Most Popular Sports for Betting in Canada

Evaluating the best of sports gambling Canada in 2020.

Canada is recognized for a lot of things, as are its fun-loving people. We’re known for our amazing maple syrup, our friendliness, our top-notch healthcare system and, of course, our undying love of sports. Not all sports, mind you – just the really good ones 😉

We also happen to make a pretty decent living, with the average full-timer drawing nearly $27/hr. That leaves a lot of room for extra spending cash which, for many of us, translates to a friendly wager or two on our favorite sporting events.

Top Sports Gambling Canada

The Great White North plays host to almost every sport in the world; everything from football and soccer, to baseball and basketball, tennis, rugby, cricket, lacrosse, and racing. Let’s not forget minor sports leagues like bowling, darts, and good old lumberjack games. And who could forget our national treasures, ice hockey and curling? These just make up the obvious ones!

Some are more popular than others, of course. So today, we’ll evaluate the most popular sports in Canada, and the best ways to bet on them. Some of the results in our Top 10 list might surprise you… or not. Either way, here they are.

10. Tennis

There are no grand slam tennis events held here in Canada, but we do enjoy the head-oscillating competitions enough to make “sport” of it. Most punters wager on the outcome of a single match, where it be an exhibition, a preliminary, or a quart-, semi- or finals match. Since current Canadian law doesn’t allow for betting on a single match, you’ll need to join an international online sportsbook to place these wagers.

9. Golf

The PGA Tour Canada – aka Mackenzie Tour, or simply the Canadian Tour – comes to town each summer, touring the nation from British Columbia to Quebec. When it does, it ignites a prideful fire in the sports betting community. While it’s possible to bet on the winner, props are more popular in golf betting, wherein the punter chooses things like the winners nationality, or who will shoot lowest score out of a select group of competitors.

8. Football

Whether it’s the CFL or NFL, football betting is a big wagering sport in Canada. I prefer straight-up bets myself, but this is one sport where Pro-Line parlays get a lot of attention. Visit any lottery retailer in the nation, pick up a slip, and pick at least three winners to strike the big prize.

7. Baseball

Baseball isn’t huge in Canada, seeing as we only have one team – the Toronto Blue Jays. However, devout Jay Birds who follow their team tend to follow the rest of them, too – at least enough to know when there’s a good match-up ahead! Straight bets are the most common, but beware – an unexpected change in pitchers is likely to cancel out your wager.

6. UFC

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has grown in popularity all over the world, and Canada is no exception. This is a sport where straight-up betting takes the cake, but props are common too, such as number of rounds, win by submission, etc. You can Pro-Line 3+ matches in a UFC tournament, or visit an online sportsbook for single-match and prop bets.

5. Horse Racing

There’s nothing like a day at the races! If you’re going to drop a dime or more on the ponies, you might as well visit the track and enjoy the full experience.

4. Soccer

This may be the favorite sport of Europe, but we Canadians love it too – so much that in 2019, we launched the Canadian Premier League. It currently has just 7 teams, but that’s more than enough for a little Pro-Line wagering on the side lines!

3. Boxing

For betting fans, boxing can be one of the most entertaining sports. Head to head, man to man, a battle of strength, endurance and sheer will. Like UFC, it’s not just about who will win, but in how many rounds they’ll do it, and whether it will end by points, KO or TKO. This makes boxing a perfect sport for straight-ups and props at online sportsbooks.

2. Basketball

Basketball wasn’t always a Canadian favorite, but since the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies joined the league in 1995, we’ve slowly gained more interest. Of course, the Raptors’ big win in the 2019 NBA finals didn’t hurt one bit. Now, side action of the court is all the rage. Whether it’s straight bets, big match parlays or playoff futures, basketball has become the second most popular betting sport in the Great White North.

1. Hockey

When it comes to sports gambling, Canada can’t do without ice hockey. It is and will always be our most beloved sport. We play host to 7 of the NHL’s 31 franchise teams, all of whom collectively won the Stanley Cup (post-NHL inception in 1914) a staggering 52 times. Ottawa is the world’s top producer of star hockey players, being the hometown of more than 150 of the NHL’s finest. It’s as if ice hockey is bred into us. For those who don’t play it, we watch it, and many who watch it love a good friendly wager. As for how we bet, anything goes really. We bet on games, seasons, points, spreads, MVP props – you name it, we’ll find a way to bet on it!