Sports Betting Canada
If you love sports and gambling, it only makes sense to combine the two with sports betting! Betting on games is one of the most fun ways to gamble because it makes the game way more exciting, and betting also is a great way to test your skill and knowledge about sports! For Canadians, sports betting Canada is of particular interest - is it legal to bet on sports, how do you bet on sports, etc., are all common questions that people have. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to start betting on sports in Canada. Here's everything you need to know to start betting on your favourite games!
Best Sports Betting Sites - December 2023
How Does Sports Betting Work?
Conceptually, sports betting sounds remarkably simple. If you have never bet on sports before, you might think it's as simple as picking the winner of two teams. For example, if you're betting on the Leafs and the Flames, you might place a bet on the Flames to win. You can do that, of course. Picking a straight-up winner is called a money-line bet. However, many other types of bets are common in sportsbooks.
Spread Bet
In sports, pundits typically pick teams to win by a certain number of points. For example, oddsmakers may predict that a strong hockey team will beat the weak team by three points. You can bet whether the team will cover the spread (in the above case, three points) or not. Often, oddsmakers will state the spread with a "half-point." This half-point makes it impossible for a tie. For example, if the spread is 2.5 points, a win by three covers it, while a win by two loses since it is less than 2.5. If the spread is a whole number, like three, players usually get their money back if the team wins by that whole number of points. Continuing with the above example, if the spread is three and the strong team wins by three, everyone gets their money back. If they win by four, the bettors that picked the team to cover will win.
Parlay
A parlay bet is when you bet more than one game and "parlay" the winnings. It is the equivalent of betting on one game and taking the entire amount won (including the original bet amount) and betting that on the second game. If you have a three-game parlay, it would be the equivalent of taking those second-game winnings and putting it all on the third game, and so forth. The payouts can become impressive since parlays involve putting all your winnings on subsequent games. Consider five games with a 1.1x payout. You'll receive a $10 profit for every $100 bet ($100 would return $110 total). If you just put $100 on each of those 1.1x game payouts, you would risk $500 for the opportunity to win $50. However, if you did that bet as a parlay, you would only risk $100 for the chance to win $61! The downside, of course, is that if any of the games lose, you'll lose the $100. The upside is that you risk far less money for a higher win. If you have five games that pay 2x, you would be looking at a $3,200 win! That's the power of parlay bets!
Prop Bets
Prop bets (short for proposition bets) are bets that are not necessarily related to the game's outcome but rather are bets you can make about a specific aspect of the game. For example, you might have a prop bet in hockey about who will score first in the period. Another standard prop bet during the big NFL game is whether or not the coin toss will be heads or tails. That's not related to the game itself but rather to a sub-event occurring within it.
How Does Live Sports Betting Work?
With each of the above bets, you'll need to place them before the game starts. For many years, this was the only way to make a bet. However, with computers and the internet being lightning-fast now, many sportsbooks have introduced the concept of live betting. As you may guess from the name, live betting happens while the game is running. Live bets consider the game's current state to generate real-time odds. For example, suppose the sportsbook favoured Team A in football to win by seven points over Team B. Before the match, the sportsbook would have paid Team B bettors handsomely. However, suppose the match starts and Team B goes up by 21 points with one quarter left. It is doubtful at that point Team A will win the game. The live bets would show a minimal win if Team B wins the game and a massive win if Team A wins. These odds are, of course, directly opposite of what the original odds were and reflective of the current game's state. Live sports betting can be enjoyable as you can bet on events within the game as they happen in real life. Live bets are also a fantastic way to hedge existing wagers. If you bet on the wrong team to win, you can sometimes make bets live to reduce your losses on that particular game.
Best Sports Betting Providers
There are many sports betting providers that serve the Canadian market. The question for prospective gamblers is: how do you know which ones are the best? Of course, GambleGuys reviews many sportsbooks to help you pick the right one, but if you happen to be considering signing up for a new casino and want to know if its sportsbook is one of the best, here are three ways you can gauge its quality.
Favourable Odds
It's not uncommon to find one sportsbook paying 1.5x on a bet when another pays a mere 1.3x. The best sports betting providers also provide the most money for wins! If you want to know whether the sportsbook is the best, look at a few of their odds and then compare them to some other sportsbooks. Additionally, compare them to the current Vegas odds. If they're worse than Vegas, it's not a sportsbook for you!
Easy Betting on What You Want
Betting on sports can sometimes be confusing. The best sportsbooks simplify that. If all you're looking to bet on is the winner of a game, ensure the sportsbook offers that. Similarly, if you're looking for complex proposition bets, ensure that you can easily access those bets and that the sportsbook routinely offers those esoteric bets. Sports betting should not be frustrating!
Easy Withdrawals and Deposits
As with any online casino, you'll want to ensure you can access your money quickly and easily. The best sportsbooks make depositing and withdrawing money easy. Ensure the casino sports the payment methods you want. For example, if you're going to deposit with Bitcoin, check that the sportsbook offers that type of deposit. Similarly, you'll want to ensure that the sportsbook processes withdrawals promptly! The last thing you'll want is to sit around waiting for your money to show up in your bank account.
Substantial Welcome Bonus for Sportsbook Players
Casinos regularly offer welcome bonuses as an incentive for players to join. Since so many people love online slots, these welcome bonuses target those players. You may find that sportsbook players don't have the same welcome at some casinos. When you do find one of the best sportsbooks, they will have a significant welcome bonus for sports bettors. It's not uncommon to see first deposit matches of 100%. If you deposit $500 to bet on sports, the casino will kick in an extra $500 for you to play. There may be some rollover and other wagering requirements, but having $1,000 to gamble with is undoubtedly much more fun than $500! As such, pick the sportsbook that gives players a sizeable welcome bonus. That bonus is typically a sign of a thoughtful, well-run casino!
What Sports Can You Bet On?
In most sportsbooks, you can bet on practically every game imaginable, from hockey to football to English Premier League. Even less-known leagues, like AA/AAA baseball or minor league hockey (OHL, WHL, etc.), are typically possibilities for betting. For sports betting Canada, there are typically three games people choose.
Hockey
It's no secret, of course, that Canadians love hockey. Fortunately, it's also a sport that all the Canadian sportsbooks support. You can typically bet on a spread, money-line, and some props for each game. As noted earlier, even minor league teams are usually bettable on the more significant sportsbooks. Typically, the spreads on hockey are relatively low, so many people elect to make money-line bets instead of going with the spread.
NFL Football
Even though Canada's national football game is the Canadian Football League, many Canadians bet on the NFL. You can bet on the CFL, too. Especially during the Super Bowl, everything is open for betting. From what the coin toss will be to who will win the game and MVP, Canadians can bet on it all!
Basketball
Lastly, many Canadians love to bet on basketball. And, with the Raptors being in pretty decent shape, Canadians love to bet on either their national team to win or on some of their favourite teams down south. Either way, basketball is an exciting and fun sport to bet on, and Canadians will do so with regularity.
Is Sports Betting Safe?
Sports betting is safe, provided that you make your bets at the right sportsbook. If you pick an untrustworthy casino, you may run into issues. However, if you choose an untrustworthy casino, you would run into those same problems playing slots or table games. The casinos we review on GambleGuys all have impeccable security ratings, and you can have the utmost confidence that all games are truly random. With that said, one could argue that sports betting Canada are technically the safest form of online gambling because it is impossible to rig. An unscrupulous casino could, in theory, create a slot machine that never pays out. This fact is true for land-based and online casinos (although most land-based casinos have tight regulations to prevent such a scenario from happening).
However, you can precisely see what you have bet and the outcomes with sports betting. If you bet on the Blue Jays to win the game, you can see that the Blue Jays won, and you know precisely how much you'll receive for that winning bet. As noted earlier, the casinos we review and recommend are all truly random and do not partake in any shenanigans like that. But, if you want to gamble online and are particularly concerned about the trustworthiness of an online casino, you at least know that sports betting will always be safe because it's verifiable!
Is Sports Betting Legal in Canada?
Yes, sports betting Canada is 100% legal. There is a fascinating history with Canadian sports betting. Back in 1892, the Criminal Code of Canada came into effect. Section 207(4)(b) prohibited anyone from betting on a single-game sporting event, with the threat of a summary conviction as punishment. In 1985, the government gave the provinces of Canada full authority to manage their gambling affairs. Provinces could determine where casinos went, what types of legal gambling were permissible, and run provincial lotteries. However, all participants, including the government, still needed to abide by the Criminal Code of Canada, which banned wagering on single-game outcomes. Parlays were permissible, but not betting on the winner or anything else related to a single game.
That all changed in 2021. The Trudeau Government passed the "Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act," which changed Section 207(4)(b) to remove the words "or on a single sport event or athletic contest." And with that bill, the federal government legalized all single-game sports bets for Canadians. It is worth noting that, before the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, people who bet at offshore places would seldom, if ever, face any charges for it. Still, it is nice to know that, now, all forms of sports betting are 100% legal, and there is zero possibility of prosecution!
How to Bet Online (a Short Step-by-Step Guide)
Betting online at your favourite sportsbook is relatively easy. While every casino is different, the steps are generally the same:
- Log in to your preferred online casino.
- Go to the sportsbook section (typically, there will be tabs that read sportsbook, casino, live dealer, and poker).
- Find the league you want to bet on and select that within the site.
- Find the game you want to bet on and select your wager type. If you desire to bet on a team to win, this will be a money-line bet.
- Once you have placed the bet, you'll need to wait for the outcome. You'll have the original money plus your winnings back in your account if you won the bet!
As noted above, most casinos have a different layout, but they will all have a sportsbook section, a list of the available sports, and a way to select the games within that list. Betting on sports is typically not very browser-intensive, so you can place your bet no matter what device you're using - even if that's a very old Android phone! Most sportsbooks have a mobile-friendly version of mobile devices, so you should have no problem making your wager on your phone instead of a desktop computer. All the steps above apply in that case, too.
Sportsbook Bonuses, Tips, and Strategies
Please note that you can receive welcome bonuses from sportsbooks. You may see an offer like a 100% match on your first deposit or a 50% match on your first bet. When looking for a top-rated sportsbook casino, you'll want to pick one that offers a significant welcome bonus! There are no important tips or strategies to come out ahead with sports betting. Nobody can 100% predict when Team X will win the game or when Team Y will win. However, the best strategy is to have fun, don't lose more than you can afford, and always place your bet in the sportsbook with the highest overall odds. If one sportsbook is offering 1.5x for the win and another is offering 1.6x, going with the 1.5x one is leaving money on the table!
Sports Betting Canada : Safe, Legal, and Fun!
If you love sports, live in Canada, and love to gamble, there's no reason not to bet on sports. It makes the games entertaining (even if you put a tiny amount of money on it), and it's an entirely safe and legal way to have fun. Just make sure you pick one of the top sportsbooks to ensure you are receiving the best odds. Typically, provincial entities don't provide the same payout possibilities on sports as official sportsbooks. Please look at some of the best sports betting providers above and see if one of them would be right for you. Or, if you already use an online casino, check to see if they have a sportsbook - if they do, you can start betting right away!
