend anyone.
- Be polite, use manners, but maintain positive sportsmanship – if not, you could be punished (you will not lose your money but can be banned in the live chat or live casino. Likewise, in some extreme cases, you account may be blocked with the money withdrawn).