Depending on where you live, ‘sports betting in Canada’ can mean wildly different things.
In most of the country, like all gambling, sports betting is controlled by provincial lotteries. So, for about 60% of the population, legal gambling goes down on provincial portals, including PlayNow, Espacejeux and ALC.ca.
The other 40% live in Ontario. Thanks to the province’s budding open market, those lucky ducks have a swath of legal Ontario online sportsbooks and casinos.
Sadly, I am part of the former, beholden to Nova Scotia regulations and Atlantic Lottery’s betting fare. Despite that, I wanted to give Super Bowl 57 betting a go again, even if my options were limited.
So, that’s what I did. Here’s how it went.
Ontario sports betting offers bettors an alternate reality
Last year, when I placed my first-ever sports bets on the Super Bowl, Canada was nearly 6 months into legal single-event sports betting.
At the time, Ontario was about 7 weeks away from launching its groundbreaking (and legally questionable) open market.
Being Scotian, I wasn’t particularly happy about sticking with ALC’s odds. But, knowing that, legally, Canadians everywhere suffered the same provincial fate offered petty comfort.
Now, that’s no longer the case.
And this year, after a taste of Ontario’s abundance during recent visits, my legal betting prospects seemed even less inspired.
But, when life gives you lemons, you suck it up and make Stadium Bets on ALC’s Proline like a big girl. In this case, I made a $30 deposit (just call me Daddy Warbucks) and then a few small wagers.
Low-risk bets offer big entertainment for casual bettors
When I say small, I mean tiny.
I spent $14 on Super Bowl 57, $6 on Oscars and curling futures, and $10 on lotto.
Of the $14 in football bets, three were $2 wagers, and eight were $1 bets. While such tiny bets may seem a pittance to many, the micro-sized risks make perfect sense to me.
I mean, my NFL knowledge is novice, at best. I don’t need to lose big to reap the extra excitement that making a few sports bets brings to the big game. (Or any game I choose to bet on, for that matter.)
Instead, I take things up a notch by throwing in a couple of ridiculous 8-leg, $1 parlays.
While it’s unlikely any of these Hail Marys will ever hit, to me, the possibility alone is worth the dollar lost when they ultimately fail.
As it turns out, this wasn’t the year for a Super Bowl betting miracle.
And while I lost more bets than I won, I still came out with $18.69 in winning wagers. And, despite the size, that $4.69 sports betting profit was unexpected and welcome.
That counts as a win, even if it’s not enough to cover my favourite Friday night takeout.
Nova Scotia and other provinces deserve more sports betting options too
Despite my unwanted yet decent experience with ALC’s Proline, I still wish its football offering had more Super Bowl markets. I’m sure at least some Canadians in other provinces that aren’t Ontario agree: we feel left out.
Specifically, I would have liked to partake in some novelty betting. Things like the coin toss, anthem length and Rihanna’s opening tune are right up my alley.
Seriously, I would have made mini-bank when RiRi kicked off the show with BBHMM.
And, unlike my colleague, I’m a fan of live in-game betting. But unfortunately, none was available via ALC.
In fact, the differences between sports betting in Ontario and sports betting elsewhere in Canada were even more apparent after reading Dave’s account of an overwhelming Ontario Super Bowl 57 betting experience.
His live-betting follow-up only cemented the extent of the divide. And my envy, despite the chatter he had to contend with, keeps me hoping Nova Scotia will one day have more online gambling choices, too.
Until then, I’ll bide my time with Stadium Bets despite my Proline blues.
