
Are you looking to place a bet on NHL in Ontario? If so, you’ve come to the right place here at CaptainGambling. Our experts are on hand to help you out from start to finish.
From helping you to find the best odds for NHL bets, to running you through the various wager types and helping you to find the best sportsbooks - we’ve covered it all. On top of all that, we’ll also give you top tips for enhancing your overall NHL betting experience.
Given that Ontario is the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s perhaps hardly surprising that hockey and the NHL is the most popular go-to among sports bettors in the province. As well as being able to bet on the game individually, it’s also popular to bet on player props and outright Stanley Cup winners among other things to do with the NHL. At the end of the day though, betting on the NHL is all about combining your knowledge of the league, teams, and players with potentially valuable wagers.
To find true value in your NHL wagers, you need to first shop around for the best odds. Included in this article will be our hockey odds comparison tool - which you can use to find the best odds in real-time for the NHL with all of the available Ontario sportsbooks.
Believe it or not, single-game sports wagering, including on NHL games has actually been legal in some capacity since 1985. However, online betting only entered the scene back in August 2021. Back then, it was only available via a single website governed by the provincial lottery.
Today in 2023 though, things have changed substantially, as at the start of 2022 the government teamed up with iGaming Ontario to change the single-game betting landscape in Ontario. Now multiple licenses can be given out to various sportsbook operators. Essentially, this now means that online sports wagering in Ontario now functions in a similar way to most legal US gambling states. Alongside the NHL, you can now bet on NBA in Ontario, as well as other major sports leagues and competitions.
There are two main ways through which you can bet on an NHL game in Ontario - online and in-person. In terms of in-person betting, there are now over 10,000 retail outlets located throughout the province in 2023. However, we imagine that most of you have come here to find out about betting on NHL games online in Ontario.
There are plenty of online sportsbooks available, with plenty more on the horizon for 2023. Many popular US and international betting sites are either already available in Ontario, or have applied for a license. You can find out what Ontario sportsbooks are currently available for NHL betting right here on this page. Our sportsbook information here at CaptainGambling is always up-to-date.
You can use the operator reviews and sportsbook comparison tool here at CaptainGambling to find your ideal NHL sportsbook in Ontario.
Once you’ve decided on your ideal sportsbook, you can either head to the website or download the app and register your brand new sports betting account. With most sportsbooks, the sign-up process only takes minutes.
Once your account has been fully registered and verified, you’ll then need to make your first real money deposit before you can place your first bet on an NHL game.
And that’s it - it’s now time to place your first NHL bet in Ontario. Just remember to follow our advice when it comes to placing sensible wagers that offer decent value and have been selected using your hockey knowledge.
As mentioned previously, there are several ways in which you can bet on NHL in Ontario. Below, we’ve provided you with a run-through of the most common and popular NHL betting lines that you can bet on with Ontario bookmakers.
The moneyline is the most straightforward and common type of betting line found in any sport, including hockey. The moneyline displays the straight odds for either team to win the game. As will all two-sided contests, there is a favorite and an underdog. The favorite is the team deemed to have the strongest chance of winning, and therefore the favorite will have shorter odds. The underdog is the team that statistically has less chance of winning the game and will therefore be offered at long odds.
An example of an NHL moneyline is as follows:
Maple Leafs -130
Canadiens +160
If you’ve ever placed a bet on NFL in Ontario, then you’ll be familiar with the points spread. The puck line is essentially the equivalent when it comes to betting on the NHL, and functions in very much the same way. The only difference is that, while the NFL points spread often fluctuates greatly between games, the NHL puck line is almost always set at 1.5.
A puck line works by taking goals away from the favorite and adding goals to the underdog in order to even up the contest, for example:
Maple Leafs -1.5
Canadiens +1.5
In this case, if you were to bet on the Maple Leafs, they would need to win by at least a two-goal margin in order for your bet to payout. If you bet on the Canadiens, your bet would payout even in the event of a Canadiens loss, so long as they stayed within a goal of the Maple Leafs. Statistically, around 40% of NHL games are decided by a single goal. This can make the puck line a little trickier than, say the NFL points spread or the MLB run line.
Just like with most other sports and leagues, you can also bet on the over-under when you bet on NHL in Ontario. With the over/under line, you can bet on the total number of combined goals from both teams in the game being either less than or more than the stated amount. For example, let’s use the most common NHL over/under line for 2023, which is 5.5. If you were to bet on the over, there would need to be at least six total goals in the game for your bet to payout. If you were to bet on the under, there would need to be five or less goals. Hockey over/under lines generally vary from 4.5-7.5.
When it comes to betting on NHL in Ontario, you don’t always have to wager on the direct outcome of the game - the over/under line is a prime example of that. Additionally, you can also bet a range of other stats and outcomes that can either be decided in a single NHL game or across the entire NHL season. Props and futures betting are also popular among NHL betting fans, so let’s take a look at both of these in a little bit more detail below.
Props betting is short for “proposition” and is a form of betting that will be familiar to those of you who are fans of betting on pretty much any sport. So what is a props bet? Basically, a prop is any type of bet that doesn’t involve directly picking the winner and loser of an NHL game. Over/under, as explained above, is the most common and well-known example of an NHL props bet.
Prop bets in games are therefore very much stats focused and can either involve betting on the game as a whole, one of the two teams, or an individual player. For example, as well as betting on the total combined over/under in a game, you can also bet on an individual team’s total props - such as the Maple Leafs. When it comes to player props, you could bet on the total points a forward player will score or the number of saves made by a defensive player or goaltender.
As well as betting on individual games, you can also place longer term bets on the NHL, known as futures betting lines. If you’ve ever placed a bet on CFL in Ontario, you might be familiar with futures lines given the length of the offseason. An example of NHL futures lines includes betting on a team to win the Stanley Cup or even make the playoffs. You can also bet on futures for players, including MVP and rookie of the year.
The best way to ensure that you have the best possible experience when betting on the NHL is to find the best possible value for your wagers. The number one way through which you can find the best odds for your bets is to shop around for the best possible odds. Fortunately, we have an odds comparison tool right here at CaptainGambling.
Simply search for the NHL betting line for the game of your choice and we’ll show you the best odds available with all Ontario bookmakers in real-time. All of our information is kept 100% up-to-date. Our odds comparison tool works for all other sports. It therefore doesn’t matter if you want to bet on MLS Ontario, the NHL, or the NBA - we can sort you out here at CaptainGambling.
So there you have it - a rundown of everything you need to know when it comes to betting on the NHL. Just remember to select your wagers wisely and use your knowledge in order to find the right bets. Additionally, we strongly recommend making good use of the odds comparison tool here at CaptainGambling in order to find the best possible value for your bets.
You can find the best NHL betting sportsbooks for 2023 in Ontario right here at CaptainGambling.com. Our comparison tool contains expert ratings and reviews of all the top sportsbooks available in the province right now. Our reviews have been uniquely designed to help you to find your ideal site.
Looking to find out how you can bet on NHL games either in-person or online? Our how-to guide contains absolutely everything you need to know. From a step-by-step walkthrough to placing your first, to explain odds and the most popular wager types - we’ve covered it all for you inside. Just follow the link to find out more about how we can help you today.
All legal questions that you might have regarding NHL and other forms of sports betting in the province of Ontario can be answered by our experts here at CaptainGambling. Our site contains legal betting guides for all US states and Canadian provinces. Discover what’s going on where you are and get updates by bookmarking our page here today.
Players must be 19 years of age or older to reach the minimum age for gambling in Ontario. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) www.igamingontario.ca; or (b) www.connexontario.ca.
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