Top sports betting apps like PointsBet, BetMGM, Fanduel, Betrivers, DraftKings, and Caesars are loaded and ready to give Canadians a myriad of ways to bet on the NBA. Canadians will flock to NBA betting as it’s simple to understand and perfect for anyone new to sports betting.
Needless to say, Raptors odds will also be a premium odds board daily during the season. Get ahead of the game with our complete guide to how to bet on the NBA online in Canada below.
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How to bet the NBA online in Canada
Basketball betting at legal online sportsbook apps is a simple three-step process that starts with signing up for an account and making a deposit. Then, you can enjoy NBA betting online by filling out bet slips.
1. Sign up for an account
You can sign up for an account with a sportsbook app through its website or on the app itself. Just fill out the registration form with the required personal information, including fields like your name, email address, and phone number. You may also be asked to enter a sportsbook promo or bonus code.
You can find that on PlayCanada, and entering the right one will ensure you get the best bonus available.
2. Make a deposit
You will be able to deposit betting money into your mobile account using a number of available deposit methods, including:
- Interac
- InstaDebit
- PaySafeCard
- Visa/MasterCard
- EntroPay
- eChecks
3. Place bets
Placing bets is all about filling out a bet slip. Browse the NBA betting markets and click on any bet you like. A bet slip will be instantly created where you can fill in the amount you wish to wager and place the bet.
You can also add other bets to the same bet slip, and turn those bets into a parlay. Just fill in the amount you want to bet on each, review the potential payouts for each bet, and place each bet on the slip by clicking the ‘Place Bet‘ tab at the bottom.
Best Sportsbooks for Betting NBA
PointsBet Sportsbook: Up to 1,000 NBA markets per game
As one of the NBA’s official authorized sports betting operators, PointsBet is among the top sportsbook destinations for NBA betting. In fact, PointsBet claims to offer among the most markets on NBA games in the world, up to 1,000 per game.
As a part of its agreement with the NBA, PointsBet has also integrated its Win Probability Metric across various NBA platforms, including the NBA.com website. The Win Probability Metric Powered by PointsBet has real-time insight and projected game outcomes using the same analytics and stats employed in setting NBA lines at PointsBet.
PointsBet also features official NBA betting data as a part of the deal.
PointsBet considers itself a cutting-edge bookmaker with quick and user-friendly apps for iOS and Android phones and tablets. It also takes pride in providing great content and experiences for sports bettors. This includes PointsBet’s unique PointsBetting system where bets win more or lose more depending on score differential.
PointsBet also runs some unique promos, like Good Karma Payouts and Early Payouts. These promos have paid out on some losing bets where bad beats or significant injustices have affected the outcome and others even before the action is settled.
For example in 2019, PointsBet issued Early Payouts on all bets on the Golden State Warriors to win the 2019 NBA Finals more than a week ahead of the start of the series. The Toronto Raptors ended up beating the Warriors in the NBA Finals.
On opening night of the next NBA season, PointsBet issued a Good Karma Payout to anyone that bet on the New Orleans Pelicans +6.5 against the Raptors. New Orleans led in the final minute of a game but ended up losing by eight in overtime. When it was revealed Klay Thompson would miss a second season year in a row a season later, PointsBet offered refunds on all Warriors NBA Title and Western Conference futures.
PointsBet guarantees it will honor a minimum bet-to-win amount of $10,000 for all customers betting on NBA playoff games, a sign that serious NBA bettors are welcome and sharps will not be banned or have bets limited to small amounts only.
BetMGM app for NBA betting
MGM Resorts is the Official Gaming Partner of the NBA. MGM Resorts is also the Official Gaming Partner of several individual NBA teams, including the Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Memphis Grizzlies.
In the meantime, the BetMGM online sportsbook is the official betting partner of the NBA and the official sports betting partner of the Philadelphia 76ers. Because of this, and the fact BetMGM says its aim is to offer the best NBA odds, NBA futures, and NBA Draft odds around, BetMGM has positioned itself as one of the best places to bet on the NBA.
You can expect NBA championship odds, NBA parlays, moneylines, in-game betting, and NBA player prop bets, plus the sportsbook has run various promotions surrounding the NBA at its US sportsbooks.
The NBA partnered with Turner Sports and BetMGM to launch NBABet during the 2021 NBA Playoffs. This is a betting-focused content initiative hosted across the NBA’s digital and social platforms that includes the NBABet presented by BetMGM studio show that aired on NBA TV during the first two rounds of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
It also includes the new NBABet Stream video service, which offers additional camera angles, commentary, analysis, and betting information to NBA League Pass and NBA TV subscribers during NBA game broadcasts. BetMGM provides all the odds and lines for this service.
FanDuel Sportsbook for NBA Odds
FanDuel has been the Official Daily Fantasy Partner of the NBA since 2014. That partnership was expanded in 2018, making FanDuel Sportsbook an Authorized Gaming Operator of the NBA. That gives the sportsbook access to official NBA betting data and the right to use league marks and logos.
FanDuel Sportsbook now offers a big variety of NBA bets, including everything from individual game lines to NBA Finals, Conference and Division Winners Futures, Player Futures, Parlay Futures, Season Leader, To Make The Playoffs, and Regular Season Win Total bets.
NBA-related promos run on FanDuel have included a 3+ Leg same game parlay on any NBA game with up to a $10 refund in site credit if the bet loses.
Add it up and it’s easy to see why FanDuel Sportsbook is a popular choice for your NBA betting action. There’s additional value for NBA bettors to be found in FanDuel’s NBA Betting Hub, a complete guide to betting on the NBA with FanDuel.
Further ties to the NBA for FanDuel include the launch of a retail FanDuel Sportsbook lounge inside the Footprint Center where the Phoenix Suns play. The 7,400 square-foot sportsbook is open year-round and includes:
- 26 self-service betting kiosks
- 5 live betting windows
- 1 VIP window
- 40 HD TVs
- 35-foot video wall
It’s the first sportsbook built inside an NBA arena. FanDuel has also been designated the Phoenix Suns Official Sportsbook and Daily Fantasy Sports Partner.
BetRivers app for NBA betting
BetRivers Online Sportsbook app is not an Official Sports Betting Partner of the NBA, or one of the league’s official Authorized Sports Betting Operators. However, BetRivers is the official betting partner of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and New Orleans Pelicans.
The partnership includes the launch of the free-to-play game, Fan Pick’em – presented by BetRivers, on the Pistons app. Promotions for exclusive Detroit Pistons prizes and experiences are common and BetRivers is authorized to use the official Pistons logos and marks to promote the BetRivers brand. The deal with the Pels gets BetRivers signage throughout the Smoothie King Center and courtside ticket holders now head to the BetRivers Chairman Lounge.
BetRivers also offers a wide variety of standard pre-game and live NBA betting options alongside a number of NBA-related promotions.
Valuable NBA betting content offered up by BetRivers includes GTG’s iSport Genius NBA data, facts, and insight. Plus, BetRivers’ new sports betting “CityCasts” podcasts in Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia, focusing on local NBA teams during the NBA season. These local podcasts are also headed to New York, Denver, Washington DC, and Los Angeles as well, where they will offer even more local NBA betting content.
DraftKings Sportsbook app for NBA betting
DraftKings Sportsbook is also on the NBA’s list of Authorized Sports Betting Operators, making it one of the top sportsbooks for betting on the league. The deal lets DraftKings use official NBA trademarks and the league’s official sports betting data.
DraftKings also has various Fantasy Sports and/or sportsbook partnerships with a growing list of individual NBA franchises including the:
- Indiana Pacers
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Detroit Pistons
- Boston Celtics
- Charlotte Hornets
DraftKings offers up the most live betting options out there for NBA games and says the NBA is the most popular sport for live betting on its platform, with close to half of the money bet on NBA basketball games coming via in-game bets. The sportsbook also employs Simplebet micro-betting tech for NBA games, increasing those live betting options.
NBA promos on the DraftKings Sportsbook app can be, for example:
- The King vs The Chef, LeBron vs Curry, tip-off game promo; make a pre-game moneyline bet on the Lakers or Warriors on opening night and earn $2 towards a bet for every point your team’s star scores
NBA point spreads, moneylines & over/unders
Basic NBA game lines include moneylines, point spreads, and totals:
- How to bet the moneyline: Bet on the team you think will win the game. Posted odds are negative for favorites and positive for underdogs. Negative odds tell you how much you have to bet to win $100. Positive odds tell you how much you stand to win for every $100 bet.
- How to bet the point spread: Bet on the team you think will win the game with a line set by oddsmakers factored into the final score. Add the points to the underdog or subtract them from the favorite. Book the bet at currently posted moneyline odds.
- How to bet over/unders: Bet on whether the two teams in a game will combine to score more or fewer points than a line set by oddsmakers. Book the bet at currently posted moneyline odds.
NBA props & futures betting
NBA props and futures allow you to go a little deeper than basic game lines. Prop bets involve betting on games within a game and mostly surround player and team statistics. This might include an over/under on a specific player’s single-game scoring total or a team’s turnover total.
Futures involve seasonal betting. In the NBA futures market, you might bet on a team to win the NBA Finals, its division, or its conference. You might also bet on seasonal win totals or a team’s chances of making the playoffs. Futures are booked at currently posted moneyline odds that are available all year long and may change alongside a team’s chances. However, you lock in the odds at the time you place a futures bet.
Betting on the NBA Playoffs & NBA Finals
Sportsbook apps will post all kinds of odds on the NBA Playoffs. That means bets on series wins in the new Play-In Tournament and the entire NBA Playoffs. The more specific you are with betting on the outcome of each series, including the number of games, the better the odds will be.
Plus, futures will be available on conference and NBA Finals winners, and traditional single-game betting will be available for every game throughout the NBA Playoffs.
For 2021, the NBA introduced a Play-In Tournament for the No. 7-10 seeds in each conference. This tournament will have the No . 7 and No. 10 seeds and No. 8 and No. 9 seeds play a one to two-game series where the No . 7 and No. 8 seeds can get in the playoffs with one win and the No. 10 and No. 9 seeds need two.
The traditional 16-team, four-round, seven-game series will remain the baseline for the NBA Playoffs. The NBA Finals will begin in June as usual, after being pushed into July in 2021.
In-game NBA betting
Sportsbook apps really ramp up the NBA betting magnitude by offering live betting. That means betting on NBA games after tipoff at odds that change with the action on the court and the score on the board.
In-game NBA betting is mostly the same betting markets you bet on before the game at ever-changing odds, but quarter by quarter and half by half. Plus, additional NBA in-game prop markets are available.
The odds can change fast, which makes a sportsbook app on your phone—or multiple apps—the best way to keep up and get your bets in instantly as the odds change.
How to Bet on Sports Guide
How to Bet on the Raptors
Betting on the NBA in Canada usually involves betting on the Toronto Raptors. After all, the Raptors are Canada’s only NBA team.
Toronto Raptors
- Established: 1995
- Home Court: Scotiabank Arena (Formerly Air Canada Center)
- Opened: Feb. 19, 1999
- Address: 40 Bay St, Toronto, ON M5J 2X2, Canada
- Capacity: 19,800
- Division: Atlantic
- Conference: Eastern
- NBA Championships: 1 (2019)
- Eastern Conference Titles: 1 (2019)
- Division Titles: 7 (2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020)
- Head Coach: Nick Nurse
- Current All Stars: Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam
- 2020-21 NBA Championship Odds: +5500
- 2021-21 NBA Eastern Conference Championship Odds: +2000
- 2020-21 Win Total Line: 41.5
Additional Raptors bets you can expect to find on Canadian sportsbook apps should include:
- Bet on individual Raptors players with NBA MVP odds, DPOY, MIP, ROY, etc.
- Bet on individual Raptors prop bets per game (point, rebounds, assists, blocks, etc.)
- Raptors team win totals, offensive/defensive rankings, etc.
More NBA teams near Canada you can bet on:
Best NBA bets for beginners
Those who are NBA betting newbies should probably stick to the sports betting basics. That mostly means moneyline betting, where all you have to do is pick winners.
You can also take a flyer on your favourite teams or your favourites to win the NBA title this season in the NBA futures markets. These bets are easy enough to follow and pay decent odds on most teams to win it all. Particularly if you get a bet down in the offseason or early in the season.
Bored with the basics and want to make a few more more advanced NBA bets? Dipping a toe into the world of NBA parlay betting is easy enough for beginners. Just pick a couple of moneyline winners on a single night’s NBA schedule to string together in a parlay.
The parlay will pay better than the bets would on their own, but you must win them all, so limiting the size of the parlay is always a good idea for beginners. These bets are harder to win, but they’re easy to place and don’t stray too far from the idea that NBA betting beginners should stick to the basics.
Why stick to legal NBA betting sites in Canada
You may be tempted to bet on the NBA with non-licensed online sportsbooks that offer competitive NBA odds, but it’s not a good idea.
Once a provincial government approves online sports betting, for example, Ontario sports betting, it has vetted and licensed sportsbooks and offers you somewhere to turn if you have an issue. Offshore online sportsbooks don’t and never will, which means you’re taking a bit of a risk with your money.
Sticking to legal and regulated sportsbooks means betting on competitive lines, taking advantage of great bonuses and promotions, and real consumer protections backed by provincial governments. It’s a good idea because betting on sports is enough of a gamble all by itself.
Vegas sportsbook odds vs. online sportsbook odds
NBA game odds open the same at sports betting apps as they do inside Las Vegas sportsbooks. However, they might not look the same by tipoff.
That’s because all sportsbooks set the lines to draw an equal amount of betting on each side, so they can realize the vig and earn a small profit without sweating the outcome. Then, if more money is bet on one side, they’ll move that line to try to even it out again.
The thing is, money isn’t bet equally at all sportsbooks, so while one might move a line, it might stay the same at another.
NBA betting rules at sportsbooks
Just like there are rules that govern basketball, all sports betting apps have rules for NBA betting. These rules are published and include various terms, conditions, and basic procedures for betting and payouts.
You should read these rules before betting on the NBA with a mobile sports betting app. You can also look through some of the general NBA betting rules applied by most sports betting apps right here:
- Statistics provided by the NBA and its official website are used to settle bets.
- If a game is not played on its scheduled date, all bets are considered no action and returned.
- NBA games must go at least 43 minutes, or all bets are considered no action and returned.
- Quarters and halves must be complete, or all quarter or half bets are considered no action and returned.
- Complete game and second-half bets include overtime if it occurs, but fourth quarter bets do not.
NBA betting partnerships in Canada
Legal privately run online and mobile sportsbooks have launched in Ontario. As a result, there are truly Canadian sportsbooks that can call themselves NBA partners or the official sportsbook of the NBA.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has partnered with the NBA on several different initiatives over the past few seasons. Plus, Canadian sports media and gaming company theScore inked a multi-year deal to become an authorized betting operator of the NBA in 2020.
TheScore’s sports betting app, theScore Bet, now uses official NBA betting data, league trademarks, and logos as a result. The sportsbook app launched in September 2019 but is currently available only in New Jersey.
Most important “Canadian” NBA moments of all time
Here’s a look at arguably the top five most important dates in Canadian NBA history:
- Nov. 1, 1946: The Toronto Huskies played the New York Knickerbockers in Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens in the Basketball Association of America’s first game. The Huskies were gone after that inaugural season, but the league lived on, becoming the NBA three years later.
- Sept. 30, 1993: The Toronto Raptors were awarded an expansion franchise set to begin playing in the 1995-96 season. On Feb. 14, 1994, the NBA gave preliminary approval for a team in Vancouver as well. Full approval for the Vancouver Grizzlies came on April 27, 1994, but the Grizz left Van City for Memphis following the 2000–01 season, making the Raps Canada’s only NBA team.
- Feb. 11, 2000: Vince Carter wins the NBA Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend in Oakland, California, in dramatic fashion. The buzz about Carter’s win puts the Raptors and Carter himself in the NBA conversation for the first time ever.
- June 28, 2013 and June 27, 2014: The Cleveland Cavaliers took UNLV forward Anthony Bennett No. 1 overall in the 2013 NBA Draft. A year later, the Cavs were up first again and took Kansas forward Andrew Wiggins first overall. Both are Canadians, marking the first time two Canadian kids were taken first overall in consecutive years.
- June 13, 2019: The Toronto Raptors win Game 6 of the NBA Finals at the Golden State Warriors, capturing the franchise’s first NBA Championship.
Bet on CEBL, Olympic Basketball
Sportsbook apps may also allow betting on the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL).
This Canadian pro basketball league was founded in 2017 and began to play with six centrally owned teams across the country in 2019. There are now seven CEBL teams, including four in Ontario and one each from British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. The teams play 26 regular-season games from May to August followed by six-team playoffs and final four Championship Weekend.
Canadian sportsbook apps may also allow betting on Olympic Basketball.
Single-game NBA betting vs. parlay betting
Single-game NBA betting in Canada is a game changer. Previously, legal NBA betting in Canada was limited to parlay betting with provincial lotteries. That meant you had to combine at least two bets on a ticket, making every bet that much harder to win.
Having to always pick multiple winners turns your NBA bets into more of a lottery ticket than a true sports bet. And the odds these sanctioned parlays paid were never close to the true odds of stringing together multiple NBA winners.
Single-game betting brings fair odds on every NBA game to the market, including traditional spreads, moneylines, and totals (over/under). You can also expect a ton of single-game team and player prop bets (from how many points a player will score to which team will win the second half) and NBA futures bets that last the course of the season.
You can still bet parlays; you can just bet them at odds closer to the true odds of picking multiple NBA winners.