Live dealer lobbies help you bring the ambiance of your favourite casinos to your living room if you’re a fan of table games, game shows, or both. In our guide Best Live Casinos in Canada 2021 we will tell you more about how online operators made it possible to connect players at home with a real live dealer guiding you through the game from a live studio. There are more and more live dealer casinos to choose from which may make it a bit tricky to make the right choice in terms of trustworthiness, bonuses, and user friendliness. Luckily, Vernon has a proven track record of being a live dealer lover which is why we have made sure that all the games, casinos, and bonuses we list here live up to our high standards. While our team will continue reviewing the best websites for live dealer games, we also encourage you to try some options and see what website suits you best.
Canada’s live casino top list
The list of casinos where players in Canada can sign up for their fair share of live casino games is increasing every day which is why it’s quite a challenge to pick the best options. For your convenience, we have picked the best live casinos available in Canada. These are reliable casinos that are frequently revisited by Vernon’s dedicated team. Every casino below holds a valid license and offers games from providers like Evolution and Playtech.
- Betsson: best overall mobile casino in Canada.
- Betsafe: best one-stop-shop including a casino, live casino, and sportsbook.
- LeoVegas: best international brand name.
- NordicBet: best for poker loyalty programs.
- Rizk: best in fast payments.
- Bob Casino: best overall casino bonus (bonus money and free spins).
- PlayOJO: best for the ultimate new player experience.
- LiveRoulette: best for roulette lovers.
- Casumo Casino: best for big bonus money.
- Dunder Casino: best for free spins.
Why you can trust our list of best live dealer casinos
Like yourself probably, we highly enjoy everything about online casinos, live casinos, sportsbooks, and everything in between. This is why we always try to find new websites of which we hope you enjoy them as much as our team. Our highlighted casinos work with straightforward steps in terms of signing up, claiming bonuses, playing games, and contacting the customer support desk. This makes sure you’ll have the same smooth experience as we did. If we like what we see we’ll be happy to share it with you, but we’ll never fail to feature any potential cons of a casino. We’re here to help you, not the casino.
How we review live dealer casinos
We do so as we’re on the same boat here. We’re always looking for new options, and we’ve had our problems as well trying to distinguish the right from the wrong and the good from the bad. We’ve fallen and gotten up again and we don’t regret a single moment of our somewhat bumpy ride in finding Canada’s best live dealer casinos. Reviewing and ultimately recommending live dealer casinos means we enjoyed signing up to these casinos ourselves as well. We strongly believe that online gaming should be all about the fun, which is why we consider our reviewed casinos to be good options to have a fun time. While reviewing new casinos we make sure to stick to a strict list of performance metrics.
- Reputation: there are few industries that require its operators to have such a strong reputation than the online casino industry. As casinos and live dealer casinos pop up like daisies it is crucial for an operator to convince its visitors with a trustworthy service. One of the ways to gain and maintain players is to earn a strong reputation and make sure you’re talked about. In a positive way that is.
- Licence: strong licences help casinos while they’re on their way to earn themselves a solid reputation. A good licence will make sure a website is regularly audited and for a casino to obtain and maintain a licence it’ll need to offer a proper service at all times. In case a casino website lacks to do so it’ll risk losing its licence. Holding a valid licence also means an operator is operating legally and allowed to offer its service in the country of jurisdiction.
- Payouts: proper live dealer casinos offer proper payouts, meaning full and fair payouts. A lot of casinos have daily, weekly, and monthly payout limits and the main idea is that their limits should be fair. Payouts should also be fast as nobody likes waiting, especially not in terms of receiving money. Do make sure to take into account that every new player needs to get verified by the casino before the first withdrawal. All payouts after the first should ideally be available instantly.
- Promos: when it comes to live dealer promos, there’s a lot more to consider than just the amount of bonus money and the percentage attached to it. Wagering requirements play a very important role as well and so do the wagering contributions. This is particularly important for live dealer games as casinos tend to exclude this gaming category from their main bonuses. Vernon pays extra attention to only list live dealer bonuses if they’re valid (either fully or partially) for live games.
- Portfolio: the best live dealer casino websites in Canada offer a big gaming portfolio for you to choose from. This usually features traditional table games that are brought to you from a live dealer studio, but should also include different game shows. A strong portfolio also means that a casino works with strong providers, which is one of our most important performance indicators as well. Luckily, there aren’t a lot of bad providers when we’re talking about live casino games.
- Customer support: live dealers or game hosts are able to assist you to some extent when it comes to the rules of the game itself. In terms of the overall casino experience you’ll need to deal with the customer support desk. Casino customer support has enhanced a lot in recent years which is why your online experience should be smooth, with or without the need to contact the casino’s support agents. In case you do need to contact them you should be able count on both enough options to reach out for support and responsiveness. We’ve taken all casinos to the test to ensure they meet our minimum requirements to be included in our top list.
- Banking options: as live dealer games require players to play with real money, depositing funds will need to be a trouble-free process that enables you to pay and play. This means that payments should be instant (or there should at least be some options available for instant payments) and processed by Canada’s favourite banking methods. As all our casino reviews are Canada oriented, we will always test if the payment options are optimised for a Canada based target group.
Live casino bonuses
Casino bonuses are meant to give players a warm welcome and lower their own financial risk as they’re getting bonus money, free spins, cashbacks or whatsoever from the house. When we take a closer look at live dealer casinos we have to underline that live bonuses are a bit more expensive for operators to hand out which is why they’re a lot less common. Other than bonuses for slots, table games like poker or blackjack aren’t fully based on randomness which is why skills and practice give live players a bigger advantage. There are more and more live dealer bonuses becoming available for Canadian players, but most of these will need some extra attention in terms of bonus terms and conditions. At Vernon’s we’re aware of all the tips and tricks on how to recognise a fair live bonus and tell whether the terms are fair. Modesty side, we rock in finding the best live dealer deals. At Vernons we’ll deliver bonuses that are partially or fully valid for live games and have fair wagering requirements. Save yourself a bumpy ride and claim your own live bonuses.
Games you can find at an live casino
Although table games like roulette, poker blackjack never go out of fashion, game shows have been taking over the player’s attention in recent years. This also holds for Canada as a lot of Canadian consumers highly enjoy live games that are based on popular game shows. If you were to check out today’s most popular game in any live casino, you would probably find a combination of the games listed below:
Live Roulette
Roulette is readily included in any list that features the most popular casino games. There are three main variants, European, French, and American, that should be available in live casinos in Canada as well. Online roulette was one heck of an acquisition to online casinos, but the online fun doesn’t come close to what’s to be found in live roulette lobbies. Our live roulette lobby covers all the best this game has to offer to Canadian users.
Live Baccarat
This is actually true for live baccarat as well as live baccarat is one of the main reasons for baccarat’s breakthrough around the world. Baccarat was considered an elite game that was intended for the very few, but thanks to the launch of online baccarat, it reached all corners of the globe. The game’s popularity is also thanks to its very low house edge giving players a lot more advantage in comparison with other live dealer games. All of the casinos that we recommend on our website work with favourable baccarat versions.
Live Blackjack
Blackjack is one of the most played games in both online and live casinos in Canada. Blackjack’s popularity is explained thanks to the need to combine skills and luck and live blackjack studios manage to give players this exact combination. Live blackjack should be available in pretty much every casino you find in our top list of best Canadian casinos. At Vernons we have listed everything you need to know about the most popular blackjack titles. We’re fully confident you’ll be able to find the ultimate blackjack experience at Vernon’s.
Live Casino Texas Hold’em
Texas Hold’em remains one of the world’s favourite casino games and this is particularly true when it comes to poker. Since the introduction of online casino games,Texas Hold’em has proved to be the poker variation best suited to online settings, as it requires constant action and thrills at the turn or every new playing card. Most casinos in Canada now offer live poker and live Texas Hold’em, although you won’t find as many options for this category as for blackjack or roulette.
Game shows
Evolution has maintained its focus on game shows since the very first day live dealer game shows reached the market in 2019. As both players and casinos responded well to this new type of game, other providers like Playtech decided to step into this niche market as well. This explains why there are a lot of casinos in Canada today that offer live game shows as these titles are guided by a host, but add a bit more of entertainment to their games. The best examples of live game shows are probably Monopoly Live, Deal or No Deal Live, and Crazy Time. All of these games have been produced by Evolution’s lab.
The best live casino providers
Live dealer games gained a lot of popularity in recent years and there is an increasing number of providers focused on the production of live games. More and more casinos have turned to live gaming and include live dealer lobbies in their assortiment leading to an increasing demand of live providers. The market has responded well allowing relatively new companies to compete against traditional providers like Evolution and Playtech. Most of today’s live dealer games exist thanks to the innovativeness of Evolution, but Playtech has also proven more than once why it’s still on top when it comes to casino games. Most of the casinos listed by Vernon’s work with Evolution, Playtech or both.
Evolution
Evolution opened its doors in 2006 and most players, casinos, and software developers were blown away by the innovativeness of this new Swedish developer. Instead of focusing on online games (like everybody else) Evolution introduced a new concept of connecting live dealer studios to people’s living rooms via a HD live stream. As players were now able to see a real live dealer leading the game there was no excuse anymore to prefer a brick and mortar casino over an online platform. In fact, people were able to enjoy the casino’s ambiance with the flexibility of staying at home. Evolution has since been the industry’s main source for excellency and innovativeness.
Playtech
Playtech’s story goes back to the 90’s when they opened their doors of what now is known as a retro gaming studio. Since it was launched in 1997 it has managed to adapt its products to the market’s needs which is why they started focusing on live dealer games as well. Not a lot of companies dared to challenge Evolution in the live dealer market, but Playtech did and turned out to be very successful as well. Nowadays, Playtech’s focus lies on the production of live table games. This means you’ll find a lot of live roulette and live blackjack productions by this developer. They have stepped into live game shows as well.
FAQ
What is a live casino?
A live casino is a separate lobby that offers casino games with real human dealers spinning wheels, throwing dice or dealing playing cards. This is done through a live webcam feed that shows the table to players at home. Players can make their bets and chat with the live dealer via the game’s interface without the need to leave their home.
Can I play in a live casino from my mobile?
You can play live casino games on your smartphone and even your tablet as long as your device is connected to a speedy internet connection. Bear in mind that your device’s screen size affects whether or not your live casino experience will be enjoyable. Bigger screens make better experiences.
Can I chat with live dealers?
Yes, you can. Live dealers are available to guide players through the game which also includes answering questions from players. Usually this is done via chat messages, but the dealer can decide to announce the answers verbally as well. Players communicate via the chat option.
Can I play a demo version of the live casino games?
No. Unfortunately live dealer casinos expect players to make a real money bet. This is quite logical if you ask us as they are live dealers hosting the game and waiting for your move. You can always check out the table to see whether you like what you see. In case you do and want to join the table, you will have to place a bet with real money. We would recommend you to bet with small amounts and lower your risk until you feel fully comfortable.
Are live dealer games rigged?
No. Live dealer games aren’t rigged at all. Live dealer games are served by live hosts which means you can count on highly skilled professionals. Moreover, the casinos that offer live dealer games in Canada are audited on a regular basis by third parties. Every casino should be able to share its latest auditing results and prove its fairness. A lot of live games are also hosted in third party studios meaning that casinos don’t have any control at all over the outcome of the game as the dealers and platforms don’t work for them.
Is it safe to play at a live casino?
Yes. If you stick to a licenced casino in Canada you should be perfectly fine as these casinos work with audited platforms, game developers, payment processors and everything that concerns delivering players a proper service. Just like any casino, a live dealer casino that offers live games is audited on a regular basis to ensure that the live dealer games are fully fair and random and the casino is financially sound.
Is it legal to play live in a casino from Canada?
There is a growing number of online casino websites that offer live dealer games. Out of all the online casinos that offer live dealer games, a lot now accept Canadian players.