Football season is big for betting in Canada, and that applies to both the NFL and CFL. There’s just something about football that makes it extremely fun to wager on. Maybe it’s the fact that games can swing on one big play or the fact that there are so many stats that you can really dive deep into the analysis of the game. Personally I think it’s the fact that each team plays only once per week, which makes every game extremely meaningful and also allows everyone to form their opinions over the week long build up and give their hot takes to anyone who will listen. Whatever it is, there’s no doubt that football betting will continue to be extremely popular among Canadians for the foreseeable future.
On this page I will provide you with all of the info you need to start betting on football online. I’ve outlined the best sportsbooks for Canadians below, as well as broken down a few of the most popular football bets that you can make, so you fully understand what it is you’re betting on. After that information, I’ve provided a simple three step guide to getting your first football bet placed at our #1 rated betting site. You can also find our recent football related articles right at the bottom of the page.
Each of our three recommended sportsbooks are committed to building their brand in the Canadian marketplace and offering a great betting experience for Canadian users.
Check out any of the reviews above for a more in depth look at each sportsbook. In the reviews I look at their betting options, offers, features, banking options and customer service.
If you’re truly looking to make a profit betting on football then you should really have an account with each of the three sportsbooks listed above. This way you can compare odds between the sportsbooks to ensure you’re getting the best return on your investment. A half point difference in the spread could be the difference between a winning bet or a losing one. Getting the best possible return on each wager is the #1 key to being a winning bettor long term.
Different Football Betting Options
Below I will break down the three most popular types of football wagers (spread, money line and over/under).
Spread
Spread bets are the most popular form of football wagering because they attempt to put the teams on an even playing field and then it’s up to you to pick a side.
The best way to explain spread bets is looking at an example:
In this example I’m a week 1 game from the 2024 NFL season between the Packers and Eagles. The point spread is 2.5 for this game. You can tell that Philadelphia is the favourite in the game because they have the (-) in front of the 2.5 for their spread. This means that they are giving 2.5 points to the Packers. You can think of it having to subtract 2.5 points from the Eagles final score. If they still have more points than the Packers then the Eagles spread bet wins.
Similarly the Packers have the +2.5, which means they are being spotted 2.5 points in terms of the spread, so you can basically add +2.5 to the Packers score to see if they win the spread vs the Eagles.
So, the Eagles must win the game by 3 or more points for a spread bet on them to win, while the Packers must either win the game outright or lose by 2 or fewer points.
The decimal odds beside the spread amount (1.91 for each team in this example) indicates the odds for the selection.
Money Line
A money line bet is the simplest type of football wager. You are simply wagering on which team will win the game straight up – no spread.
The sportsbook sets the money line odds based on each teams perceived chances of winning the game. Your payout is determined by these odds with a bet on the favourite obviously winning you less than a bet on the underdog.
Continuing with the example of the Packers vs Eagles game, you can see the money line on the Packers to win the game is 2.15, while the money line on the Eagles is 1.72.
This means that a $100 bet on the Packers would pay out $215 ($100 x 2.15), while a $100 bet on the Eagles would pay out $172 ($100 x 1.72).
Over/Under
The third bet that you will see of the main bets on a football game is the over/under bet, also known as the total. The sportsbook will provide a total for the points scored in the game and you can wager on whether there will be more or fewer than that many points scored in the game (by both teams).
In the Green Bay vs Philadelphia game the over/under is set at 48.5 points. You can bet on whether you think the combined total of the Packers vs Eagles score will be over or under 48.5 points. For example, if the game ended 24-21 for the Eagles then there would have been 45 points scored in the game and the under bets would pay out.
How To Place Your First Football Bet
Now that you know where to bet on football, and you understand the three main betting options available for each football game, it’s time to start placing your bets. Follow this simple three step guide to get your first football bet placed online, at our top rated betting site, within minutes.
Step 1. Open an Online Betting Account
First you’ll need to open an online sportsbook account. Our top rated betting site for Canadians is SportsInteraction.com, so I will be using them for the remainder of this guide, but you can use any of the sportsbooks I outlined above.
Next you’ll have to make a deposit to fund your account. Sports Interaction accepts Interac e-Transfer, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Apple Pay, Online Banking, and paysafecard deposits. That’s a long list so you should have no trouble getting money into or out of your Sports Interaction account.
Step 3. Bet On Football
You now have money in your account and you’re ready to bet.
Once on the Sports Interaction website, select the ‘Football’ from the Top Sports menu. Then select ‘NFL’, ‘College Football’ or ‘CFL’ from the Top Events menu to bring up the betting lines for the football league you are interested in betting on.
In the below screenshot I’ve clicked on ‘NFL’, which has brought up all of the bets you can make on National Football League games for that week.
As you can see the point spread, total, and money line odds are shown prominently for each game. You can also click on the team names to see all of the other prop bets you can make on that particular game.
Select the odds of the bet you want to place, enter your risk amount on the Bet Slip, and click ‘Place Bet’ to make your wager.
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