Ontario & Alberta Players:
Here's Why You Don't
See Bonus Offers

The Regulation That Prevents Us Showing Bonuses

In April 2022, Ontario launched Canada's first privately-operated regulated iGaming market. The regulator, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), established a set of Standards for Internet Gaming that all operators and their marketing partners must follow. Standard 2.05 is the one that affects what you see on this site.

In plain terms: bonuses, welcome offers, free spins, deposit matches, and any other promotional incentive cannot be publicly advertised, not on TV, not on social media, and not on affiliate review sites like ours. The only places they can appear are on the operator's own platform (after you've signed up) and via direct messages you've specifically opted into through that operator's own site.

Alberta's AGLC framework, launched in January 2026, applies the same principle. Alberta's standards say operators can't push sign-up offers, bonus credits, or other inducements to the general public, promotions can still exist, but they're meant to live inside the operator's own channels. We suppress bonus content for Alberta visitors for the same reason we do for Ontario.

Our Honest Take on the Rule

We'll be direct: this regulation creates a genuine frustration for informed players, and we hear it all the time. The policy was designed to stop predatory mass-market bonus advertising, giant billboards and TV spots screaming "Get $1,500 free!" at anyone watching a hockey game. That goal is legitimate.

But the rule also catches responsible, transparent affiliate journalism in the same net. A player actively searching for a casino review, someone who has come to this site looking specifically to compare offers, is very different from someone passively watching TV. Industry observers noted that players can't be shown which operator bonuses offer good value or which bonuses are particularly hard to achieve, leaving consumers less informed as a result.

What we can tell you is that major operators like BetMGM and DraftKings have already been fined by the AGCO for violating Standard 2.05, the regulator actively enforces this rule. Our compliance is genuine and non-negotiable.

Bonuses Are Real, Here's What Actually Exists

Just because we can't show them doesn't mean they don't exist. Every major iGO-licensed Ontario casino and every AGLC-registered Alberta casino offers promotions to its players. Here's what you can expect to find when you visit a licensed casino directly:

What To Do Instead, The Smart Path

Here's the thing: relying on bonus size to pick a casino is actually one of the worst ways to choose. A flashy welcome offer with a 60x wagering requirement on a platform with poor UX and slow payouts is a worse deal than a modest offer on a casino that actually delivers. Our job is to help you find the better casino, the bonus is just the cherry on top once you get there.

How to Evaluate a Bonus Once You're There

When you visit a casino and see their welcome offer, here's what to look at. These are the terms that determine whether a bonus is actually worth claiming:

For a deeper dive on bonus mathematics, expected value, and how to calculate whether an offer is worth claiming, visit our Bonus Calculator and Guide.