NBA Best Betting Sites Canada
Ever since the Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship back in 2019, the popularity of NBA betting took off in Canada. Ice hockey is still Canada’s most prevalent sport; Lacrosse has been the de facto national sport for decades, but it’s the NBA that draws the most betting attention in the Great White North.
The world’s biggest basketball league is a great betting option for all Canadian punters. The games are played from October to mid-June, which means there is plenty of wagering action all year long. There is also phenomenal diversity in terms of market coverage as the best NBA betting sites offer a wide range of wagers with great betting odds.
The high-paced and fast-moving nature of the game makes it ideal for live betting. Teams rake up huge scores quickly, and if you can predict the next momentum swing, you could win big.
Our expert team works day and night to sift through hundreds of NBA betting sites, trying to find the best options for Canada-based players. It’s finally time to call off the search, as we’ve zeroed in on a couple of online sportsbooks with superior NBA odds.
Contents
Breakdown of the Most Popular NBA Fixtures
The National Basketball Association is the most prestigious league in basketball. It’s one of the four major professional sports in the US and Canada. The league was founded in 1946 in New York and was originally named Basketball Association of America (BAA), but was renamed to NBA in 1949.
The most successful teams are the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, with 17 NBA Championship titles each.
There are 30 teams competing in the NBA, 29 of which are based in the US, and one comes from Canada. These teams are divided into two conferences — Eastern and Western. Both conferences are made up of 15 teams, organized in three divisions, as follows:
- Western Conference: Southwest, Pacific, and Northwest
- Eastern Conference: Southeast, Central, and Atlantic
The NBA’s preseason scrimmage usually begins around the 30th of September and concludes a couple of days before the season kicks off. The preseason is followed by the regular season, during which each team plays 82 games.
Once the season concludes, the eight best teams from each conference advance to the playoffs to fight for the NBA Championship trophy.
Here’s the NBA timeline, explained in detail.
The Preseason
The preseason is basically a warmup period — this is when the veteran players get in shape and rookies try to prove their value. Most NBA teams use the preseason games to try out basketball players that have been recently drafted or signed and test various lineups and strategies.
Stats from the preseason games don’t carry over to the regular season. However, the win-lost mark in the exhibition games can sometimes serve as an indication or a tip-off as to how the season and the playoffs will unfold.
The sportsbooks in Canada usually cover all preseason games offering all sorts of bets, including futures, point spreads, and money line bets.
The Regular Season
This is when the real action starts. Each of the participating teams plays 82 NBA games in total — 41 home and 41 away. Each team faces opponents in its own conference four teams, and play the teams from the other conference twice a year.
The season ends around the middle of April, which is also when the voting for individual accolades (Rookie of The Year, MVP, Most Improved Player) takes place. Most, if not all sportsbooks in Canada, will offer betting lines for individual NBA awards. These are usually listed in the futures section.
The Playoffs
The top 8-seeded squads from each conference will advance to the playoffs after the conclusion of the NBA season to compete for the NBA Championship title — the Larry O’Brien trophy.
The playoffs (also called the postseason) follow the best-of-seven format all the way through the NBA Finals. Series are played in 2-2-1-1-1 format, which means that the team with a better season record always has home-court advantage for game 7, if it comes to that.
The first team to win four NBA games in a playoff series progresses to the next round to play against the advancing team from the same conference.
The victorious team from both conferences competes in the best-of-seven NBA finals. The team that prevails in the Finals receives the NBA Championship trophy and a championship ring. What’s more, the best-performing player in the Finals gets awarded the Bill Russell MVP award.
The NBA betting offer excels the most during the playoffs. This is when online NBA betting sites roll out different types of bets, including some special wagers that aren’t available otherwise.
Betting Platforms
Long gone are the days when NBA fans had to go to traditional sportsbooks to get their wagering thirst quenched. The betting industry has evolved massively since its first days, and nowadays, punters have all kinds of betting options at a variety of wagering platforms.
Below, we’ll discuss in detail each type of NBA betting platform.
Betting Exchanges
A betting exchange is a global platform or a marketplace where punters can bet against each other rather than a sportsbook. In a traditional NBA betting site, customers can bet on the NBA only by backing a bet or placing a wager for something to happen. Books lay the bet themselves, and pay out their own money in case the customer’s backed bet wins.
In betting exchanges, you are wagering directly against other punters. Consequently, there are two types of players — one that places a back bet, and the other type lays a bet.
To get a clearer picture of how this works, let’s take an example of an NBA match between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the LA Clippers. The LA team is the heavy favourite here, but rather than backing them to win, you can lay a bet on the Cavaliers not to win. So, basically, you have two options:
Back the Clippers at the odds set by other users at the exchange. If the Clippers win, you get paid by the user who laid the bet.
Lay a bet on the Cavaliers not to win at odds, in which case you’re acting as a sportsbook. If someone from the exchange matches your bet and the Cavaliers win, you’re required to pay that user their winnings. Before the bet is settled, both sides need to make an agreement on both the stake and the odds.
Betting exchanges often have better odds than traditional sportsbooks because the offered odds are controlled by the punters and not the gambling companies. This allows for players to find a better value, which is why betting exchanges are so popular nowadays.
It’s worth mentioning that betting exchanges charge a small commission fee on each bet placed.
Traditional NBA Sportsbooks
With traditional sportsbooks, punters place bets on NBA games at odds determined by the betting site. All that’s needed to calculate the potential return is to multiply the stake by the odds.
For instance, if you placed a CA$20 wager on the Toronto Raptors to win the NBA Championship at odds 5.00, and they go on to win the title, you’ll get paid CA$100 by the sportsbook. In this case, your profit is CA$100 – CA$20 (the initial stake) = CA$80.
The betting offer with traditional sportsbooks extends far beyond betting on a single outcome. There are hundreds of different NBA bets available for every game and just as many variations for live betting.
NBA Spread Betting
With spread betting, the potential profit is based on the accuracy of the wager, and not on the win or lose prediction itself. There are three key terms, or rather concepts, you need to be familiarized with spread betting — buying, selling, and the spread.
Essentially, the spread is the range within which the specified market is expected to happen. If you believe that the outcome or the market will end up higher than the predetermined range (spread), then you buy. Conversely, if you think that it will be lower than the spread, you would sell.
In an NBA game, the average spread for the Total Points market is around 220-230. In other words, the expected combined total points scored in a game is somewhere in that range. If you think that there will be more than 225 points scored in the game, you would buy, but if you think that there will be less than 225 points scored, then you would sell.
What’s unique about spread betting is that the more right you are, the bigger the payoff. On the other side of the coin, you could lose a lot more than your initial stake, if your predictions are a complete failure.
NBA Sports Trading
Fundamentally, sports trading is the same process that takes place in sports betting exchanges — two players place a bet against each other on the same selection to obtain a profit. Both back and lay bets are involved. With back bets, you’re wagering on a sporting event to happen, and if you place lay bets, you’re betting that something is not going to occur.
Sports trading resembles stock trading. The only difference is that you’re buying or selling bets on sporting events rather than shares of a company.
NBA Matched Betting
Matched betting is a form of betting where punters try to turn the free bet credits and other incentives offered by the sportsbooks into real cash. This risk-free technique is also called lay bet matching, back bet matching, or double betting. The idea is to profit from the online betting sites’ free bet offers relying on a mathematical equation rather on chance.
Most Popular NBA Betting Markets
Best NBA betting sites cover every game in-depth, offering hundreds of betting options. Essentially, there are five main betting types and dozens of variations derived from them. Each of these wagering markets is unique in its own way, and each offers a different payout potential.
Since you’re going to be putting your hard-earned money at risk, it’s paramount that you learn the basics of different types of NBA betting options. The more you know, the better you can utilize your predictions.
Below, we’ll run you through the most common types of NBA bets.
Money Line Bets
Money Line bet is the simplest type of basketball wager as it only requires punters to predict whether the team will win the game. Here, you won’t have to worry about point differential, total points scored, or other ‘side’ factors. You only need to worry about your pick winning outright, and that’s it.
The odds for a heavy favourite to win the game are pretty steep and are usually in the 1.20-1.50 range. On the other hand, taking underdogs can lead to a monster payout.
Totals Bets
With NBA totals bets, also referred to as over/under bets, you need to predict whether the total number of points scored by both sides will go under or above the threshold set by the sportsbooks.
In an NBA game between two defensively-minded squads, the projected total will be at around 195. On average, totals fall in the range of 200-220 in today’s NBA.
The odds for totals bets are in the 1.80-2.00 spectrum, depending on the betting site. With some totals variations, the operator will add or subtract a couple of points from the predetermined total and adjust the odds accordingly.
Point Spreads Bets
Point spreads, also called handicap bets, are wagers used to even the gap between the underdog and the favourite. Basically, the sportsbook gives a virtual disadvantage or handicap to the stronger side, while giving an advantage to the weaker team. The favourites are listed as “-” in the spread and have to win by a specific number of points. The underdog is listed as “+” in the spread and has to either lose by a smaller amount than the point spread or win the game outright.
Props Bets
Props or proposition bets are betting markets that are not directly related to the outcome of the game. Pretty much anything besides point spread, money line, and totals can be considered a props bet. Typical props bet looks something like this: Are Toronto Raptors Going to Trade Kawhi Leonard?
NBA betting sites also offer a special type of proposition bet, called player props. With this type of bet, punters need to predict whether a player will perform or underperform a line determined by the betting site. A great example of player props would be Will Kyle Lowry Score a Tripple-Double?
Futures Bets
As the name suggests, futures bets are bets made on an occurrence that will take place in the distant future. NBA Finals is a popular futures option, as well as betting on individual awards, such as the MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and so forth.
Futures bets are popular because they last for a prolonged period, and punters don’t have to spend time researching the individual matches. Also, futures bets are typically characterized by great odds, even on favourites.
Parlays
Parlays or accumulators is a market that combines multiple selections on one betting slip. The more selections you bet, the bigger the potential profit. Betting sites usually offer a bonus payout for parlays consisting of 10 (or more) selections.
Conclusion
That’s it, guys — you’ve now learned the fundamentals of NBA betting. Hopefully, you can now take advantage of your new knowledge to take your betting on the NBA to the next level. Keep in mind that researching your NBA picks is a vital part of a winning strategy. Knowing how to bet on the NBA is one thing, but doing it successfully is another.
If you want to be a successful NBA punter, you’ll need to put in a lot of time, dedication, and analysis for each game. Only then you’ll stand a chance of ‘beating the house.’ You can try finding betting tips in various forums and ‘tipster’ channels, but you won’t be able to recognize potentially lucrative tips if you don’t do your homework.
We wish you all the best in your future NBA betting endeavours and urge you to always gamble responsibly.
FAQ
Is NBA betting legal in Canada?
Yes, it is. NBA betting and basketball betting, in general, are legal in Canada. Better yet, there is a wide range of betting platforms that offer NBA betting markets and accept Canadian punters. If you want to bet on the NBA, you can do so legally, wherever you live in the Great White North.
Is NBA live betting profitable?
In-play or live NBA sports betting can be very lucrative. If you follow the line movement closely and pay attention to the tendencies on the court, you can hit it big. You can take advantage of momentum swings that frequently occur in every NBA game. Even if your team is losing by double digits at halftime, it can easily turn the game over by the end of the third quarter. Professional punters who bet on NBA make thousands of dollars of NBA live betting.
Are there any NBA-specific bonuses?
Most of our featured sports betting sites have all sorts of NBA bet promotions. Apart from a classic deposit bonus you’re entitled to after signing up, you can claim a myriad of other promos. A common type of an NBA bonus is the Acca boost, where you get an enhanced payout for NBA parlays consisting of five (or more) selections.
What is the best NBA betting site?
It depends on your personal preferences. Some sites may offer a great deposit bonus, while others could have lots of free bets promos. Top-rated NBA betting sites usually have the whole package — a generous welcome bonus, a wide range of betting markets, an extensive banking section, competitive NBA odds, and a responsive customer support service. Some even offer a full suite of casino games.
