THE CFL PLAYOFFS ATTRACT LEGAL SINGLE-GAME WAGERS IN CANADA

Dave Schwab Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

Up until late August of this year, the only legal way to bet on sports in Canada was through a multi-team parlay. Betting was tied to the government-owned lottery system in each individual province.

A concerted effort to amend the current sports wagering laws was successful. On Aug. 27, it became legal to bet on single games across Canada. Each province remained responsible for instituting this change moving forward.

The overall potential of legal sports betting in Canada remains huge. Ontario would be the primary market for growth. First, because this is the most populated province in Canada. Second, because of the progressive approach Ontario is taking toward industry expansion. Most of the other provinces have turned to their existing lottery system to add single game wagering. Ontario will still use PROLINE+ as its lottery-based offering. However, the province is working through plans to open up the market to commercial sportsbook operators.

Along with legal wagers through the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation via PROLINE+, there are 71 land-based casinos in the province. These retail venues are also working through the process of offering single-game wagers.

Ontario has immediately attracted interest from major US sportsbook operators such as FanDuel and DraftKings. It could still take some time to launch their legal mobile betting apps in the province as another work in progress.

The one thing driving the overall process is demand. The early results with limited access to single-game wagers have been impressive. British Columbia alone passed the $25 million mark for legal single-game betting in the first two months.

One of the biggest sporting events driving business these days across the country is the highly anticipated start of the CFL playoffs. The top six teams in Canada’s nine-team professional football league will compete.

Following two rounds of postseason games, the top two teams will square off in the annual Grey Cup Championship. This is the equivalent of the NFL’s annual Super Bowl for diehard CFL fans.

With just two games in each of the first two rounds of CFL playoffs, single-game wagers will be a huge draw.

In the opening round, the Montreal Alouettes will square off against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. This is a classic rivalry in the East Division. Two bitter rivals from the West Division clash in the other game when the Calgary Stampeders go on the road to face the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The winners of these two games will move onto the CFL Division Finals. The Toronto Argonauts won the East Division title this season. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were the top team in the West with a record of 11-3. They are also the clear betting favorites to win this year’s Grey Cup title.

This season’s 108th Grey Cup Championship will take place on Sunday, Dec. 12 with kickoff set for 6 p.m. (ET). The 2021 title game will be played at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario. This prime location should provide an added boost for sports bettors across the entire province.

Written by Dave Schwab, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert. You can learn more about our author's expertise here.

Dave Schwab

Dave Schwab has been covering the sports betting industry for the past 12 years as the main focus of his specialty marketing company for online content. This endeavor followed a previous career in the field of sales and marketing in the wholesaling sector.Most of his weekly pieces focus on the rapidly expanding legal US sports betting industry. However, he still does extensive work covering betting angles that can provide a competitive edge to avid players. Dave believes that it is always a challenge to take past results and current form to try and correctly determine a future result. Sports brings out the unpredictability in what should be a fairly predictable outcome based on the stats, facts and recent trends in a particular matchup. More from Dave Schwab