NHL Online Betting in 2024Hero Image

NHL Online Betting in 2024

In Canada, ice hockey is a national obsession, as well as one of the favourite sports for sports betting enthusiasts thanks to the fast-paced action. On this page, we'll discuss how you can bet on the NHL in 2024, and will walk you through some of the important aspects of the sport. When you finish reading, you should be an expert on placing bets on the NHL!

On this page you'll find out:

  • Where to find the best NHL betting odds
  • How the NHL works
  • The types of betting markets available

Best Betting Sites for NHL
November 2024

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Betting on NHL in Canada

In Canada, the NHL is more than just another sport. Hordes of fervent fans gather at stadiums, bars and front rooms every match day, hoping to spur their team onto victory. Canadian teams haven’t been too successful in recent times, however this hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm for ice hockey one bit. From the early season games through to the Stanley Cup, Canadian gamblers love to have a bet on all aspects of the sport.

How the NHL League is Structured

If you’re new to the world of NHL, it might be worth first going over how the NHL league is structured. The first thing to know is that there are two conferences, and these are the Western and Eastern Conferences. These conferences are then split into two divisions, and each division contains seven or eight teams.

Over the course of a regular season, each team plays 82 games, both against teams in their own division, as well as against teams in different divisions and conferences. At the end of the season, 16 teams qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs. There are then playoffs, as in the NFL, and the victorious team from each conference will go on to contest the Stanley Cup, the showpiece event in the NHL calendar. This is a best of seven contest, with the first team to win four games being declared champion.

The Stanley Cup

As already mentioned, the Stanley Cup is the highlight of the entire NHL season, where the best of the best go up against each other for glory. The two teams in the Stanley Cup are always from different conferences, and they also tend to be American, with Canadian teams historically not performing too well. Fans from Canada will hope that their fortunes change soon though, and that teams such as the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets can get on a winning streak!

The Stanley Cup works by having two teams play a series of matches against each other, and the team to reach four wins first will be declared champions. This means that all seven matches are often not played - once a team reaches that magic number four, the games stop.

Live Betting on NHL Markets

Live betting is one of the most exciting aspects to sports betting, and it enhances every single match you watch. This is because you can place bets while the game is in-play, reacting quickly to different situations and using your own personal knowledge of the game to make great decisions. Will you back your team to strike back after going a goal down? Or perhaps you’ll back your hunch that the next goal will come within the next few minutes?

To bet live on ice hockey, just head to the live section of your favourite sports betting site - all good sites will have this. You can then click on the game you’re interested in, and this will bring up a plethora of different markets, all of which change as the game progresses. Just click a market, choose how much money to bet, and place the bet. You can then sit back and watch the match unfold, or place another real money live bet, of course!

Odds Guides

Finding the Best NHL Odds

So, how do you find the best NHL odds? Well, the easiest way is to play at one of the NHL betting sites we recommend. This is because we only ever recommend the sites that offer the most generous of odds to their players, so you won’t need to go trawling through the internet in order to find the top odds.

Some also like to wait until the game has started in order to place bets, as the odds can change wildly once live betting comes into play. For example, odds of 2.0 could change up to 4.0, or even higher, after just a few minutes of the game being in play. Of course, this is a risk as the odds could also go down!

History of the NHL

The National Hockey League was founded in 1917 in Montreal, and initially only had four teams, all of which were Canadian. It didn’t take long for US teams to start joining though, with the first being the Boston Bruins in 1925, and by 1926 there were six American teams. By 1942, only six teams remained though, and these are known as the “Original Six” by hockey fans.

It wasn’t until the 1960s that the league underwent big change, as many more teams from the US were added to the roster - teams like the Los Angeles Kings and the Pittsburgh Penguins. 1979 saw yet more expansion, as the NHL merged with the WHA, allowing a number of new Canadian teams to enter the NHL setup. New teams were added regularly after this, and the last expansion came in 2017, as the Las Vegas Golden Knights entered the fray, bringing the total number of sides up to 31.

North America

Place Your Bets at the Top NHL Betting Sites in Canada

By now you should know everything you need to know about betting real money on the NHL in 2024. All that’s left for you to do is look through the comprehensive list of site reviews on this website and choose the one you like the look of the best. You can then put any good NHL betting tips you might have to good use by placing real money wagers on the most popular sport in Canada!

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National Hockey League FAQs

Do you have a burning question about gambling on the NHL? If so, check out the below FAQs. If you can't find the answer you need, please feel free to drop us a message.

Because the NHL is hugely popular in Canada, and betting on a game only enhances the excitement it brings. It's also a great game for fans of live betting as the action is fast-paced, meaning that you'll be able to constantly make new and exciting bets while the game is in play.

The range of bets you can make is massive, from simple predictions of the score, to which player will score first, and how long it will take before the first goal is scored. The bigger match-ups tend to have the most betting options, however even less glamourous ties have loads of fantastic markets open.

You can find a list of the best ice hockey betting sites further up this page. We'd also recommend reading through our reviews and also trying out a few of the sites in order to decide which is perfect for you.

Live betting is when you can bet on a range of markets while the game is in-play, and these markets will constant change in order to reflect the current state of play.

Firstly, you should immerse yourself in the sport and learn as much as possible. You can then use this knowledge to make better bets and hopefully win more cash. Secondly, only play at the sites with the best odds, such as any of the sites on our list of recommended sportsbooks.