"Your Canadian Experts on All Things Gambling"
Your guide to the best casinos,
poker sites and sportsbooks:
If you thought the only way to get closer to the NFL, NHL, NBA, or CFL action was to increase the size of your HDTV, think again.
Gambling online in Canada offers you way more legal thrills than you probably knew existed. By sports betting online, you can feel like you're smack down in the middle of the field, court, or ice.
But not every legit online sports betting site is open to Canadians. And not all of the ones that are open make it lucrative to place real money bets in the currency you want. The best sports betting sites for Canadians offer solid bonuses and allow you to deposit in Canadian dollars. Rest assured, we know which ones to choose, so read on to find out how you can join millions of your compatriots at great online sports gambling Canada sites.
We recommend that any Canadian gambler looking to try online sports betting head straight to Jackpot City.
Our recommendations may seem a little random but they're actually grounded in a lot of intense research, with all of them being help up against a strict set of criteria:
To bet online on sports is an exhilarating way to feel more involved with your local team - now that you can do it online it’s easier and more accessible than ever.
The sports betting sites Canada players can choose to play at will offer odds on the favourite and the underdog.
Most Canadian betting sites will show the "moneyline" odds, as with most North American sportsbooks. Effectively, the moneyline odds shows how much you will have to bet to win back C$100.
For example, betting on Montreal in the Stanley Cup might be priced at -200. That's an odds-on bet where you have to risk C$200 in order to stand a chance of winning back (and making) C$100. A longer shot, say Toronto in the NFL, might be listed at +250. You risk C$100, but stand to win C$250 if your team comes in.
Fractions and Decimals: Overseas betting sites will also list the odds in fractions and decimals. You can usually switch easily between the three. For instance, an even-money shot will be listed as 1/1 on the fractions, and 2.00 on the decimal. You can usually find odds conversion sheets online which will show you the comparisons.
Markets & Bets: Canadian sports bettors will have a host of bets to place. The outright match or game bets can be wagered as singles or "parlays" which group together multiple outcomes in one bet. Placing a wager online is simple: just choose the bets and markets you want to gamble on and add them to your betting slip. Choose your stakes, and hit the Bet button. Now you just have to sweat your NHL, football or basketball results!
Point Spread: Sports like the NBA and NFL open themselves up to 'point spread' bets. These are wagers on one team to win with a handicap (the favourites) or an underdog to win with an advantage. You can see a good example of NHL and NFL spread betting below.
So, how can you maximize your experience online? Here are three top tips:
Shop Around And Open Multiple Accounts: Online sportsbooks differ massively in terms of odds, markets, and offers. It's vital, therefore, to open as many accounts as you can to take advantage. Obviously, keep an eye on all your account log-in details.
Compare Odds In Advance: You don't need to have an account to compare the sites' odds. There are even very good odds comparison sites which compile odds over many sportsbooks on any number of markets. Choose your market carefully and hunt out the value. It's common to find wildly different points spreads at different sportsbooks, and it all depends on how the books are being made.
Claim A Big Bonus: Sportsbooks aren't known for their big welcome bonuses, but it doesn't mean you can't find some decent offers. Sign up and make a deposit and you can a few free bucks to play with. Some sites offer cashback offers, enhanced odds, and refer-a-friend bonuses if you bring a pal on-board.
Make Your Bets Early: Taking early odds can be a good way of stealing a march on the bookies. Ante-post odds change wildly depending on form, injury or unforeseen circumstances. Choose your markets and put some bets on months before an event.
There are all kinds of popular online betting sites Canada gambling fans can get their hands on.
Each top website tries to hook in players in with promises of big betting bonuses and bigger payouts with every win; some even promise payouts on losses.
Before you choose one Canada online sports betting site over another, though, make sure you understand the incentives. Low-juice Internet betting sites offer lower lines than you'd find at the competition.
For example, the industry standard money line is -110, but low-juice sites offer lines of -105. What that means is, instead of having to risk C$110 just for the chance of winning an extra C$100 for yourself, you'd only have to lay down C$105 to win the same amount. However, those sites' underdog odds are usually not as good as the competition.
Other online sports betting sites in Canada include cashback and deposit offers. Remember to check out the Live In-Game Betting markets too. With these markets, you can bet on the action as it happens in real time. Some Canada-friendly sportsbooks will even give you free cash to bet on "in-running" markets.
And if you love your NHL, some Canuck sites have reduced juice on selected hockey matches. To attract players in, the big sites will slash their 20-cent lines to just 10-cent. That number refers to the disparity in the points spread between two teams. NHL fans can also bet The Puck Line and take 1.5 goals for the underdog or give 1.5 to the favourite.
There are 3 common types of betting odds used at sport books, Decimal Odds, Fractional Odds and American Odds.
Represented by a number
with a decimal point
Represented by
a fraction
Represented by
a fraction
Let's face it - if online sports betting Canada residents were offered the chance to bet on just CA league sports, sites probably wouldn't be that successful. Sure, CFL is exciting, but the season is fairly short, so there's not that much opportunity to rake in some real cash long-term.
Thankfully, the biggest and best online betting sites Canada players can enjoy on the Internet have access to markets for every game in every major league international sport. That includes MLB baseball, NBA basketball, NFL football, the English Premier League Soccer, NCAA basketball, golf, tennis, lacrosse, and, in some cases, even darts and bowling. If the sport exists, Canadians can enjoy online sports betting!
What is the points spread, or a line bet? Essentially, it's a handicap used to bring two opposing teams to an equal footing for making bets, regardless of which side is the favourite. If you consider any sporting fixture, from the Super Bowl to the Stanley Cup, by taking points off the favourite and adding the same amount to the underdog, it's possible to wager real money on either team and get even odds.
As an example, if we take two teams and apply a spread of 1.5 (the standard for NHL betting):
Ottowa Senators -1.5
Montreal Canadiens +1.5
Here, if the Senators have a two goal win, like 3-1 or 5-3, then anyone betting on them wins their bet. However, If the Senators only win by one goal, like 2-1 or 4-3, then they have not stayed within the margin of the bet (the spread or 'line'), and so the winning bet is the Canadiens, despite ling the game.
For an NFL example, say there is a 4.5 spread:
Atlanta Falcons -4.5
San Francisco 49ers +4.5
So long as the Falcons get a win by 5 points or more, like 18-15, then they represent the winning bet as well as the winning team. However, anything less, like a 34-31 win, means that the 49ers are the winning bet, although the Falcons won the game.
As a way to even out the likely scores on any match, tournament or fixture, the points spread is a fundamental aspect of any Canadian sports betting, whatever sport it's applied to. As different sports betting sites will offer different point spreads on the same events, it's important to remember that some give players a better deal than others.
Canada's government run betting sites, Pro Line, Sports Action and Sports Select, for example, offer pretty poor odds for line bets. Independent sports betting sites frequently give better odds that favour the player, and those shortlisted here have been ranked as offering the very best for Canadian real money bettors.
Mobile online sports betting is the real future. Consumers are turning more and more to the small, portable screens of their Android or iPhone, and with cell phones becoming ever more integral to everyday life, this trend shows no sign of slowing down.
The benefits of online gambling on mobile are obvious: you don't have to stay in one place, you can gamble whenever it takes your fancy and not have to wait until you get home, and the screen size is smaller and so much easier to work with.
As well as being more convenient, mobile gambling on a sports betting app is also making the experience much better.
With a smaller screen, mobile sites are cleaner as firms just don't have the space to fill with irritating adverts.
This means you can simply focus on the game - another reason to love mobile gambling!
The great news is that with iPhone sports betting or even Android sports betting you don't have to sign up to new sites from scratch.
The rise of mobile sports betting means most, if not all these days, sites that you are already using have a mobile version that will be compatible with any device from smartphone to tablet, from Samsung to Google.
Whether its easier to use the app or the mobile online site will depend on the particular casino, but you will usually be allowed to use your existing account to play on mobile.
The look of the site will not have changed much - although there is normally the added bonus of it looking a little simpler and stripped back.
Online mobile sports betting in Canada is big business, so many firms are jumping on the online betting bandwagon - which can only be good news for you, the consumer.
With firms vying for your custom, the amount of mobile-optimized apps available is immense - and oftentimes the graphics and user experience is much more streamlined on sports betting apps and sites made for mobile than when simply accessing the web version on your desktop.
There is generally no need to worry about which mobile device you are using - whether you are using an iPhone, a Samsung, or even an Amazon Fire Tablet, you will be able to find a mobile sports betting site suitable for you no matter what smartphone you have.
Android sports betting tends to be a smoother experience than 'iBetting', if only because most retailers make sure their mobile games are optimized for Android devices, as there are fewer limitations and hoops for them to jump through than with permissions for iPhone devices running iOS.
However, iPhone sports betting users won't be at a disadvantage once you know which mobile gambling sites will work on iPhone.
Although the amount of options available for online gambling on/for mobile can seem daunting, we are here to guide you through the options.
Our dedicated team test out the sites for you and tell you which are the best options and which you would be wise to avoid!
NFL, CFL, NBA, and NHL are some of the sports leagues you can make bets on through online gambling sites. With 32 teams to bet on and 17 weeks of games, the NFL, or National Football League, is one of the most popular and lucrative sports to get involved with, including NFL betting.
Equally as exciting, the Canadian Football League offers a 20 week period for fans of the game to make wagers and win more cash. There’s huge winning potential with betting in the CFL, so if you are a fan of the sport, then make it more exciting by placing a bet on your favourite team.
Football not your thing? Well, why not basketball? The NBA, the National Basketball Association, is the most prominent basketball league not only in North America, but the entire world. There just isn’t anything quite like it anywhere else. If you enjoy the sport and want to make some quick cash, then place your bets and cross your fingers for a big win.
Hey now, you didn’t think we forgot about the National Hockey League did you? The NHL is the best hockey league on the planet - and we Canadians absolutely love the sport. We know you have an eye for predicting the outcome of the sport. Why not make it more interesting and put some real money where your mouth is by betting on some NHL lines?
Get to know the different types of horse racing bets and pick up top tips on how to make the most of Canada online sports betting sites.
Discover the best online sites to place your MLB bets at and learn about harnessing the power of placing multiple wagers at the same time.
See how you can bet on the world’s most glittering club soccer competition, as well as which sites offer the best Champions League coverage.
eSports have become massively popular throughout the world, and every day many gamblers bet on a variety of games, from Counterstrike through to DOTA.
See how you can bet on the CFL, as well as which online sportsbooks offer the best markets for this exciting and fast-paced league.
It’s the culmination of a long season, and one of the biggest sporting events in the world. See how you can enjoy Super Bowl betting in this guide.
It’s the biggest golfing tournament in the world, and loads of people bet online every year. See how you can bet on the US Masters here.
Betting at a Canadian sportsbook on the web can be a little complex, especially if you're new to the game(s). Some websites cater to only diehard online sportsbetting fans who have a history of wagering on sports. Other sportsbooks, meanwhile, keep things way too simple and don't offer the type of bets serious CA bettors demand. That's why within our expert guide we have compiled ratings on the best online casinos that offer sports betting for Canada players.
Our recommended links to great Canadian online sports books are perfect for both beginners and experts, and they offer the best lines and the best bonuses, too. We test Internet sportsbooks for safety, security, range of markets, good odds and great customer service. Our experts are sports bettors with years of experience, and our opinions and comparisons count. When it comes to the top Canada online betting sites, players need the best advice. If a sportsbook isn't very good, it won't get onto our list – simple.
Use the online sports gambling download links on these pages to get started. When you click one, you'll know you're betting on sports at a site that's fair and reputable. You can also benefit from a top real money CA currency sportsbetting bonus at the same time.
For everything online sports betting, Canada app and mobile gamers need only one site - OnlineGambling.ca! And remember, you can create a free account at a gambling website without having to place a bet. So start now and back a winner today.
Sign up to a football site online and place a bet amount on the team you want to win for a specific game. Include the point spread of your bet when placing the wager.
Learning to read odds is important. Odds are listed in this format 3:1 or 3 to 1. In this case the odds to win would be three times out of four and the odds to lose would be one time out of four. 5:2 would give you 5 out of 7 chances to win and 2 out of 7 chances to lose. Those are good odds.
A betting line is a sports-betting term that determines how much the team has to win by, how much money you need to risk, and how many combined points you want the teams to get. The first item of the betting line is the point spread that determines how much more the favored team must get above the unfavored team to be considered a win. The second is the moneyline and that determines how much money must be wagered and how much will be won. The final number is the over under number, and that determines whether you think the two teams will get over or under a certain amount of points.
The don’t come bet is a craps bet that works like a personal Don’t pass bet. Only you can win the wager and your next roll after the don’t come bet serves as your come-out roll for that specific bet and follows standard craps mechanics.
Each way betting is splitting a horse race wager into a place wager and a win wager. The win wager pays out considerably more, but a bettor can still cash in on the place wager if the horse comes in 2nd, 3rd or 4th, the amount will just be smaller.
A free matched bet is a bet made at a casino or bookmaker that’s offering free bets or incentives offered by the bookmaker. Betting with free money given as a promotion, or betting with matched money are examples of this.
Betting on the line means betting on a game outright. When you bet on the line for your team, they must win the match and the amount of points they win by does not matter at all.
Implied probability is a conversion from odds to a win or lose percentage, removing the bookmaker’s edge from the equation for your true percentage value.
