OntarioBets.com, which is part of the Gambling.com Group network, has conducted a survey on Canadian sports betting habits following the launch of the Ontario online sports wagering market in early April.
The survey asked over 250 Ontarians about their betting habits, including who they wagered with, what sports they wagered on, and what type of bet they like to place.
Money Line bets were the most popular form of wagering amongst those surveyed with 24.51%, followed by Points Spread (15.02%), Over/Under (12.65%), Live Betting (12.25%), Future Bets (5.14%), Parlay Bets (4.74%), and Teasers (1.58%).
50.2% of bettors don’t place more than one bet per sporting event, females made up 40% of sports bettors in Canada, while 30.8% were 30 to 44 years old. 98% of sports bettors haven’t allowed sports betting to affect their personal life.
Commenting on the results, Max Bichsel, VP of Business Development for OntarioBets.com, said: “It’s been six weeks since regulated sports betting launched in Ontario and OntarioBets.com launched, so we conducted a survey to determine the trends of the habits and preferences of sports betting in the province.
“The results were largely what we expected, 3 in 10 respondents said they placed bets at least once a week which is typical – across markets it’s average for 3-5 of 10 sports bettors to place bets once a week.”
Per sportsbook, Bet365 (17.79%) was the most popular choice, followed by BetMGM (16.60%), FanDuel (11.46%), Caesars Sportsbook (7.51%), PointsBet (7.11%), and BetRivers (1.58%).
However, the biggest unexpected result was that the NBA (27.67%) is the most popular league to bet on amongst Canadians, ahead of the NHL (22.13%). The NBA and NHL were followed by the NFL (13.04%), MLB (8.3%), EPL (2.77%), and CFL (0.79%).
“The most surprising result was the NBA being the most popular league to bet on amongst Canadian sports fans, surpassing NHL,” Bischsel added. “This may be attributed to a successful Raptors season as fans generally bet more actively when their team is performing well.”
While the NBA is currently the favorite league for Ontarians to wager on, Bischsel notes that the NHL is still the ‘cornerstone’ of Canadian sports, especially with the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers making deep runs into the playoffs.
He stated: “Hockey remains a cornerstone of Canadian sports with Maple Leafs, Flames, and Oilers all making post-season runs at the Stanley Cup.
“As we continue to see the market expand and more operators enter the space, we’re excited to see how Ontarians’ betting habits evolve.”
Bichsel recently spoke to SBC Americas to examine the Canadian market and what the future holds for the country as more provinces regulate sports wagering.
