With half the physical casinos closed in Canada still as a result of the pandemic, more and more Canucks are jumping into gambling at online casinos. And while Canadian authorities pay relatively little attention to what online casinos that Canadians gamble at, technically, only those licensed by either by the individual provinces (there are a few state-run licensed online casinos though they tend to be small, and not spectacular by any means) and those licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, a small tribe of 8,000 Native American Indians in Quebec. Technically, other than the few state-run casinos, Canadians can only gamble at either a province-licensed casino online or a casino licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which insists that all its licensed casinos have their data centers residing in Canada. Although to the best of our knowledge, no Canadian has ever been prosecuted for gambling online, it could happen, so we do recommend that Canadians consider gambling at one of the 250 licensed casinos by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. Many of these offer a sign-up bonus but our favourite that anyone can check out with an amazing spins bonus is the jackpot city $1 deposit. Black Lotus Casino, RichPrize Casino, BGO, MGT Bets Casino and Sportsbook, and Betsson Casino and Sports Book are just a few other great selections.

Slots, slots, and more slots

While Canadians play lots of table games and poker, like all casinos, the vast percentage of their revenue comes from slot machines. It’s well known that in Las Vegas, where publicly licensed casinos have to report periodically to the Nevada Gaming Commission that slots make up 80 percent of the revenue in a Vegas Casino. So it’s unreasonable to think that any casino licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission takes in about the same percentage from slots as their physical cousins. However, there is one big advantage to actually playing slots at an online casino and that’s that the average payout for a land-based casino is roughly 85 percent, Meanwhile, while the return to player rate may vary significantly from casino to casino and between one game or another, it’s a well-known fact that the vast majority of online casinos payout on average, perhaps 5 to as much as 10 percent over physical casinos. Part of this higher payout practice is due to greater competition among online casinos, after all, there are thousands of online casinos worldwide, but another part of the percentage game is for slots comes from the creators of the games themselves. It is a hidden little secret of online casinos, but they do not own the virtual online slot machines they display on their websites. Neither do they set the Return to Player ratio.

Instead, the games are developed by private companies such as NetEnt or Microgaming and are leased out to online casinos. Therefore, when you play a slot game such as NetEnt’s Dead or Alive which has a 96.82 return to player ratio, you can pretty much assume every casino that features that game has a 96.82 return player percentage. Return to player rates are published by every game provider, and it is a key to getting gamblers to play. Of course, the Return to Player rate is not the only thing that slot players need to concentrate on. A return to player rate may be high on a particular slot machine but not good for the average player. The reason of course is volatility. Volatility refers to how the likelihood a player will win or lose a bet, and if he wins, whether the payoff will be a little or a lot. A low volatility machine will pay off frequently but the payoffs may not be big. A high volatility slot will payoff rarely, but the expected payoffs are bigger. Gaming creators rarely comment on volatility, but most review sites are fantastic at adding this vital information.

Best slots for Canadian players

We picked several slots out of thousands, and remember, this is just our opinion. Your mileage may vary.

#1. Jackhammer 2 by NetEnt

Why we picked it. Jackhammer 2 has a relatively high return to player rate of 97.1 percent, and a low volatility rate. The two combined are a great combination for playing and winning consistently. Plus, the original Jackhammer game was fun and Jackhammer 2 does not disappoint. This is a 5 reel, 3 line slot machine with a total of 99 pay lines. We don’t like describing how to play slot machines without you having the benefit of personal experience but suffice it to say that this sort of comic book-looking slot is a lot of fun and can be played for free at https://games.netent.com/video-slots/jack-hammer-2/. Jack Hammer 2, is a sure winner for any Canadian to play.

#2. Retro Reels Extreme Heat from Microgaming

Why we picked it. Retro Relles Extreme Heat has a return to player rate of 97.5 and medium volatility. Any slot machine with medium volatility will be a little harder to win at, but the rewards, when you do hit, tend to be much higher. This is a 5 reel, 3 line slot machine reminiscent of traditional slots with a little graphic heat thrown in. One difference is that you have the option of respinning each of the 5 wheels individually. And what a difference, in our experience at least, that the free respin feature made to the game. We held ourselves admirably for over 1/2 hours worth of free play so we have no doubt that when playing for real money, this would be one of our favourites.

#3. Devils Delight by NetEnt

Why we chose it? An extremely high Return to Player rate of 97.6 percent. A five-reel 3-line slot with a save your soul theme, this slot has a high RTP rate and a low variance rate. This suggests play to us. Sadly, out of all the games we tried, Devils Delight seems to disappoint the most, but as we said before, your mileage may vary from game to game. Worth a try? Yes. Disappointing to play. Also yes.

#4. Bloodsuckers by NetEnt

Bloodsuckers is our final Canadian slot machine selection and this machine from NetEnt has a return to player rate of 98 percent. This is about as good as you can expect from a slot machine. A five-reel, 3 line slot, is among the best high RTP/low volatility slots around. You won’t likely get rich on the machine, but you can expect t0 have a heck of a time playing without losing your shirt, and expect plenty of low-volume hits. We had so much fun playing Bloodsuckers and did so well that we wished we had been playing for free money. Choose wisely at your Canadian online casino and you might as well cash indecently if not get rich.