Ontario Online Poker Rooms with Casinos

Overall Appearance

The look and feel of this casino is very similar to PartyCasino with a giant promotion scroll bar in the middle of the screen; a navigation bar with multiple sub-section of games to quickly toggle to, and then a full list of slots and table games below. 

It is easy to navigate around and quickly find your game of choice.  One significant difference between Bet MGM and partypoker though is the poker client is not attached to the casino.  If you are looking to play on the Bet MGM Poker site, you have to login into the poker client outside of the casino.  Not a massive deal, but when PartyCasino and partypoker are connected, this is a slight inconvenience to players.

Variety & Exclusive Games Offered

Players are going to get their fair share of games with hundreds of slots available from the providers you would expect to find.  There are several exclusive slots available, and slots are separated into sections by providers – so if you are a Pragmatic player, all their slots are grouped together.  Jackpot games, mega way games, bonus buy games, etc., are all in individual sections, conveniently placed for you to find.

Return to Player Percentages

Like PartyCasino, you’ll find higher RTP rates than on most poker room casinos – Sweet Bonanza 1000 was above 95% – so this provides players with an opportunity to keep a little bit more of their money that they gamble with.  As we have said, this may not seem important, but that difference is so much money back to player’s long term. 

Initial Bonus

Without question the best initial bonus for players can be found here – 100% up to $3,000, plus another $100 on the house.  You will need to play through it by betting fifteen times the bonus amount to get the money freed up to withdraw.  The $100 bonus on top needs to be bet ten times to be able to take the money out.  This is one of the more liberal requirements and designed to lure players in and keep them gambling after the bonus period expires.

Ongoing Bonuses

Bet MGM Ontario has many ongoing promotions available to players – whether it’s a bet $25 to get $5 on a specific slot, periodically sending players 25 free spins on select slots, offering prizes for simply betting $50 in a day, or free chances to win up to $1,000, players will always have a new reason to log into the casino and get a new bonus.  In addition, players earn MGM Reward points redeemable for bets, casino bonuses or rewards at MGM Resorts – so if you are a gamer in person at MGM properties, this is a great option to increase your point total.

Mobile Options

Players accessing the client on a tablet or phone will find little to no difference from the layout of the site.  Like PartyCasino, players will find a slight lag when trying to access a game or the main menu, but players will also find the app very stable and reliable when it comes to geolocation issues that others have had trouble with over time.

Sports Betting Options

Bet MGM Casino and sports book are connected, with players able to toggle between the two sites very easily.  In fact, players will find some casino bonuses hinge on betting on sports – often they will have 25 spins on the UFC branded slot machine by simply betting $5 on a UFC Fight Night or UFC Pay-Per-View card.  All the expected variants are here with a wide range of sports and different bets, players will enjoy the connected experience between the casino and sports book.

Overall Appearance

Game variety is evident on PartyCasino, giving players hundreds of popular games to choose from. 

All the common and popular games are here from some of the popular providers – Pragmatic, Hacksaw Gaming, Global Games, AG5 Games, IGT Games, Inspired Games, Playtech Games and Relax Games are here – and PartyCasino has a section for each provider to make it easy to find the game you want to play.  One key provider that is missing though is NoLimit City which for fans of those games, they will be disappointed.

Variety & Exclusive Games Offered

The PartyCasino home page is dwarfed by a scrolling section on current promotions – you must scroll down to get to the featured and favourite games area.  Links are available to navigate to the various sections of the casino – slots, table games, live games, slot races, etc.  While the layout is clean, the promotions do grab your attention so when something amazing is on, you cannot miss it.

Table games and live casino offerings are evident as well and accessed easily along the top menu on the home screen, or the secondary search bar.  These are remarkably similar offerings found on other sites and there is little to distinguish PartyCasino from the other operators.

Return to Player Percentages

The RTP on these slots appears to be higher than that on other sites – for example, Sweet Bonanza 1000 has a RTP of above 95% on Party – compared that to other sites like PokerStars where the exact same slot is a full point lower, players have more of a chance to profit and hit the jackpot with the higher RTP rate.

Initial Bonus

New players can take advantage of one of the best bonuses on the internet – up to $2000 and 275 welcome spins on a player’s first four deposits.  If you are looking for a quick boost and gamble the casino’s money, this is a nice bonus to take advantage of.  Players will need to play lots though as the bonus has a thirty times betting requirement and needs to be completed within 30 days or the bonus money is forfeited.

Ongoing Bonuses

One promotion that is available here that isn’t on some of the other sites is Pragmatic Slots’ Drops & Wins promotion where random players across all licensed Pragmatic games can win prizes simply by pulling slots at a specific value.  This is also found on GG Poker with the Pragmatic Games they offer.

One drawback that we found with PartyCasino was the ongoing promotions they offer players.  The rewards program that exists for poker players does not apply to casino players from what we can tell.  The drawback here is you now have a separate rewards program for playing poker than you do playing casino games – why not connect the two to increase the likelihood of achieving the first reward level in a week by having casino games count?

Mobile Options

In terms of the mobile client, we find that the app can sometimes lag when loading games and promotion screens.  While this site hasn’t had the geolocation issues that others have, expect to have a slower experience playing on a tablet or your phone versus a desktop computer.  This may not be noticeable to all, it will be to those with only a few minutes to dip in and get their gamble on.

Sports Betting Options

PartySports is a part of the overall Party experience for Ontario players – but like the poker and casino clients, it is a standalone service accessible as its own entity if players wish.  The links between the three are possible on the website and apps, it does not feel as integrated as you’ll find on other platforms.  Having said that, all the pre-game betting, in-game bets, and prop bets you are looking for are present.

All in all, the PartyCasino experience in Ontario will be very similar to what you’ll see in the global client – a solid poker client, a variety of popular casino games with better value than you’ll find elsewhere, traded off with a sub-par promotions and rewards program for casino only players.

Overall Appearance

Expect a similar look and feel if you are accessing the casino via a web browser, desktop app, or mobile client, with recently played games available right on the main screen.  One feature that none of the other sites have is the progress on any casino bonus – most sites bury this down a menu, but on PokerStars that is right smack in the middle of the main screen, making it easy to see how much progress one has made on an active bonus.  Games are arranged with large tiles and separated into typical sections – jackpot games, mega ways, exclusive offerings, and popular slots.

Variety & Exclusive Games Offered

Most, but not all, of the popular game providers are here.  Pragmatic Play, Microgaming, and Ingenuity Slots are a few of the big players that have a home, and PokerStars Ontario has exclusive agreements with some of these providers for games you will only be able to play on their site.  Some of these exclusive games are PokerStars branded while others are games built by some of the top providers that were only licensed to PokerStars. What’s missing though are games from Hacksaw Gaming and NoLimit City which is a substantial gap in the most popular games on the market today.  All the popular table, live dealer and game show games you’d expect to find are readily available to play as well.

Return to Player Percentages

PokerStars has one of the lowest RTP that we could find.  Most, if not all slots researched had a RTP less than 95%, and PokerStars has reduced the RTP on many slots since the launch in the summer of 2022.  While many of the poker providers in Ontario have lower than average RTP rates, you can do better if you are looking for a poker – casino combination site.

Initial Bonus

The initial bonus for fresh players has ranged all the way up to a 100% deposit bonus up to $1000 – the allure of bringing in new customers is evident right on the main page.  Unlike some of their competitors, PokerStars does cater to casino players looking for a solid, well known casino provider.

Ongoing Bonuses

PokerStars often run promotions with cash prizes at the end for playing, and offer players a daily prize wheel spin, gifting them a few free spins all the way up to $1000.  In addition, players frequently receive casino bonus twice a week and free spin chests on the weekends on top of PokerStars rewards that players can earn chests by playing – like the poker room.  One promotion that is lacking that is evident in the poker room are the ties MLSE has with PokerStars Ontario.  You will often see PokerStars advertising during Toronto Maple Leaf, Toronto Raptor and TFC games, but these are poker related, not casino related.  Considering the amount of advertising other casinos do, this is puzzling that PokerStars does not leverage its relationship with MLSE more.

Mobile Options

The mobile client is stable today but has had periodic geolocation issues since launch but is not sufficient to deter players from playing on their phone.  Provided the player is located within Ontario, players will have no issue getting the same experience on a desktop versus a tablet.  Games can be played on the app – integrated with poker and sports betting, online through their website or on a mobile device.  The only drawback to the mobile experience is that the slot screens are not maximized for the space; you will get a lot of dead space on the phone while playing which can be especially irritating given the small screen to begin with.

Sports Betting Options

PokerStars offers players a sportsbook that gives them the ability to bet on all the major sports, including in-game betting and prop bets.  If you are a poker player who wants to get that bet in on the hockey game tonight, you can play poker and bet on the Maple Leafs all at the same time!

Overall Appearance

The poker client is well organized with easy access along the top to the Casino, the Slots, and the Live Casino areas.  There, players can quickly find and search for the games of their choosing.  Large icons will allow players to navigate their way to the game, and the sub-sections allow users to toggle between the various promotions and games offered. Toggling between poker and casino games is easy and seamless, and players will have little to no issue playing both poker and slots at the same time.

The only opportunity we discovered is that you cannot access the casino from the website – you must download the app to access the games. Players who are looking to play on a computer that cannot download the app will be out of luck. Not a huge knock, but other sites allow access via a web browser.

Variety & Exclusive Games Offered

You will find most of the popular games and providers in the client, including all the popular Pragmatic games, along with other providers like Hacksaw Gaming. Players will also find several GGPoker exclusive slots, including one using Daniel Negreanu’s likeness.

Return to Player Percentages

We found similar RTP numbers that we will see on most of the slot and poker providers in Ontario – most slots checked had a RTP below 95%, while some of the standalone casino operators have higher RTP’s.  This may not seem like a significant difference, but that small difference could be the difference between a medium win and a huge win when a jackpot is triggered.

Initial Bonus

GGPoker’s initial bonus only applies to the poker side of their business – there does not appear to be any casino-specific bonus offered to new players.  Now the poker bonus could technically be used in the casino client – it is 100% up to $777, but compared to other poker sites, this casino bonus is no where as lucrative as others offered.

Ongoing Bonuses

There are a number of ongoing bonuses available to players on GG: a Casino Royale promotion that offers $3k a day to players to play specific slots and table games, a $2k with double reward points promotion for playing other slots, and participation in the Pragmatic Drops & Wins promotions found on other sites.

The rewards tied to poker are also available to casino players in Ontario, but the rate you earned Fish Buffet points varies, depending on the game you play.  As a rule, slots earn 1 fish buffet point for every $5 wagered and get back 20% weekly, regardless of how much you play.  To get better payouts, players need to achieve 20k fish buffet points in a 90-day window to achieve 25% rakeback.

Mobile Options

The experience on a tablet or a phone is almost identical to that on a desktop computer, and even better is the full use of the screen on mobile.  Unlike most sites, you’ll get a full screen experience on GGPoker which is incredibly handy given how small the screen is to start with.

Sports Betting Options

We have not found that GGPoker is willing and wanting to jump into the sports betting market, so the casual poker player looking to get a bet in on tonight’s big game will be disappointed that this is not an option here at all.

Overall Appearance

Expect a similar experience if you are playing on the app – desktop, tablet or phone – compared to the web login.  Having the ability to access your account without downloading the app is a plus. In addition, like PokerStars, the 888poker app allows users to quickly toggle between the casino, the poker room and the sportsbook – however, the casino launches on a website, not the app when using the desktop client.  Users on tablets and phones will need the standalone 888 Casino app to access the games.

Variety & Exclusive Games Offered

Like most of the clients, you’ll find a standard list of games from a variety of providers – slots from Pragmatic, Hacksaw and others will be at your fingertips, along with table games, live dealer, game shows and 888casino exclusive slots.  Unlike most of the providers, 888 separates the offerings by theme, versus by provider or other methods.

Return to Player Percentages

Like most of the poker rooms with a casino in Ontario, RTP numbers are typically lower than you would find in other casino-only sites. Most slots appear to be below 95% which is significantly lower than what players can find.  Since most of the poker rooms have lower than average RTP percentages, players will not find much difference between the casinos reviewed in this article.

Initial Bonus

First time players can take advantage of a 100% bonus up to $1000 plus one hundred bonus spins upon their registration and first deposit – this requires a 30X playthrough and has only 14 days to complete.  This is one of the strictest bonuses players will find online and while mathematically possible, not likely to complete with any money left over in just 14 days.

Ongoing Bonuses

888 uses a level and coin system to reward players for their play. Players earn points for betting that completes levels which awards coins, and those coins can be redeemed for poker tickets, casino bonus, or sports bets.  There are also typically daily wheel spins or giveaways awarding free spins to players that requires a betting that bonus several times. It’s not nothing, but players shouldn’t expect much here.

Mobile Options

Players can download a standalone 888casino Ontario app to access the games online.  This app is similar to how the lobby looks on a web browser.  From a stability perspective, this app has had a better history compared to some of their competitors, and the geolocation software feels like it works better and is more consistent, which will not be a negative for players trying to access via their phone or tablet. 

Games are arranged in an equivalent way so accessing one’s favorite slot machine is quite easy, and the search function is right at the top of the page and easily spotted for players to use if they have issues finding their game of choice.

Sports Betting Options

888casino also operates 888sports and is a third stand-alone site, separate from the poker room and casino.  Players will get all the regular options you would expect to find in an online sportsbook.  There are free bet offers that exist for players, so one could build a bankroll if they are knowledgeable at betting on sports.