Articles from the Selected Date

Canada’s fallen behind the US when it comes to single-event sports betting, but this might be about to change if current legislative efforts are anything to go by.

Single Game Sports Betting in Canada

To bettors in the United Kingdom, and Europe generally, the idea of being able to bet on sports but not a single sporting market sounds utterly bizarre. But that’s the current state of play in Canada, which has had a peculiar approach to betting legislation in various ways for some time, not least the ambiguous stance to online gambling and the ban on single sports betting.

There are plenty of great tips for players to take advantage of whether sport-specific or general principles, but for the most part players prefer single-game betting. A single market is much more straightforward and thus has a better chance of paying out, whereas parlay bets have multiple contingencies and the player loses if just one result doesn’t go their way.

However, this strange Canadian prohibition on single-game sports betting could soon come to an end if current legislative moves (which, unusually, are supported across the political spectrum) come to fruition. In February, a private member’s bill to that effect passed its second reading in the House Commons by an overwhelming margin, indicating the very high chance that the bill will become law further down the line.

It’s not just online sports betting that’s restricted in Canada; the country has a very grey approach to online casinos too. Whether slots fans or card sharks, USA real money casinos are places where winning real money is possible and can often be done by taking advantage of promotions. Better yet, there are usually hundreds of slots and many table games, including live dealer versions. Some sites even combine casino and sports aspects, so you can bet on your favourite team and relax spinning reels all under the same virtual roof.

Billions of Dollars in Benefits

Kevin Waugh, one of the MPs sponsoring the bill, has expressed his hope that the vote will prove a boon for Saskatchewan and Canada’s sports sector. Waugh cited the scale of the single game sports betting industry, which stands at an estimated $14bn. Two-thirds of this is through the Canadian black market, with the remaining $4bn occurring legally, but benefiting offshore betting operations.

Naturally, the Canadian central and provincial governments make no money whatsoever, as overseas betting is to the advantage of other countries, and underworld betting syndicates are not renowned for their civic-minded approach to taxes.

The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) has also calculated that only around $500m is placed in legal provincial sports betting in a year. This is not surprising, as any bettor knows that a parlay bet (also known as a multiple or accumulator) is far less likely to come off than a single bet, and is correspondingly less attractive to players most of the time.

The government bill to address this, C-13, has since been pulled but the private member’s bill, C-128, is still on course and is endorsed with substantial political backing. If it comes into effect, this should massively reduce criminal (and overseas) sports betting, benefiting the Canadian authorities significantly.

The Changing View of Sports Teams, and the US

An attempt a decade earlier to make similar moves failed, partly because professional sports bodies were opposed to legalizing single-game sports betting. However, this attempt to just ignore reality (Canadians are going to bet on single-game sports markets, the only question is whether they pick offshore or criminal options if the country refuses to make it domestically accessible on a legal basis) seems to be at an end.

One of the reasons for that is the situation south of the border. The US has typically been more puritanical than Canada on betting matters, so it’s perhaps unexpected to find more liberal legislation in America than Canada. Nevada and New Jersey led the way, and now around half the states have some measure of legal sports betting. Given the Canadian-US nature of various sports competitions, this has naturally attracted a number of Canadian bettors. Major Canadian sports leagues now stand in favor of the proposed legislation.

There is still an argument about the risks of addiction, but Waugh has suggested limits could be imposed to try and counter this. And it’s certainly the case that government authorities, responsible to the electorate, will be more interested in mitigating the risks than criminal gangs.

Affecting the USA?

The widespread and growing sports betting industry in the USA means that American players are probably unlikely to move en masse to Canadian betting sites. Perhaps the more significant impact will be Canadian players who may prefer to win and lose with domestic rather than American sportsbooks. However, this will add more competition to the mix, particularly for leagues that are combined US-Canadian affairs, and that may help make odds a touch more generous as sportsbooks try to attract players.

All that said, there are still various states where sports betting is not on the table domestically, and this may be another avenue for keen sports fans and bettors in America to have a wager. It will also add to the head of steam that already exists for more states to liberalize their sports betting laws, for fear of players doing precisely that. After all, if players are going to bet, most states would want the income that comes with that to go to the state, not to Canada.

Players have plenty of different ways to decide on how to bet, whether that’s backing a favorite team, opting for home advantage, or taking a long hard look at the stats. One alternative is to make use of free tips by professional tipsters to give yourself an edge over the sportsbooks.

It’s been a long time coming, but it seems the death knell for forced parlay sports betting may have been sounded. The legislation hasn’t completed its journey yet, but it enjoys strong support and it seems to just be a matter of time.

Accumulators can turn tiny stakes into big profits, but how exactly do they work? Read on to find out.

What are Accumulators?

Just what is an accumulator bet? Those from North America might be familiar with accumulators under the name parlay, and if you’re into exchange betting you may know them as multiples, but they’re all essentially the same type of bet.

Accumulators involve a single stake on multiple different contingencies occurring. If you have six football matches on a weekend, you could have a six phase accumulator predicting the result of each match. Naturally, the odds on this sort of bet occurring are significantly longer than single market betting (a result bet on a single football match, for example), but the flip side is that if they do come off you can make a lot more profit than you would with a single event bet.

Accumulators are just one weapon in the smart bettor’s arsenal when it comes to making money. Another, and potentially the most prudent way to bet, is at no deposit USA casinos where you can make profits without paying a cent in deposits thanks to generous promotions. These deals enable players to compete for cash prizes with slots or table games, with the only possible outcomes being real money profits or no loss whatsoever. If you’re a cautious player, this is the perfect way to play.

How the Odds are Calculated

The odds on each individual contingency are used to calculate the overall accumulator odds. And because of the multiplying effect, if you go for outsiders the odds will be far, far longer than backing favourites. Usually, accumulators have at least four stages. This means that even odds of around 3/1 can lead to a total accumulator chance of one or two hundred to one.

To get mathematical about it, the odds are calculated by converting the odds of each individual leg of the accumulator into decimals and multiplying them. This can mean a significant payout even if you’re just backing favourites.

If you’re unsure of what to bet on with this new method of playing, you can do worse than to take advantage of free tipsto help give you a head start and decide on what the best strategy might be.

Other Long Odds Betting Approaches

The long odds are the major draw of accumulators but they’re not the only way to get long odds with a credible chance of coming off. Another approach is to go for a long term approach by backing results years or even decades down the line.

Of course, the dream is the freak result as happened with Leicester City in the EPL. A title bet on this team could be had at a mind-boggling 5,000/1, leaving many fans with a small fortune for bets they made with little real hope of profits. Unfortunately, the very magnitude of this title triumph has led the betting industry (in the UK, at least) to reduce the super long odds that rank outsiders used to get, for fear of a second Leicester City result.

Luck always plays a factor in betting, and sometimes you can enjoy an enormous slice by being online when news breaks (just one more advantage of betting online). When Hamilton caught COVID-19 and was out of the Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020 it took bookies a few minutes to catch up. In that time, you could get 60/1 on eventual winner Perez to claim the victory, which is pretty tasty for a single event bet.

Accumulator Pros and Cons

The first pro is the most obvious: get an accumulator to come off and you’ll make far more than you would with a series of single event bets (and with a lower stake). The corresponding con is that if even one aspect of your bet fails, the whole thing falls through.

This can be mitigated somewhat, depending on what your sportsbook offers. Each way accumulator bets mean that instead of backing a precise result you get paid if your winner places (it’s commonly available top 2 or top 3 for F1, and maybe top 4 for horse racing). This gives you a much better chance of winning. Be aware that each-way bets can only be placed alongside full-win bets (the upside to this is that if your picks all come first then you get the huge odds payout and the smaller each way profits too).

Some bookies also allow players to get their stake back, with neither profit nor loss, if a single leg of an accumulator fails to come off.

Accumulators can be very good for free sports bets that sportsbooks regularly offer, because there’s no risk of loss but if your bet comes off then you can turn a tiny free bet stake into hundreds of pounds/dollars.

Mid-Accumulator Betting

Accumulators don’t have to be placed on events occurring on the same day, and sometimes mid-event betting moves can be a wise idea.

One option is to hedge a potential loss if all but the last one or two legs of your accumulator have come off, you stand to make a fortune, and you’re nervous about losing out at the final stages. In this circumstance, probably the wisest way to hedge is to bet against the specific outcomes you’ve backed on an exchange (where you can oppose as well as back specific results), or you can make the relevant bets at the same place you have the accumulator.

Cunning tipsters are always available to give you an inside line if you’re unsure of things might play out, and this can be used to inform your strategy with an accumulator that’s going well so far but still has a few phases to go.

Some sportsbooks also offer cashout options for bets, which is an available option for accumulators at increasing numbers of sites. This means you get profits immediately but at a far lower rate. It does, however, totally eliminate the risk of loss.

Accumulators can be a great way to try win a lot with a little, but keep in mind that a single failure means the bet won’t come off.