The past few years have brought significant changes to the Canadian betting landscape. Lots of new regulations have been put in place opening up the door for new local and international betting brands. As a result, we now have a much broader range of options when it comes to sportsbooks.
Having a variety of choices is generally a positive thing. However, when the number of things to choose from becomes overwhelming – it can be challenging to make a decision. That’s precisely why we came up with three separate categories to feature three different betting brands. Each category is tailored to cater to specific areas of interest, ensuring that you will find a sportsbook that aligns with your preferences.
If you will not find what you are looking for, there are obviously many more different betting sites and betting apps you can consider. We encourage you to explore different options and find the one that suits you best.
What Will We Look for?
Of course, the main thing we are looking for is quality, our aim is to recommend only high-quality betting brands. However, it’s important to acknowledge that quality can be subjective and dependent on individual preferences. For instance, a sportsbook can have an extremely impressive hockey betting section, while their football offer might be lacking. This is why it is essential to consider your main area of interest as a guiding factor when evaluating the quality of a sportsbook.
The second thing we consider quite important is regulation. Obviously, it is vital to make sure that the betting brand you are going to use is well regulated. The two main regulators in Canada are Ontario iGaming and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. Nevertheless, even if a betting site doesn’t have a local license, it might still be licensed by one of the larger reputable international regulators.
Best Sportsbook for Hockey – FBet
Given the popularity of hockey as a betting discipline in Fbet, we decided to cover it first. In general, any betting brand that aims at attracting local players will double down on hockey content. Having said that, even though there might be lots of games to choose from, it doesn’t mean that there will be a wide variety of markets.
Hockey market variety is exactly what we are after and FBet seems to be beating everybody else on that front at the moment. While the overall number of games covered might not be as high as with some larger industry giants, the number of markets per game is. FBet is one of those brands that don’t have a local license, yet they do have a Curacao Gaming license (#365/JAZ) license.
Welcome Offer for New Players
Since FBet is a fairly new betting brand, they have an attractive welcome offer for newcomers. As a player from Canada, you can get a 100% bonus for making your first deposit. The minimum required deposit to activate this offer is C$30. You will also get an extra C$5 free bet in addition to the base welcome bonus.
Both the bonus and the free bet are valid for 7 days. Bonus funds have to be wagered 15 times with the odds of 2.00 or higher. The free bet can be used on any sporting event as long as the odds are between 1.80 and 3.00.
Best Sportsbook for Martial Arts – Leonbets
Moving on to the next category, we want to discuss martial arts betting. As you may know, mixed martial arts is one of the most popular sports in the world right now. Top fighters from popular leagues like the UFC are literally some of the most well-known people on the entire planet.
From a sportsbook’s perspective this isn’t the most profitable sport. Consequently, betting brands don’t always prioritize enhancing their MMA coverage. Nevertheless, it is still immensely popular among a vast audience and a lot of you might be interested in finding a decent MMA-friendly sportsbook.
We understand that finding a sportsbook that caters to MMA enthusiasts can be a challenge. Therefore, we went through many different sportsbooks and found one that appeared to be the best from an MMA betting perspective. The brand we are referring to is Leonbets and they currently have a valid Kahnawake Gaming Commission license.
Welcome Offer for New Players
Unlike the previous entry on our list, Leobets does have a welcome present for new players from Canada. The welcome bonus comes in the form of a risk-free bet of up to C$200.
It is important to keep in mind that the risk-free bet is not given upon registering an account. In order to get it, you first have to make a deposit. The size of your risk-free bet will depend on the size of your first deposit.
In case you don’t know how risk-free bets work, let us give you a quick introduction. Let’s imagine you place a C$20 bet for your favorite team to win, but something went wrong and your team lost. Under normal circumstances you would have just lost your stake and that would be the end of it. In a risk-free scenario, you will get your stake back as a free bet.
Best New Sportsbook – 1win
Lastly, we would like to tell you a little about a noteworthy new sportsbook that is becoming increasingly popular in Canada. 1win Canada is not the usual local betting brand, they don’t have any local licenses and they don’t yet support all popular local payment methods.
Nevertheless, they have a valid Curacao license and accept a number of popular e-wallets that you might be familiar with. Still, the main reason why we wanted to mention them is their platform which is quite friendly towards alternative virtual assets. You can top-up your account, place bets and withdraw your winnings, all using a wide range of various blockchain assets.
Given the nature of such virtual assets, the number of required various checks and verifications is significantly lower that what most other sportsbooks would have.
Welcome Offer for New Players
The welcome offer for new players from Canada isn’t any different from the one everyone else gets, however that doesn’t make it less special. 1win likely has the largest welcome offer you can currently get – this is four bonuses each one up to C$850.
As mentioned, 1win has four bonuses for your first four deposits. Additionally, if you would like to get an extra warm welcome, feel free to use our exclusive promo code – 100CAD. This is a code specifically for newcomers from Canada.
Bet Responsibly
To wrap things up we would like to mention the importance of having healthy betting habits. Sports betting is first of all a hobby and it is extremely dangerous to treat it as anything more significant. It is definitely not a way to resolve financial difficulties and any such attempt will likely make matters worse.
If you are feeling a constant urge to “win back” or are spending more that is reasonable – it might be a good moment to stop and take a break. While this may sound easy, it might be a difficult thing to do in reality, so if you are struggling to do it on your own, please take some time to get assistance.
A good place to start with is https://www.gamblingtherapy.org/en.They have lots of useful resources you can explore as well as 24/7 online support, where you can talk with a trained professional. Additionally, you can take part in group discussions with other people.