Best Canadian Poker Sites in 2025

Online poker in Canada has a long, illustrious history and has one of the widest varieties of real money and free poker sites. Some of the world’s best poker players hail from Canada, including the world-renowned Daniel Negreanu, and it continues to be a premier location for playing online poker.

Texas Hold’em may not have originated in Canada but it’s actually easier to play the game online in the Great White North these days than it is in other parts of the world – including Texas. Online poker players in Canada can access the best real money poker sites in the world and their international player pools. Canadians can also play on some exclusive Canadian-only sites and get exclusive offers that aren’t available to other players.

The other thing about Canada, as you’re likely well aware, is that the winters can be pretty cold and long. That’s the perfect environment to play online poker! See our list of the best Canadian poker sites ranked and reviewed below.

How to Choose the Best Poker Site in Canada

Picking the best Canadian poker site you can play on while in Canada depends on what you want from your playing experience. Do you want top software innovations, the biggest player pool currently in 2021 and world-record breaking guarantees? Then there’s GGPoker. If you’re looking for interesting poker variations and mixed games and a massive lineup of poker tournaments and series, you should look at PokerStars. Want some soft cash games, a growing lineup of weekend tournaments and series and great opportunities to win live poker packages? You should probably give 888poker or partypoker a try.

Want the weakest competition of them all? Tiger Gaming Poker is the one to go for. All the Canada poker online sites we suggest here for real money offer the safety and security of gambling licenses and regulations. Even if, at times, it means less traffic and smaller prize pools. When it comes to online poker in Canada, players are spoiled for choice with an infinite number of games, stakes and variations to choose from. And on a variety of great and reputable online Canadian poker sites.

And did we mention the tax-free winnings?

Whatever you decide, before you start playing make sure you have a solid grip of How to Play Poker. And that you know the poker basic strategies if you’re literally just starting out at the game. You can use our cheat sheet with poker hand rankings to help you figure out which hand wins in a poker game.

All the options we list below:

• Accept and cater to poker players in Canada
• Offer CA players bonuses and loyalty rewards
• Are safe, regulated and reputable poker platforms
• Has a decent amount of Canadian player traffic

Best Poker Bonuses for Canadian Poker Players

Poker sites around the world offer enticing sign-up bonuses to recruit new costumers. Generally these sign-up bonuses take the form of what’s called a ‘deposit match’ bonus where the poker site will match a percentage of the amount initially deposited. In other words if you put $50 on a poker site with a 100% deposit match then you’ll receive an additional $50 (provided you play enough real-money hands or some other qualifier). Sometimes online poker sites will also offer instant deposit bonuses where you’ll instantly receive $5 or some other amount just for making your first deposit. Most new players receive at the very least a few ticket to freerolls or small tournaments.

Canadian poker players certainly get access to those bonuses and sometimes they’ll even receive special promos that are just for Canadians. For instance you might get to play a freeroll where hockey game tickets are up for grabs or something specifically Canadian. Make sure that you shop around a bit when looking for the best possible sign-up bonus. Sites like PokerListings are able to cut exclusive deals with operators that enable extra perks on top of the sign-up bonus. Read more here:

• Best Poker Bonuses

Playing Online Poker in Canada – Overview

As mentioned Canada is one of the few places that offers both government-run online poker sites in addition to private poker sites. It’s a fairly unique system in the online poker world and it’s helped create a burgeoning industry for both province-run sites and offshore operators. The customer is the real winner as they get more poker options than almost any other country. It’s what brought hundreds of professional poker players to Canada after Black Friday narrowed the US online poker market significantly.

In turn those poker pros helped stimulate the poker environment in cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. It was win-win for everyone and Canada remains one of the premier places in the world to be an online poker player. The spin-off of the strong online poker industry in Canada is a booming live poker scene across the country, too. The Playground Poker Club in Montreal might lead the way in major poker events but live casino in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto are always overflowing with poker players.

• Betnero casino opens in Canada

Canada Online Poker Laws

Is poker legal in Canada? Yes, in fact, poker laws in Canada allow the industry to thrive right now. As well as offering plenty of great places to play, Canada has produced some of the world’s top players, including Daniel Negreanu, Jonathan Duhamel, and Timothy Adams. With a bustling poker scene, it’s little wonder you can find card rooms and casinos in every province. Likewise, online poker is legal in Canada too. There aren’t any formal regulations and we know that companies based in Canada can’t offer online poker. 

However, there’s nothing in Canada’s online poker laws that prevents offshore sites from serving locals. Therefore, as long as you satisfy age requirements, you can play online poker at the international sites featured on this page. As they are all safe and regulated entities which take measures to protect players and their bankrolls.

What About Online Poker Winnings Under Canadian Tax Law?

The short answer here? Nothing. Poker winnings for casual players are entirely tax-free. Canadian tax law is rather unusual when it comes to online poker because most gambling in the country is government-run and 100% tax free. Now, there are a number of poker sites that aren’t run by the government but most casual poker players still benefit from that tax-free approach to gambling.

It’s somewhat of a different story for professional poker players, however. The Canadian Revenue Agency views poker winnings as subject to tax if they are “income from a business.” This interpretation is rather vague but the general idea is that if you make 100% of your income from playing online poker in Canada and are a consistent winner then you should be paying taxes. The vast majority of poker players are not in that category and therefore their winnings are tax free. If you’re consistently making money from online poker, there’s a good chance you’ll want to speak to an accountant.

Popular States to Play Poker in Canada

• Alberta: As well as boasting 19 live poker rooms, including those owned by Pure Casino, this state doesn’t have any laws banning residents from using offshore sites. Therefore, you can use our recommended international poker rooms.
• British Columbia: Poker is legal in British Columbia and the legal gambling age in BC is 19. You can play online poker at offshore poker sites, as well as live venues like ‘River Rock.’
• Manitoba: Manitoba is slightly different to most provinces in that the legal gambling age isn’t 19. Instead, you can visit the Aseneskak Casino (the Pas) or Club Regent in Winnipeg for some cash game action and tournaments from the age of 18. You can also play online poker. 
• New Brunswick: New Brunswick has two main casinos where anyone 19+ can play poker – Casino New Brunswick and St. Mary’s Entertainment Centre. Both offer cash games and tournaments, mostly Hold’em. You can also play online.
• Newfoundland and Labrador: Newfoundland laws restrict poker games to prize pools at $500. So, most live events in this province are home games. St. John’s Entertainment Centre and local bingo halls also host games. But for the top Canadian poker action, you can play at online sites.
• Northwest Territories: Home games are the best way to play live poker in the Northwest Territories. If that doesn’t float your boat, you can play cash games, MTTs, and SNGs online while in this province.
• Nova Scotia: A steady influx of tourists means the local poker scene in Nova Scotia is brimming with fishy players. Casino Nova Scotia Halifax and Casino Nova Scotia Sydney are where you can find live cash games at almost any time of the day if you’re 19+.
• Nunavut: Nunavut is one of the largest provinces by area but also one of the least populated. The 38,000 residents may not be opposed to gambling but the region doesn’t have any bricks and mortar casinos.
• Ontario: Ontario is one of the best places to play poker in Canada. The legal gambling age is 19 and you can play cash games and MTTs at 12 poker rooms. We recommend Caesars Windsor and Casino Niagara for live play and partypoker to play poker online in Ontario. More information about Live Poker in Ontario.
• Prince Edward Island: Canada poker tax laws will be something you have to consider if you live on Prince Edward Island as there are live cash games and tournaments at Red Shores Charlottetown and Summerside.
• Quebec: With 10 poker rooms and over 100 tables, Quebec is one of the biggest poker hotspots in Canada. Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City are the main places to play. Of course, if you’re aged 18+ and don’t want to play live in Canada, you can visit our recommended online poker sites.
• Saskatchewan: There’s a rural vibe to Saskatchewan’s 10 poker rooms. However, casinos like Gold Eagle and Painted Hand offer a great selection of daily, mid- and high-stakes tournaments.
• Yukon: Even though casinos are lacking in this province, there’s a local amateur scene with clubs, bars, and home games offering low stakes action. For bigger prize pools, poker laws in Canada allow players in Yukon to ante up online. 

Qualify Online for Live Poker Tournaments in Canada

All sites offer satellites for various online poker tournaments around the world. That gives you a chance to play a potentially enormous live event for a fraction of the price. If you’re looking to qualify for local poker tournaments in Canada you’re likely going to want to check out the government-run sites as they’ll give you plenty of options.

If you’re looking to play in live tournaments abroad you might be better off with one of the off-shore operators. In fact there are some fantastic international poker tournaments that take place in tropical settings like the Bahamas that make for a perfect winter getaway. There are a large number of Canadians who have escaped a bitter winter for a few weeks of fun and sun thanks to playing particularly well in a big online qualifier.

• View Top Canada Poker Tournaments

How Do Online Poker Withdrawals Work in Canada?

Fortunately withdrawing money from poker sites in Canada is relatively easy because you can do it directly through most banks. While US-based poker players had to deal with banks rejecting their transfers for years the process is easy in Canada as most banks will easily take a wire transfer. You can also go directly through VISA, MasterCard as well as payment processors like eCheck, Paypal, Skrill and Neteller. It’s just one more thing that’s easier for Canadian poker players.

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