Where Are the Luckiest and Unluckiest Casinos in Canada?

The first ever casino opened in Canada back in 1892 in Niagara Falls, and it was initially only accessible to the wealthy with an expensive membership fee attached. However, in the 130+ years since, playing at casinos has become attainable for almost all (who are of age!) with close to 90 casino destinations scattered across the country. 

And it’s a pretty big industry, too. With casino sites now available to play in some areas, most notable Ontario revenue for online casinos alone is projected to be $2.614 billion in 2024. 

The first gaming and casino licenses were introduced in the 1970s, and it’s reported that 60% of Canadians spend some money on casino games and gambling. In 2019, there were 67,000 slot machines across the nation, a figure that will have increased since the opening of new major casinos. And this doesn’t take into account the thousands available online. It’s a big industry. 

So, with plenty of land-based gambling opportunities, as we're at Casinos.com, we wondered where exactly the luckiest place to play at casinos was. Our research teams scraped data for 31 of the most popular casinos in the state to find out which is the luckiest casino and, in turn, which is the unluckiest. 

We scraped Tripadvisor reviews for luck-associated keywords such as ‘lucky’, ‘jackpot’, ‘profit’ and ‘winning’. Below are the full results. 

Which Is the Luckiest Casino In Canada? 

Trust us, if we had the definitive scientific answer for this, we wouldn’t be writing this article but booking a first class ticket straight to the casino in question. How casino games ( work is essentially the same in every establishment, with slight rule variations such as slot volatilities or house rules in blackjack. 

Our data concentrated on real-life reviews of people who had stepped foot in real money casinos in Canada and played there.

Drumroll please…

The Great Canadian Casino Resort in Toronto scoops the award, with a rather astonishing keyword luck percentage rating of 41.48%. Despite initial uninspiring reviews when opening in June 2023, it appears luck is in the air at the $1 billion establishment. 

Out of 176 reviews, 73 featured keywords such as ‘won’ and 'winning', with a healthy 8% of reviews featuring the phrase ‘jackpot’ (by far the highest percentage of any casino featured), suggesting those who get luck here get VERY lucky. 

"We are thrilled to finally unveil Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto to the world," said Matthew Anfinson, Chief Executive Officer, Great Canadian Entertainment, prior to the casinos opening last year. "Our team has worked tirelessly for several years to create an unrivaled entertainment experience that will leave a lasting impression on our guests.”

Next on the list was the Rideau Carleton, with a review luck percentage of 32.11%. Keywords such as ‘lucky’, ‘winning’, ‘won’ and ‘bonus’ were ever-present throughout the 246 reviews. 

Completing the top three was the Casino of the Rockies at a flat 30%, with the Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands (23.33%), Parq Vancouver (23.31%) and Great Blue Heron Casino & Hotel (23.12%) also performing admirably in the 2024 study. 

Where Is the Unluckiest Casino in Canada?

However, with the good must come the bad, so now it’s time to announce the unluckiest casino in Canada according to real-life visitors (if their reviews are to be believed anyway). 

And that title goes to Casino de Charlevoix, with a meager 3.67% of reviews citing elements of luck. Out of 517, only ONE mentioned the word 'lucky', and ZERO people mentioned ‘winner’ or ‘profit’, with only a total of 19 reviews mentioning the selected luck-related keywords. However, we should mention that 73.5% of reviews were 4 or 5 stars, so while you might not get lucky here, it’s a good bet that you will enjoy your stay. 

Casino de Mont-Tremblant (8.99%), Cascades Casino Kamloops (9.52%) and Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall (10.46%) won’t be too pleased with their performance in the study either. 

Methodology

Casinos.com utilized Tripadvisor reviews to do an in-depth analysis of phrases associated with luck to determine the luckiest and unluckiest casinos in all of Canada. We calculated the percentage of luck-rated mentions in the total Tripadvisor reviews for each casino, with a minimum of 100 reviews required in order to represent a fair sample size. 

• Keywords tracked: Lucky, Luck, Winning, Big Win, Winner, Bonus, Profit, Success, Jackpot, Hand Pay

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