Pickering Casino Resort, and the truth about playing it online

Pickering Casino online doesn’t exist as a separate casino. Pickering Casino Resort is a land-based casino, hotel and concert venue at 888 Durham Live Avenue in Pickering, Ontario, run by Great Canadian Entertainment. If you press “Play Online” on the operator’s website, you leave Great Canadian entirely and land on OLG.ca, the province’s own online casino. We checked that link, and iGaming Ontario’s list of registered operators, on 11 November 2026.

So there are two honest answers to “can I play Pickering Casino online”. You can drive to Pickering and play there. Or you can play online at a site that’s legal in Ontario, which will be somebody else’s casino. Both routes are covered below.

Is there a Pickering Casino online casino?

No. Three things settle it.

• The “Play Online” button on greatcanadian.com is a referral link to a co-branded OLG.ca page titled “Great Canadian Rewards x OLG”. The games, the account and the wallet are OLG’s.
• Neither Pickering Casino Resort nor Great Canadian Entertainment is on iGaming Ontario’s list of registered operators. The version we read is dated 1 September 2026 and names 49 operators and 84 sites.
• The resort’s app, GC Rewards, tracks loyalty offers. You can’t bet in it. More on that on the app and login page.

If a site offers a “Pickering Casino online bonus” with deposit matches and free spins, it is borrowing the name. That doesn’t automatically make it a scam, but it isn’t the resort, and the resort won’t help you with it.

Where you can legally play online from Ontario

Ontario has two legal channels for online casino games. OLG.ca is run by the Crown agency OLG. Private operators run the rest, each registered with the AGCO and working under contract with iGaming Ontario. For the private sites:

• you must be 19 or older;
• you must be physically in Ontario when you bet (you can open an account elsewhere, but you can’t wager from there);
• the site displays the iGaming Ontario logo, and its name appears on iGaming Ontario’s list.

OLG.ca is likewise for adults in Ontario, with casino games restricted to players 19 and over.

Since May 2026, iGaming Ontario’s BetGuard tool lets you shut yourself out of every registered site in one step. Offshore casinos that accept Ontarians without registering are outside all of that, and the AGCO’s complaints process covers regulated sites only.

See today’s offer

That button goes to a third-party online casino, not to Pickering Casino Resort. Before you deposit anywhere, check the operator’s name against iGaming Ontario’s list.

What the casino in Pickering actually has on the floor

The operator’s Pickering page lists more than 2,200 slot machines with denominations from 1¢ to $100, over 90 live table games and over 50 electronic table games, where you bet from a terminal at lower limits. The poker room opened in January 2024 on the third floor of the hotel: 16 regular tables plus two private high-stakes rooms, open around the clock. Great Canadian Sportsbook kiosks take sports bets with cash and pay winners on the spot, no account needed.

We cover limits, the poker waiting list and tournament format on the games and poker page.

Visiting: address, hours and the door rules

The casino sits in the east end of Pickering, just off Highway 401. Parking is free, in a covered garage or a surface lot. The poker room runs 24/7, and the operator offers free soft drinks on the gaming floor 24/7. Our reading: the floor doesn’t close, but call 289-539-0552 before a late drive on a holiday.

At the door you’ll need to be 19 and carry valid government-issued photo ID. Anyone who looks under 30 can be asked for a second piece. About 900 Unifor Local 1090 members here and at Casino Ajax walked out on 31 July 2026. The operator kept the doors open; the members ratified a new contract on 6 November and were back at work on the 9th.

Directions, the shuttle from Markham and Scarborough, and contact numbers are on the visitor guide.

Hotel, restaurants and The Arena

The hotel tower opened in February 2023 with 275 rooms, a pool and hot tub, a sauna, a steam room and a gym. Standard rooms are 388 sq ft; the executive suites on the 14th floor run to about 775. Pets are allowed for a fee. Rooms, rates and policies.

There are eight places to eat. Copperhorn Meet House is the steakhouse, Casual is the gastropub, and Sun Sui Wah is a Chinese room known for dim sum, live seafood and Hong Kong-style barbecue. All three are 19+. The other five are Rock House Grill, Zio’s pizza, Starbucks, Sun Express and M Cha Bar. We found no buffet. The full dining rundown.

The Arena seats about 2,500 for concerts, comedy and theatre, and Ticketmaster is its only authorised seller. Tickets, seats and venue rules.

Who owns Pickering Casino?

Great Canadian Entertainment runs the resort and its website. The company, formerly Great Canadian Gaming, has been owned by funds managed by Apollo Global Management since September 2021. The casino opened on 26 July 2021 as the first phase of the Durham Live development; the hotel tower followed in February 2023, with The Arena after it. Ontario’s gaming regulator, the AGCO, oversees it as it does every casino in the province. The PlaySmart Centre on the gaming floor is OLG’s responsible-gambling desk, with information on My PlayBreak, OLG’s self-exclusion program.

Is Pickering Casino Resort worth the trip?

For poker players, yes: a 24/7 room with 18 tables, posted stakes and a Bad Beat Jackpot is the strongest reason to come. For a night out, it depends on the show at The Arena more than anything else. Eight places to eat cover dinner before a concert, and a hotel stay mostly makes sense if you’re there for a late show or a long session. If you mainly wanted to play online, there’s nothing here to sign up for. Pick a site from iGaming Ontario’s list instead.