NBA Betting Intro
It’s no secret that Canadians love basketball. But what they love even more is betting on their favourite NBA teams.
With over 2,000 regular season NBA games every year, there are almost endless possibilities for you to make money betting on the NBA. If you factor in tosses in preseason, exhibitions, the playoffs, and the NBA championship, the list of opportunities goes on.
The rise of the Toronto Raptors, who eventually won the first NBA championship in 2019, has made basketball as popular as ever in Canada. Plus, the globalization of the NBA and the increased exposure to the game’s biggest stars have all helped the game grow immensely in Canada. As basketball grows in popularity in Canada, the demand for quality NBA betting websites has also grown exponentially.
Bettors in Canada want to know where and how to bet safely and legally on the NBA, and recently Ontario has opened its gates to legal online betting not only on nba but betting on mlb for example. All this with new legislation. There are a ton of online sportsbooks that offer Canadians the chance to bet and win on the NBA, and in this article, we’re going to explore the best bookies available on the market right now.
If you dream of being a profitable basketball bettor or you love the thrill of betting on your favourite basketball team, you have to find a reliable online bookie to bet on.
So buckle down and keep reading to learn more about the best NBA bookies.
Types of NBA Bets
With basketball being one of the major sports worldwide, most bookies offer a wide variety of bets for your favourite teams. Let’s take a look at some of the bets you can make on your favourite NBA teams:
- Point spreads: Point spreads are one of the most popular types of NBA bets ever. Point spreads are a handicap that balances the two teams playing in the match. Negative and positive symbols are used to differentiate the favourite and the under. For instance, if team A is a -6 point favorite, they’ll need to win at least by 6 points to cover the spread. The underdog team B, on the other hand, can cover the spread by winning the game or losing by less than 6 points. Most point spreads have odds around -110 points on either bet. The range of point spreads is quite wide for the NBA, ranging from a single point to over 20.
- Moneylines: Moneylines are a very straightforward bet, as you pick which team will win a specific match. As this bet has no handicap and it’s a straightforward bet, the odds can vary hugely on this one. The odds will be extremely low if you’re betting on a heavily favoured team – this is also valid for soccer betting. On the other hand, if you bet on an underdog’s win, the odds may be massive.
- Game totals: Game totals, or under/over, involve betting on how many points will be scored in total in a match. For example, we’ll take a game with a total score of 219. If you bet the under option, you are betting that team A, and team B will score less than 219 points combined. One thing to note is that it doesn’t matter who of the two teams scores the points as long as the total score is under the threshold. You’ll still win the bet even if team A wins 218-1 points. The same thing goes for over, if we take the same example above, the two teams will need to score a total combined points of over 219.
- Props: There are mainly two types of props: player and team. Player props are based on the performance of one specific player in the game. You can bet on how many points, assists, rebounds, and three-pointers that specific player made. Unless you bet on Lebron scoring one point in his game, the odds for these bets are extremely high, as they’re hard to nail. Team props are based on the performance of the team. They could involve total points in a quarter or half of a game. These bets can also involve betting on what team will surpass a specific number of points first.
- Futures: This bet involves picking the outcome of the whole season, not an individual match. Some examples of future bets are picking the winner of the NBA championship, the Eastern and Western Conference winners, and the division winners. You can also bet on who will be the MVP or Rookie of the year. Obviously, because these are long-term bets, the odds are greater the earlier you bet.
Best NBA Betting Licensed Websites in Canada
Canada, and specifically Ontario, has only recently entered the online gambling market with many options such as nfl betting and betting on many more sports. So you can imagine there are already a lot of bookies offering NBA bets. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular ones at the moment:
- Betano: This German bookie has taken the European betting scene by storm, and they want to achieve the same in Canada too. If you’re looking for a newcomer-friendly sports bookie, Betano is your solution. They have a huge variety of sports to choose from (30+); naturally, there’s also NBA among those. On top of that, it has a great welcome bonus and NBA-specific special bets. For example, they have what’s called a “20 points ahead bet”, where if the team you bet on gets at least 20 points ahead at any point during the game, you automatically win the bet.
- Bet99: Bet99 is also another popular option for NBA bets, and their 100% deposit bonus of up to $600 is an excellent way for newcomers to start. The minimum deposit to earn this bonus is $20.
- Sports Interaction: This is one of the most popular betting websites in Canada at the moment. Their 100% bonus of up to $500 is a great option to increase your chances of winning. Keep in mind that there are some requirements to earn his bonus. You need to be a new customer, the minimum deposit is $20, and the rollover is 5x the deposit + bonus.
- Betway: Another popular entry with its 100% deposit bonus of up to $200. This one also can be redeemed by new customers only but has a minimum deposit of only $10.
- Spin Palace Sports: Spin Palace Sports is a bit of an underdog compared to the others on this list, nonetheless, it’s a great choice for bettors. With a 100% match up to a $200 bonus that works on your first deposit with a minimum of $10. The wagering odds are 1.3+.
- TonyBet: TonyBet is 100% secure and reputable, with extremely fast withdrawals and 24-7 live support in case you run into issues. Their bonus is also quite sizable, with a 100% bonus of up to $350.
- 20Bet Sportsbook: 20Bets is a fantastic option for its great payment options (there are more than 10 available.) They also have great bonuses (100% bonus up to $150) and a great variety of betting options.
- 888Sports: With its user-friendly interface and colossal selection of odds makes it one of the best betting sites in Canada. On their website or mobile app, you’ll find NBA championship odds, point spread team props, and a lot more. There are tons of ongoing weekly promotions for new and existing customers.
- LeoVegas: Although the name of this betting website may seem like they only offer Casino features, they also have a great NBA selection to bet on. LeoVegas’ website is slick and easy to navigate through. It’s arguably one of the best website layouts we’ve ever seen to date. Whether you prefer to bet live or pre-match, you’ll find everything you need on LeoVegas.
- BetVictor: This one is a rookie, too, as it’s mainly catered toward new bettors. They feature fast withdrawals, extremely good odds, and great 24/ live chat support.
NBA Betting Tips
Now that you know what bet options there are and what are the best websites to look for, what’s left are a few tips and tricks to make you win more and risk less when you bet. Let’s take a look at some crucial tips you should keep an eye for:
- Record against the spread: The more you know about the teams playing, the higher your chances of winning. But because we’re not machines, we can’t know every stat possible, so you should look for the most important ones to ensure a higher chance of winning. One of the most important stats to look at before betting on an NBA game is a team’s record against the spread. Records against the spread are incredibly insightful, and it’s a stat that most bettors overlook.
- Watch for injured and benched players: When you see odds that are too good to be true, you should always investigate why that is. For example, if a player gets injured or is likely to be benched the next game, his odds of scoring a point will skyrocket because he will likely not play that match.
- The home court advantage: In many sports, a side has an advantage when you play in its home stadium, and the NBA is one of them. Statistically, teams are much likelier to play better in their home stadium than the opponent’s, and bets change according to that. In the NBA, it has been shown that home-court advantage is minimal, but it’s still a factor you should consider. The only thing that affects NBA players when they have a court advantage is that the home team is well-rested, while the away team has to travel and has less time to prepare for the match.
- Use multiple sportsbooks: There’s no rule stating you can’t take advantage of more bookies at once. Different sportsbooks will have different odds and stats, so if you signup for a few of them, you can cross-match the stats and odds to have a higher chance of winning.
- Bet early: One of the best ways to gain an edge when betting on NBA games is to start betting as soon as the markets open each morning. Nothing slips between the cracks in a market as big as the NBA. Injuries, inefficiencies within the market, and errors are corrected quickly as the best bookies in the world look to snatch up the value on NBA sides and totals before the value is sucked out of the line. Oddsmakers get more information on games as we get closer to tip-off, so betting as early as it can allow you to capitalize on mistakes on the initial lines that oddsmakers release before they are corrected. Oddsmakers of the biggest bookies are incredibly good at what they do, but they’re still humans and will make mistakes from time to time if you bet early enough. If you could capitalize on one of these mistakes, you’re ensured to win big.
- Look for scheduling advantages: Although the NBA has taken steps to reduce the number of back-to-backs, the NBA team will average 13.5 back-to-back games with no rest. Obviously, when you bet and in of the two teams is playing their 10th game without resting, you can take advantage and capitalize on that to win a lot more. This does not often happen, however, if you study your teams enough, you will discover that some teams do play more than 5-6 games back-to-back each season. The two-game series is a newer scheduling quirk introduced during the pandemic to reduce the travel during last season’s condensed schedule.
Final Words
With the rising popularity of basketball and the NBA in Canada, the new legislation in Ontario comes at the perfect time. We also believe that other areas in Canada will allow legal online betting in the next months, so if you love betting and winning on NBA teams, this is the perfect place to start and be informed about the basketball world in advance.
Make sure to follow our list of best bookies and our tips on how to win more when betting on the NBA. Some of these tips are also valid for other sports betting such as NHL betting. If you follow all of them, you’ll definitely start winning a lot more than you used to.
