Which are the most liked Canadian casino brands – and why?

The start of iGaming in Ontario, Canada began in April 2022 and has been developing constantly ever since.

Although, the digital age has brought new regulations aiming to better protect the mental and financial well-being of casino gamers, whilst still aiming to create leading-edge games.

Our recent eBook, Decoding the gamer’s mind: unveiling the secrets behind casino brand preferences, found that 83% of people agree that “the online casino experience feels technologically innovative and fresh”.

With this, iGaming industries need to know how to keep up-to-date with the latest changes in the casino world and the steps they can take to succeed.

Let’s delve further into how certain casino brands have evolved to make them more favoured than others, looking at the reasons for these preferences.

Who has secured the top 3 spots?

1. The number one choice of online casino for Canadian gamers is ‘OLG’, which is the Ontario government agency that conducts and manages gaming facilities. As stated on their website, they are the “leading source for information and advice about gambling”.
2. This is followed closely by ‘BetMGM’, mostly known for being an online sportsbook with the ability to bet on various sporting events, alongside other casino games – self-proclaimed as the “best online sportsbook in Ontario”.
3. Taking the third spot in the running is ‘Bet365’ known as “the world’s favourite online sports betting company”.

With all of these huge proclamations of being the best in the casino industry, there’s obviously truth behind them, as they secure the top three titles.

Although, this does not include SEO efforts, which tell a different story – ‘casino.org’, ‘covers.com’ and ‘betway.com’ were the highest-ranking sites in the SERPs. In total, ‘casino.org’ has an estimated annual traffic of 251,836, ranking for 213 keywords and a 15% share of available traffic.

This data shows that word-of-mouth recommendations are key in the Canadian casino industry. For brands who aren’t utilising SEO efforts, it’s important to improve your SEO strategy and build high-quality backlinks to ensure better brand authority online and appeal to a wider audience.

Alongside word-of-mouth recommendations, what else do customers look for when choosing a casino site?

Brand reputation

The number one priority in choosing and sticking to a casino brand is the reputation it has within the industry and this is one area where each mentioned brand performs well.

By optimising your SEO efforts and gaining more word-of-mouth opportunities, the word will spread about a brand. If more people are speaking about it, the likelihood is that more casino gamers will find themselves on your site.

Consumers would’ve heard at least one of the casino brands previously mentioned and that’s all thanks to their reputation in the casino industry – they know they can put their trust in a particular brand to serve their gaming needs.

A personalised experience

Another priority for Canadian gamers is having a personalised gaming experience and the number one feature that many look for are loyalty rewards and prizes based on their interests, which can often be a risky topic to market within the casino industry.

If this is featured on a casino site, it’s important to highlight bonuses for games that players are interested in. These should always be promoted in a way that cannot be seen as a way to help players win, as this is never guaranteed, so shouldn’t be referred to in an enticing way.

Marketing channels

One of the best parts of understanding your target audience is being able to channel marketing efforts to suit their needs. Casino gamers have various ways of finding out about new games and brands, but the overall biggest influences are through social media and influencers.

However, the preferences among different age groups for where they find casino site recommendations vary, with younger people preferring content marketing to social media. Content marketing and social media are both great ways that brands target a younger audience, meaning there could be room for a combination of the two – social media marketing.

On the other hand, older generations find their sites through search engines, as they were found to prefer familiarity. This is where SEO can be introduced as a way to build high-quality backlinks, helping to better target those who opt for a familiar approach to casino gaming.

Whether individuals are finding new sites from search engines, word-of-mouth or social media, digital PR is a major tool in building a brand’s reputation. Its versatility means that you could target multiple age ranges, so one casino site can accommodate a breadth of people.

Why are we interested in these findings?

Our aim at Receptional is ‘Making Market Leaders’, providing help to various businesses to strengthen their digital marketing processes. We have a certified process we use to do so, called RADAR. The R stands for research, as we have a passion for understanding our audience and their behaviours.

Therefore, we’ve incorporated this passion into polling just over 500 people to gain insight into Canadian gamers’ attitudes on their favourite part of the online casino experience and how technological innovations could change the game.

But most importantly, we looked at some of the most-liked casino brands and what makes them a common favourite.

Clearly, they share some common elements that make them the top brands for Canadian casino gamers, but also ways they may be lacking in terms of SEO. As a whole, these findings can be utilised to boost your place in the casino and iGaming industry, ensuring that your site is approachable to a variety of gamers.

To learn more about how you can optimise your casino brand to suit various customer needs, download our eBook here.