In recent years, betting on Canadian football has become more popular than ever. For some people, sports betting is an opportunity to benefit financially from their knowledge of the game. For others, it’s just a way to make CFL and U Sports games a little bit more interesting. If you’re interested in sports betting, here’s everything you need to know to get started, from choosing the best online sports betting website to understanding the various odds formats you’ll encounter.
Which Websites Can I Bet On?
From a legal standpoint, if you reside in Canada and are of legal age, you may engage in sports betting at one of the government-licensed Canadian websites or, alternatively, at any international sports betting website.
In regards to your international options, while Canadian football is not as widely supported by international sports betting websites as the American version of the game, you still have more than enough choice. A lot of American sports betting websites allow you to place bets on CFL games and many of them also support U Sports. Alternatively, you may elect to use a European bookmaker to benefit from the additional consumer protections offered by EU legislation. Many of the larger European betting websites support CFL games, but you might have to hunt a little to find one that also supports U Sports.
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How Do I Choose the Right Sports Betting Website for Me?
Now that you have a list of bookmakers supporting Canadian football, how do you choose one that’s right for you? Here are a few things you might want to look for when choosing a sports betting website:
- Good reputation. How long has the website been in business? How big is it? How good are the reviews?
- Competitive betting odds. When compared to other betting websites, how good are the odds offered by the bookmaker?
- Wide betting limits. What is the lowest amount you are allowed to bet on a game? And what is the highest?
- Promotions and bonuses. Does the company offer bonuses for new players or players who make deposits above a certain threshold? How big are these bonuses? Are there any regular promotions you can take advantage of?
- Support for many deposit methods. Does the website support your preferred payment method?
- Ease of withdrawing your winnings. How much can you withdraw at any one time? Do they charge a commission for withdrawing? How big is the commission? How fast will the money be deposited into your bank account?
- Good App/Website. Is their website functional and easy to use? How good is their app?
No sports betting website is perfect. You have to decide for yourself which of these criteria are more important to you and which are less so. Taking your time during this step and making an informed (rather than impulsive) choice is highly recommended.
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What Do All of These Bet Types Mean?
Now that you’ve chosen a venue, you have several options when it comes to placing your bets. As a beginner, it is best to stick to the money line, point spread, and over and under formats.
Money Line
The money line format is the simplest one for beginners to understand. This makes it a perfect choice for your first couple of bets. All you have to do is to find a game you’re interested in and choose the team that you think will win.
Let’s say the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are playing against the Toronto Argonauts. If you make a bet on the Ti-Cats and they win – you’ll receive a payout. It’s as easy as that.
Point Spread
The point spread is a slightly more advanced format. When betting on the spread, instead of choosing the winner, you choose whether or not the favorite will beat the underdog by a certain amount of points. This format is well-liked by fans of weaker teams as it allows them to bet on their team and still win, even if their team loses.
In this case, the Ti-Cats might be favored over the Argonauts by 6½ points. If you bet on Hamilton and they beat Toronto by 7 points or more, you will win the bet. But if they win by less than 7 points (or lose), then you will lose the bet.
Over and Under
This format is quite different from the two we’ve just discussed. Instead of betting on one of the teams, you’ll be betting on the score.
Returning to our Ti-Cats – Argonauts game, the over and under format might have you bet whether or not more than 33 points will be scored during the game. If you choose over and more than 33 points are scored during the game, you will win the wager, regardless of who wins the game.
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What’s Up With All of These Odds Formats?
Odds are an extremely important part of sports betting. Why? Because your payout are based on them. Understanding the odds can be somewhat difficult, however, because different sports betting websites use different odds formats. As of now, there are four major odds formats in active use: decimal odds, implied probability, American odds, and fractional odds. Here’s how the same odds with a payout of $125 on a $100 bet look like in different formats:
- Decimal: 1.25
- Implied: 80.00%
- American: -400
- Fractional: ¼
Many US sports betting websites will offer you odds in the American odds format, while the vast majority of European bookmakers will use the decimal odds format. To make things easier for yourself, be sure to use an odds converter until you’re more comfortable with the formats.
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