How To Bet on CFL
One of the best kept secrets in North American professional sports, the Canadian Football League (CFL) has been entertaining football fans across Canada for over 60 years. It was founded through a merger of two regional football leagues, the Western Interprovincial Football Union and the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union. Canadian football has been a staple of the nation’s sports diet for over 110 years. The CFL is now rapidly growing in popularity with sports bettors across North America. But there are some differences you should know about as you learn how to bet on CFL football.
With a season running from June until November, the CFL provides only indirect competition for its larger and much more popular cousin, the NFL. However, the differences between the two leagues go far beyond scheduling.
The CFL is played on a dramatically larger field, measuring 110 yards in length with deep 20-yard end zones. The CFL also uses a larger ball than in the NFL. In addition, unlike in the NFL, where teams have four downs to advance 10 yards, the CFL limits offenses to just three downs. This results in a more exciting passing game and higher scoring.
Many differences exist between American football and Canadian football on the field. However, the opportunities for sports bettors remain largely the same. Here’s a few tips on how you pad your stack by getting in on some summertime CFL gridiron betting action.
How to Bet CFL Point Spreads
Just like in NFL betting, the most popular way to get in on CFL action is by betting on the pointspread. Simply put, a pointspread is a betting line used by oddsmakers to indicate the number of points by which a favorite will defeat an underdog.
Toronto Argonauts +7.5
Calgary Stampeders -7.5
In the game line example above, Calgary is playing host to Toronto. They are listed as a 7.5-point favourite on the pointspread. This means they must win by more than 7.5 points for your bet to be a winner. Conversely, Toronto is listed as a 7.5-point underdog. This essentially means the Argonauts can afford to lose the game by as many as seven points. It still reward sports bettors with a win.
Of course, a greater degree of risk comes with betting on the pointspread, particularly when betting on favorites. They must win by a predetermined number of points. However, that risk is balanced by better odds that may not be available when betting on a favorite to simply win a game by any number of points. This is also known as moneyline betting.
Is Scoring Different in the CFL from the NFL?
Like in the NFL, CFL teams are awarded six points for a touchdown, either one or two points for a touchdown conversion, and three points for a field goal. This scoring structure is often reflected in pointspreads, which often are pegged at anywhere from three to 10 points.
The spread also often incorporates half-points, such as in the example above. A Calgary win by seven points would not cover the spread. If Calgary were to be favored by seven points, and ultimately win the game by seven points, a bet on the point spread would be considered a “Push”. You would receive the original value of your bet back.
Keep in mind, pointspreads are subject to change, from the moment odds are posted until the opening kickoff of the game. Factors that impact a pointspread often include injuries and which players are expected to start. However, the greatest factor is how the general public is betting on a game. The objective of oddsmakers is to strike a balance where an equal amount of money is wagered on both sides of the spread.
This can offer you opportunities to bet against the public, and often on underdogs, finding value in the betting lines when the public is wagering based on emotion, support for a home team, or past trends.
How to Bet CFL Moneylines
While betting on the pointspread requires your favorite team to win or avoid defeat by a set number of points, moneyline bets allow you to wager on which team will win a game, regardless of the margin of victory.
Toronto Argonauts +260
Calgary Stampeders -340
In the above example, the Calgary Stampeders are listed as outright favorites to beat Toronto. However, the moneyline odds attached determine the size of the payout in the event of a victory.
In this case, Calgary is listed as a -340 favorite to win the game outright by any margin. This means you must bet $340 to win $100. Toronto is listed as a +260 underdog. Therefore, a $100 bet on an outright victory by the Argonauts will win you a tidy $260.
These odds are used because in this case the Stampeders are considered the superior team with a high expectation of earning the win. This translates into smaller payouts for you as the sports bettor. In the case of Toronto, the opposite is true. The Argonauts are viewed as the weaker team. A win by them would be considered an upset and will pay you handsomely.
As with point spreads, moneylines can rapidly change, right up until the kickoff of the game.
How to Bet CFL Totals
Pointspreads and moneyline bets focus on the winners and the losers of a game. Totals betting focuses on how many total points are scored.
Toronto Argonauts O 49.5 (-120)
Calgary Stampeders U 49.5 (+105)
The total number of points in the game between Toronto and Calgary is set at 49.5 by the oddsmakers. This means you can bet on the total number of points scored by both teams in the game to be OVER or UNDER 49.5. This is indicated by the “O” or “U” on the betting line.
An added layer of complexity is added to this wager in the form of moneyline odds. This means that if you bet on the OVER, you must wager $120 to win $100, while a $100 bet on the UNDER will win $105.
Many factors can impact what number the total is set at for a CFL game. Style of play, injuries, and of course, unpredictable Canadian weather are major factors in determining the total, and whether you should take the OVER or the UNDER. You need to know about all these factors as you’re learning how to bet on CFL football.
How to Bet CFL Parlays and Teasers
Parlays and teasers can bring your CFL betting game to a whole new level.
Combining two or more bets into a single bet is known as a parlay. All the bets included in a parlay must win for your parlay to win, which dramatically increases the risk involved. However, odds on parlay bets, and subsequent payouts, are exponentially higher. This depends on the original moneyline odds on each portion of your parlay. It also depends on the number of bets you combine into a parlay.
You can combine as many as 20 different bets into a single parlay, including point spreads, totals, and moneylines. You can even combine bets from different leagues and sports. This means you can combine your hot picks from Friday night’s CFL games with your wagers on Saturday night NHL action. You can also throw in your best bets from Sunday afternoon NFL football into a single bet, with big odds.
Can you use Teasers for Pointspreads and Totals?
Teasers also allow you to combine multiple bets on multiple games into a single ticket, but with one big difference. With a teaser, you have the power to adjust the point spread or total on all the games listed on your ticket.
Getting extra points on a game can make the difference between winning and losing. For example, with a six-point teaser, you can move the point spread on multiple games by six points, so that the 10-point favorite is now just a four-point favorite, and the one-point underdog becomes a seven-point underdog.
You can also do the same with totals betting. Also, you can move a total from 49.5 to 54.5 and take the UNDER. You can also move to 44.5 and take the OVER.
You can tease as few as two games or as many as 10 games on a single ticket. This includes pointspreads and totals, as well. However, keep in mind that teasers provide lower odds than a parlay bet on the same games. These wagers require all your bets to be winners for you to cash in.
How to Bet CFL Live Betting
The ability to bet on point spreads, totals, moneylines, parlays, and teasers dates back decades. You can now also get into the action during the game with the Live Betting option.
Who could forget the 2017 Grey Cup, when the Toronto Argonauts went to the dressing room at halftime down by nine points? Any wily sports bettor who wagered on a Toronto comeback during the third quarter enjoyed a hefty payday after the Argonauts embarked on a fourth-quarter comeback. This led to an eventual last-minute win.
With CFL Live Betting, you can wager on all aspects of a CFL game as you watch on your favorite device, in real time. Dynamically updated odds enable you to pad or hedge your bets as the game action unfolds, with constantly changing point spreads, moneylines and totals that will change the way you watch football. These are all aspects to learn when figuring out how to bet on CFL football.