Sports betting is and always has been one of the most popular pastimes. However, in the 21st century, the practice has become more popular than ever. Reasons for this vary. For one, sports in general are a lot more popular now than ever before. However, one of the main reasons for wagering’s popularity is the rise of online sports betting.
Online sports betting is exactly what it sounds like. Placing wagers on your favorite sports through the internet. There are a ton of excellent websites that cover popular sports, like football, soccer, horse racing, and more. On top of that, sports betting websites also tend to offer some excellent promotions, welcome bonuses, and other perks that make wagering a lot easier and more entertaining.
Recently, the Canadian government has deemed it worthy to legalize sports betting. According to studies, prior to the legalization, Canadians spent over a billion dollars wagering at offshore accounts. Now that sports betting is legal, that money goes to legal sportsbooks, and back into circulation.
Canada has a long-standing love for sports. In this article, we would like to explore the most popular and beloved sports in Canada and talk about the ones that Canadians love betting on most.
Ice Hockey
Very few will be surprised to learn that ice hockey is the most popular sport to wager on among a Canadian crowd. Most associate the sport with the country, and for good reason. The ice variant on hockey first started in the country of the maple leaf.
And speaking of maple leafs, the Toronto-based professional team is among the most popular hockey teams in the country, despite their recent blunders. Founded in 1917, the Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League, one of the USA’s four major league sport events.
Canadians develop a love for hockey at a very early age. Skating is a skill that most Canada residents learn as children, most take up hockey as early as elementary school, and kids follow games with their family. So, it is no surprising that ice hockey is Canada’s favorite betting sport, and will likely continue to be in the future.
However, hockey is not the only sport that Canadians have developed a deep love of. So, let us take a look at other athletic competitions that push Canada’s residents to visit the sportsbooks.
Basketball
Basketball was invented in the late 19th/early 20th century, by American-Canadian physician and physical educator, James Naismith. So, it is unsurprising that Canada still has deep love and respect for the sport today. Throughout the years, the sport has grown in popularity in the country, reaching its apex in 2019.
But, what happened in 2019 to attract so many Canadians to basketball? Well, 2019 was the year when the underdog team, the Toronto Raptors, managed to reach the National Basketball Association finals, and even defeat the hitherto-believed-unbeatable Golden State Warriors, winning the championship in doing so.
And while the Raptors have not managed to recapture their 2019 glory, the sport remains incredibly popular among Canadians today. Sportsbooks have noted an uptick of bets from Canada during the basketball season.
Golf
Golf has a long, sordid, and controversial history. Debate rages on to this day on whether the sport began in the Netherlands, Scotland, or has been around from an earlier age. The consensus seems to be that golf as we know it today came about in the Scottish Highlands in the 15th century. However, it wasn’t until the Victorian Age that the game became internationally popular.
It was during the 1800s that Canadians adopted the sport, and it quickly became one of the most popular and beloved sports in the country. Today, Canada is among the top five countries where golf is most popular. With its sprawling fields, luxurious golf courts, and round-the-year tournaments, Canada has managed to produce some incredibly successful pros in the sport.
But, how popular is the sport among a betting audience? Well, as golf is not a seasonal sport, it certainly has an advantage over many. Golf tournaments occur all year around, allowing bettors to wager at any point during the year. It is precisely this fact that makes golf one of the most popular sports to bet on, not just in Canada, but in general.
Canadian Football
Many people around the world are familiar with “American football.” However, few know about its northern counterpart, Canadian football. Much like the American variant, Canadian football is a form of gridiron that derived from Rugby. While Canadians may not be as passionate about Canadian football as Americans are about American football, they still love the sport. In fact, it is among the three most popular sports in the country.
Naturally, the popularity of the sport also makes it incredibly popular to bet on. Canadian fans follow gridiron games, passionately cheer on their favorite teams, and place wagers on some of the most popular Canada-based sportsbooks that cover the games extensively.
Though there are quite a few differences between Canadian and American football, the two have enough similarities for their fans to overlap. Which means that many Canadians are very likely to follow American football as well. And unsurprisingly, American football is also quite a popular betting sport, especially in the southern regions of Canada.
Honorable Mentions
In this article, we have covered four of Canada’s favorite betting sports. However, as we said before, Canadians have a deep love and passion for a wide variety of sports. And while the four discussed are certainly popular among many bettors, they are not the only ones worth talking about. So, in this section, we would like to list off a few sports that attract quite a large betting crowd:
Lacrosse (among the most popular sports in the country)
Baseball (certainly one of the most popular sports to wager on)
Cricket (with 2.5 billion fans, cricket is the second most popular sport in the world)
Soccer (undoubtedly the most popular sport in the world, garnering over 3 billion fans worldwide)
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
