Canada Sweepstakes Casinos

Numerous laws have been passed in a bid to regulate casinos operating across Canadian provinces, but they have yet to define the legal outlines of this field.

Since sweeps casinos effectively fall under the legal “gray area” of the i-gaming industry, many reputable sites decided to allow Canadian players to play their free slots and participate in sweepstakes prizes even without an active license. We at SweepsKings are here to guide you through the legal intricacies of Canadian sweepstakes casinos and give you a few tried and tested recommendations.

Canada Gambling Laws: Online Casino Legal Updates

As mentioned, each province governs its online casino (and sweepstakes) sites with unique laws passed by their local regulatory bodies. Below I’ll highlight the most important Canadian Gambling Laws, although I should preface this by saying that none of them directly affect the legality of sweepstakes casinos:

• Alberta: AGLC last updated the Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Act in 2022; it only briefly mentions who is not allowed to enter or operate “casinos”
• British Columbia: GCLC last updated the Gaming Control Act in 2024; it mainly revolves around sweepstakes casino operator eligibility and the registration process
• Manitoba: LGCC has two acts, the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act, and Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation Act, both of which don’t mention sweepstakes casinos expressly
• New Brunswick: NBLGC passed the Gaming Control Act but it doesn’t mention sweepstakes or social casinos whatsoever
• Newfoundland & Labrador: NLC’s Liquor Control Act barely scratches the surface of i-gaming
• Northwest Territories: the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs passed the Lotteries Act, which strictly prohibits owners of “lottery-like” establishments to use proceeds of lotteries for social events and activities in any way other than for hosting children or seniors (i.e. charities)
• Nova Scotia: AGFT Division passed the Gaming Control Act, which aims to ensure “casinos and lottery schemes are conducted in a socially responsible fashion”
• Nunavut: NLC passed the Liquor Act, which only has vague descriptions of casinos without any form of categorization
• Ontario: AGCO has two acts, the Gaming Control Act of 1992 and Lottery & Gaming Corporation Act of 1999, both of which can be likened to the leading edge of progress in the Canadian i-gaming industry but fail to define sweepstakes casinos properly
• Quebec: Loto-Quebec has multiple acts revolving around lotteries and amusement machines. Most sweepstakes casinos that accept Canadian players aren’t legal in this province.

How You Can Play Slots and Casino Games in Canada

Due to the surprisingly petite number of locally owned Canadian casinos, I began my quest for sites that accept Canadian players offshore. In truth, I discovered a plethora of sites with intriguing offers and an abundance of gaming choices, but most of them looked and felt like scammy cash grabs.

You could forfeit the chance of earning real money and go to social casinos, but without actual wagers on the table, your gaming sessions can get stale and repetitive quickly.

Sweepstakes casinos are in the golden middle as they utilize a dual currency system. Casual players can use gold coins to play casino games for free while players interested in real money prizes can stake their sweepstakes coins.

Since all sweeps casinos are required by law to ensure no real money purchases are necessary, all you need to do is register a free account to get your welcome bonus. This usually means that you’ll get an abundance of free-play coins and at least some sweeps currency that can be exchanged for cash (or prizes) after all the bonus rules have been met.

How are sweepstakes casinos legal in Canada?

In short, real casinos make their bread by hosting “games of chance and luck”. Sweepstakes casinos offer free games and promotions, carefully avoiding the only rule most Canadian provinces agree on – players should never have to pay to play.

That’s why you can’t outright buy sweeps coins, although you can purchase the currency that holds no monetary value (gold coins) and receive sweepstakes coins as a gift. Redeeming SCs for gifts is legally completely different from gambling and cashing out. That’s why you’ll never see the terms “deposits” or “withdrawals” at sweeps venues in Canada.

Overview Of The Best Sweepstakes Casinos in Canada

I’ve recently seen dozens of brand-new sweepstakes casinos open their gates to Canadian players. However, most of them look pale in comparison to these five sites I’ve been meticulously testing for years, so let’s take a quick look at the best sweepstakes casinos you can enjoy in Canada.

1.   WOW Vegas

The team at SweepsKings has been testing WOW Vegas for over 14+ months, and I can objectively conclude that it’s the ultimate destination for slot enjoyers looking for free cash prizes.

It’s widely beloved among Canadian players because its bonuses are hard to beat. Simply signing up will make you eligible to grab 250,000 Wow Coins and 5 free Sweeps Coins over three days, after which you’ll get to top up your balance with 5,000 WCs and 1 SC on the house with daily refills.

I was most impressed by WOW Vegas casino’s colossal gaming library, which counts upward of 880+ slots and jackpot games; the casino sources its games from the biggest names in the industry like Habanero, Pragmatic Play, and Betsoft.

Although WOW Vegas is my prime recommendation for Canadian slot players, you might want to skip it if you’re into table games like poker and blackjack.

2.   High 5 Casino

High 5 Casino is among the longest-running sweepstakes casinos available to Canadian players. The casino launched in 2012 and the company has been making top-tier games ever since 1995.

I’ve been testing this sweepstakes site for more than 3+ years, and what I loved about it the most is how consistently good it’s been so far. Simply signing up will net you 250 Game Coins and 5 Sweeps Coins; on top of that, you’ll also receive 600 diamonds, which are boosts-on-demand that can be used to purchase free spins on various games.

They’ve thoroughly streamlined the process of claiming free sweeps currency and redeeming it, not to mention that they support a range of credit/debit cards, e-wallets, and online banking options.

High 5 Casino is a well-rounded sweepstakes casino that I fully recommend to all Canadian players. Its only flaw is that it’s currently unavailable in the province of Quebec.

3.   McLuck Casino

If you’re looking for an immersive social gaming platform, let me introduce you to McLuck. It has everything from classic slots and slingo games to jackpots and feature spins titles, and even a humble live casino lobby with real dealers hosting your roulette, blackjack, and baccarat games.

McLuck has an abundance of hefty no deposit promos for regulars, but it also regularly hosts tournaments and boasts a huge local jackpot network. Throughout my testing of this site, I’ve seen the Grand McJackpot rise above 2.5 billion GCs.

4.   Fortune Coins

A perfect spot for people looking to play free casino games, Fortune Coins takes the “no purchase necessary” aspect of social casinos to the next level by awarding new players a whopping 18,330,000 Gold Coins, as well as 4,990 Fortune Coins (sweeps). Note that FCs are pegged 100:1 to CAD at this site, but even so, you’ll get fourteen bucks on the house for just registering.

Although they don’t have too many games in their catalog, Fortune Coins is my go-to destination when I’m looking for quality fish shooting games. I especially love their homemade Emily’s Treasure.

After being a member of this site for well over a year, I’ve grown fond of its regular promos. I even managed to get CA$50 for inviting a few friends. Fortune Coins is constantly bringing new promos to the table, and I love that they decided to bump the size of the welcome bonus in celebration of their 2nd birthday.

5.   Chumba Casino

Chumba Casino has been around for over a decade, and it’s garnered a decent following among Canadian slot enjoyers. It’s a relatively small social casino with cash prizes, rocking a little over 100+ games from NetEnt, Playtech, and Relax, but they’ve covered every category I love – classic slots, tables, video poker, bingo, and progressive jackpots.

Their welcome bonus is huge if you’re mainly interested in playing free casino games. Newcomers are eligible to claim 2,000,000 gold coins, but only two sweepstakes coins, so I can safely say we at SweepsKings have seen better bonuses.

Chumba is a solid choice for Canadian players since not many legal sweepstakes casino alternatives are available, but it’s leagues below the likes of WOW Vegas, McLuck, and High 5 Casino.

Why Our Experts Selected These Brands

We at SweepsKings have tested over 30+ sweeps casinos and shortlisted five sites based on our 7-step reviewing process:

1. Quality of games: it doesn’t matter if a site has 100 or 1,000 games, we believe it’s important that they’re fun to play and have a solid paying potential.
2. Developer partnerships: SweepsKings expressly avoid sites powered by shady or obscure developers and are actively seeking sweeps casinos that work with licensed vendors like Pragmatic Play and Betsoft.
3. Solid bonuses for newcomers and existing players: from welcome and daily login bonuses to first-purchase deals, tournaments, and social media contests, we take everything into account.
4. Streamlined payment systems: payments are optional, but if you decide to purchase, you shouldn’t be made to jump through countless hoops and waste time waiting. We recommend sweeps casinos that work with popular credit cards, e-wallets, and online banking methods.
5. No purchase necessary: the only rule all sweepstakes casinos must abide by is ensuring players have enough free credits to never have to make a real money purchase.
6. Reliable customer support service: if the terms are clear-cut and concise, the support team is readily available, and live chat is ready to answer basic questions, SweepsKings awards their seal of approval.
7. Advocating Responsible Social Gaming: we strive to curb problem gaming and respect casinos who fight our fight. Our recommended sweeps casinos support multiple RSG tools and options.

How Payments Work

The first thing you should know about payments in Canadian sweepstakes casinos is that they “must” be optional, otherwise you’re not at the right site.

Payments are never required to register, meaning that you can freely play casino games as soon as you’ve made a new account by using your welcome bonus funds. It’s important to emphasize that only Gold Coins are purchasable, but most sweepstakes casinos will gift you some sweeps on real money purchases.

Unlike real money casinos, sweeps platforms usually support a limited number of payment methods. Before you can use any of them, you’ll usually be asked to pass the KYC (know-your-customer) check by providing the required proof of identity (e.g. photocopy of your driver’s license).

Can you win real money playing sweepstakes casino games?

You can’t “cash out” at sweeps casinos – you can request a cash prize. This can be done after you’ve played through your sweeps casinos and reached the designated minimum redemption limit, usually via the “Redemptions” tab.

From that perspective, you’re converting a virtual currency into an actual currency, so yes, real money can be won by playing sweeps casino games.

Your Gaming Options at Canadian Sweepstakes Casinos

The majority of Canadian sweeps platforms I tested are not too dissimilar to US sites, meaning that they’re big on slots.

Many sites have caught onto the trend of bringing more modern options like megaways, feature spins, bonus buy slots, and tumblers while some of my favorites like WOW Vegas, High 5 Casino, and McLuck are also ideal if you’re looking for quality jackpots.

What I noticed is that there are only a handful of Canadian sweepstakes casinos with table games and live dealers. Even the ones that feature them have only a few titles in their libraries.

I should also mention that the most reputable sites also boast at least some exclusives. High 5 Games is my go-to for this category, as they’re famous for creating dozens of originals via their High 5 Games studio.

Bonuses and Promotions at Canada Online Casinos

The most notable bonus all Canadian casinos offer is the no deposit welcome bonus. No purchases are necessary, so they have to give you some free credits to get you started.

These promos can favor the free-to-play currency (e.g. Fortune Coins will give you over 18 million GCs on sign-up) or the sweepstakes currency (e.g. registering with H5 Casino gives you free $5 in sweeps coins). Other prominent bonuses and promotions at CA online casinos include:

Comparison of the Best Canadian Casinos with Real Cash Prizes

Aspects in Favor and Against Sweepstakes Casinos in Canada

Other Gambling Options for Canadian Players

The time-consuming process of navigating the dissimilarities in online gambling legislation between Canadian provinces made me love sweepstakes casinos, but if that’s not your cup of tea, there are a few other options.

If you’re physically located near popular venues, you can try brick-and-mortar casinos like River Rock in Richmond, BC, or Playground Casino in Kahnawake QC. I can’t recommend too many online casinos since most of them are illegal save for a few like PlayNow.com in British Columbia. Ontario residents do have a solid list of gambling sites to play on, including DraftKings and BetMGM, though.

You can test your luck at offshore sites, but sweeps platforms that accept Canadians are objectively superior to all alternatives – they are free to play, allow you to cash in real money prizes, and they perfectly emulate an authentic online casino experience.