Sports Betting in Canada 2024
Sports betting is widely enjoyed all over the world, which allows players to place a wager on the outcome of sports matches. These people have high hopes that their bet is correct to receive exceptional payouts in return. The number of sports available for people to wager on differs from culture to culture.
However, the most sports bets are placed on include; Football. Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer, and Rugby. However, sports betting has also been known to go beyond athletic events. Sports betting may also include political elections, boxing and MMA, horse racing, and greyhound racing. Let’s take a closer look at where it all began for Canadians.
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The History of Canadian Sports Betting
Sports betting is nothing new to Canadians, in fact, it predates the arrival of Europeans in Canada. The first form of sports betting took place on toboggan, snowshoe, canoe races, archery, spear throwing, and running events. Here people placed their bet on the outcome of whom they thought would win.
In 1892, Canada banned all forms of legal gambling, except horse race betting. Over the decades that followed more and more exemptions were made to the act to legalise more forms of gambling. However, it was not until 1969 where the governments of each province were allowed to conduct their lotteries.
Through the years not only has sports betting become immensely popular but there is also a wide array of sports that people can choose to bet on. As a result of the widespread population of sports betting, sports betting centres began to pop up worldwide. Nowadays due to modern technology and the need to have access to everything at the push of a button, sports betting has been taken to a whole new level with online sports betting. Online sports continue to grow exponentially in popularity, providing players with a chance to be a part of the action, with the convenience of mobile access.
How to Bet on Sports Online
Sports betting, although easy to understand, might be somewhat of a task for novices in the online sport betting space. So, to break it down, we at GambleGum.com will provide players with some step by step insight on how to bet online though our Canadian online casino reviews.
For starters, the player must choose a sport on which to make a bet. Then, the player must choose the team that they are supporting in this particular sport. Going forward, the player can place bets, on the online sports betting site of their choice. Once the player has chosen a site, a team and a sport, they can then start to place bets on a number of probable outcomes. From betting on which team will win, to a more detailed bet of how many goals they will score and how many goals they will win by. The detail of the game will be fully dependent on the player placing the bet.
Online Sports Betting Types
Sports betting commonly referred to as live betting, comes in many forms, shapes and sizes. Players also have the choice of the platform on which they would like to place their bets. There are different types of sports betting practices that can be put in place such as;
Exchange Sports Betting
This bet allows a player to choose whether they wish to establish the odds of the bet themselves or stick to the current odds that are being played.
Fantasy Sports Betting
A moderately new type of Sports betting, whereby online players get to set their sports team and place that team in competition with other teams. Thereafter, the teams compete while the online gambler bets on the outcome of their Fantasy sport. Your bet then hangs in the balance of whether your chosen team will claim victory.
In-Play Sports Betting
It is said that In-Play Sports Betting provides the player with greater odds. The name ‘in-play’ explains it all, what happens is, the player bets on certain goals or points that will be made, by which team and when, while the game is in play.
Spread Sports Betting
Spread Sports betting is one of the more complex types of bets. The reason that this sports bet is believed to be more involved is that it requires a lot more detail on the gamblers part. Not only is the bet placed on which team will win but also on, when goals will be scored, and how many of these goals will be made.
The kinds of bets that can be made within these betting types are;
If Bets
‘If bets’ work on a basis where two bets are linked by the ‘if’ clause which determines the betting procedure. Thereafter, if the initial bet conforms to the aforementioned clause, then the second will be given action. Subsequently, a third bet can bet made on the prerequisite of the second clause and so on.
Lay Bets
Whereby a player places a bet that is contrasting to the sporting events outcome, instead of giving an actual result. For instance, a gambler may bet against Brazil to make it to the semi-final of the Soccer World Cup.
Proposition Bets
These bets bring along with them a lot of detail and specificity. Proposition bets require the gambler to place a bet predicting precise numbers of either points or goals of that particular sporting event. If this prediction does not pull through, the gamblers bet will be unsuccessful.
Different Sports for Canadian Betting
Before online sports betting came to be, sports betting was very limited regarding the sports that could be bet on. Players only had access to wagering on traditional sports, namely rugby, football and basketball. However, as time passed, sports betting got increasingly popular and so the number of sports that were involved in sports betting began to multiply. Below are a handful of the many sports that Canucks can get involved in.
Hockey
It’s no surprise that Canadians like to bet on our favourite game. With 7 Canadian teams in the league, many of us like to show support for our favourite team by placing bets. Like many other sports, players will bet on what team they think will win, how many points will be scored, and sometimes even on individual player stats. Let us answer some classic hockey questions first:
The average NHL season has 82 games.
As of right now, there are 31 teams in the NHL. Joining the league for the 2024-22 season is the Seattle Kraken, leaving the league with 32 teams.
The top 16 teams who have the most points by the end of the regular season move on to the playoffs. Points are earned by winning a game (2 points), or an over-time loss (1 point). Of course, when a team loses in regulation, they get no points.
The amount that NHL referees and linesmen make may surprise you. On average, a referee makes between $165,000 – $360,000 per year, while linesmen make between $110,000-$235,000. Not too shabby.
Basketball
Basketball is one of the most exciting sports to bet on in Canada. Although it hasn’t always been the most popular here, its viewer and bettor ship continues to grow as Canada’s only NBA Toronto Raptors continuously prove themselves as one of the most impressive teams in the league. Players can place bets on scores, winning margin and even prop bets. Let’s get down to NBA basics before you go making any bets:
The average NBA season has 82 games.
As of 2020, there are 30 teams in the NBA.
8 teams from each of the two conferences (Eastern and Western) make the playoffs. The breakdown of these playoffs is pretty simple. Each team that is in first place, plays the last place team (1 v. 8) and so on (2 v. 7, 3 v.6, etc). Once there is only one team from each conference left standing, they compete for the finals.
This is information that is usually quite hard to find. What we did find is that the average NBA referee makes anywhere between $150,000 and $550,000 per year.
Football
In Canada, there are two forms of football, one of them being the traditional American football and the other being Soccer. Betting on these sporting types is very similar, a gambler is expected to bet on a winning team, and sometimes betting goes as far as how many goals will be scored. Got questions? We’ve got answers below:
In an average NFL season, players play 16 games.
As of right now, there are 32 teams in the NFL.
In the NFL there are 8 divisions of four teams. The top team from each of these divisions is able to head to the playoffs. That means there are 8 NFL teams who go to the playoffs. The first round of the playoffs is considered a wild card round. These teams work their way through the divisions until two teams face off for one of the most watched sporting events ever: The Superbowl.
On average, NFL referees make around $205,000 per year.
Baseball
We can’t forget about baseball. Baseball is known as America’s pastime, but Canadians are known for loving the game too. We are home to the Toronto Blue Jays after all. Again, like a lot of the sports we’re discussing here, Baseball fans have the chance to bet on game outcomes, and even over/under or total where you can bet on the combined score of both teams. Below, we answer some of the most popular questions about the MLB:
MLB is well-known for having some of the highest games played per season. They play a whopping 162 games which is over double what many sports play per season.
As of today, there are 30 teams in the MLB.
There are 10 teams that qualify for the playoffs each year. 5 from each of the leagues (American League and National League) that make up the MLB. The 6 teams that win each division qualify automatically, while the other four teams are “wild cards”. These wild cards are the two teams from each division that had the top records for the season, but didn’t win the overall division. The wild card teams play first. The two teams who make it to the end will battle it out to become the winners of the World Series.
There is a quite a varied salary for one of the most important jobs in the league. The average MLB umpire makes between $150,000 and $235,000 per year.
Soccer
Soccer (known as Football in Europe) is an extremely popular sport in Canada. Not only is it an enjoyable sport to play and watch, it’s also a great opportunity to bet. Players can bet on what they think the score will be the half way and full-time game, on wins or loses, and games in the future. There are so many different leagues of soccer you can bet on, (La Liga, where Lionel Messi plays and Serie A club where Cristiano Ronaldo is currently playing) so below we’re going to focus on the Premier League:
There are only 38 games in an average Premier League season.
There are currently 20 Premier League teams.
A total of 20 teams take part in the playoffs in the Premier League.
The average salary for a soccer referee is much lower than the numbers put up by the other sports we have discussed so far. Premier League referees make a salary of anywhere from £38,500 to £70,000 depending on their level of expertise.
Golf
There are three different types of bets that can be made in golf. Namely, they are, specific player bets, tournament bets, or hole-in-one bets. Each bet wagers on its own outcome, whether you bet on the performance of a specific player, on who will win a tournament, or whether someone is going to make a hole-in-one, respectively. Here are the basics:
There are 18 holes in a round of golf.
The best shot a player can get is a hole-in-one. The next would be an Albatross or a double-eagle. This is when a player is 3 shots under par, on a Par 5 for example.
On average, there are between 45-50 PGA tour events throughout the year.
On average, golf caddies in the PGA tour make around $1000-$1500 per week. When a player finishes outside of the top 10, they will share around 5% of their winnings. When a player finishes within the top 10, they share 6-8% with their caddies.
Boxing
Boxing brings with it a thrill of unpredictability. The reason for this is, most boxing matches begin with a clear underdog, and as soon as you think you know who to bet on, the game changes and the underdog makes a comeback. Due to the volatility of this sport, it makes the betting process an exhilarating one. Let’s discuss the basics of the boxing:
A standard boxing round lasts for 3 minutes with a 1-minute interval between rounds.
For professional boxing, there are 12 rounds. In the early days of the sport, there used to be unlimited rounds, only ending when a fighter backed down or police showed up to stop it.
Putting an exact number on Floyd Mayweather’s net worth is tough, but it’s estimated that he is worth between $560 million and $1 billion. To this day, he is the highest paid athlete in the world.
There are many disputes on how much Mike Tyson is worth. At one point in time, he was worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but these days, his net worth is estimated to be between $3 million and $10 million.
Horse Racing
Horse racing is one of the oldest forms of gambling and sports betting. Much like boxing, horse racing is very unpredictable, and most of the time the distance between racers is very close making the betting process so much more intense. Let us answer some of the most asked questions:
The highest paid horse raise is the Saudi Cup, where the total prize purse is $20 million. Half of this prize is reserved for the winner.
Horse racing is a sport that used to be much more popular all over the world. In 2024, the places where it is the most popular is the United Kingdom, USA, Japan and even here in Canada.
As a rule of thumb, most horses begin training to race between 18 and 24 months, although general training starts much younger than that. According to research, horses between 3 and a half and 4 and a half years old are usually in their peak when it comes to speed.
On average, the least successful jockey would make around $20,000 a year. The most successful jockeys will make over $1 million in that same time.
The Odds of Sports Betting in Canada
Sports betting odds can be presented either in the form of fractions or decimals, with fractions being the most common of the two. The American odds betting system, which is widely used in Canada, is based on money line betting.
These bets are either expressed with the use of a + or a – symbol.
What this shows is; odds that are expressed with a + symbol, will indicate the amount of money a gambler will win for a stake. However, if a – symbol is shown, it indicates that the odds of the amount of money the gambler would have to put at stake in order to win.
Sports Betting Glossary
| Term | Description |
| Betting Station | This is where players go and place their bets if they are not wagering online. |
| Credit Betting | Credit betting is the term used for when a player places a bet without making a deposit. |
| Dog Player | A term used for the people who like to gamble on the underdog. |
| Exposure | Exposure is the amount of money that could be lost by the sportsbook to the bets of winning players. |
| Future Bet | Betting on the outcome of an event that will occur in the future. These bets could be placed before the season of a particular sport even begins. |
| Half-Time Bet | These bets are based on the predictions of the second half of the game. |
| Handle | The total amount of money that has been on the wagers of sports betting. |
| Hedging | Hedging is when a gambler bets on both sides of the match. They do this to lower their chances of losing, and guaranteeing themselves somewhat of a profit. |
| Straight Bet | A straight bet refers to when a gambler bets on only one aspect of the game, whether it be an athlete, a team, or even a horse. |
Sports Betting FAQ
Sports betting can be defined as a form of gambling whereby the player bets on the outcome of a specific sport. Sports betting could involve wagering on the player, a team, a participant, etc.
Yes, just be sure to gamble with a reputable casino.
Placing online sports bets are simple, the difficult part comes in when players have to decide on which team to bet on. It is advised in this case for the players to have some kind of prior knowledge on the sport that they are betting on.
Absolutely, sports betting is available on any and all devices that have internet accessibility.
The betting process between regular and fantasy sports works the same. However, a fantasy team is one that has been created online by a player, whereby they place bets on a fantasy sports match. A real sporting event will involve bets that are made on actual real-life sporting events.
Of course, sports betting is one of the most profitable of all gambling prospects. This is because the odds are much higher in sports betting when compared to other forms of gambling. So, the odds of you winning real money are quite great.
