Hockey is rapidly growing as a popular betting sport.
If you’d like to add hockey to your sports betting repertoire, you might want more information on:
- How to bet on hockey online
- The best online hockey betting sites
- Types of betting odds in hockey
Keep reading to learn the ins and outs of online hockey betting, so you can make the best bets and come away with the winnings you’re hoping for.
Table of Contents
Can You Bet on Hockey Games Online?
Absolutely!
Hockey is one of the many sports you can bet on, and unlike some other sports, NHL hockey provides tons of opportunities.
A regular 82-game season with 32 teams equals 1312 regular-season games. And then there’s the Stanley Cup which adds 4 to 28 more games.
With so many games to bet on and so many ways to bet, it’s no surprise to see the sport becoming more popular with sports bettors.
If you’ve already been betting on hockey, you know that the 2020-2021 season was affected by COVID-19, and the games were reduced to 56.
For the upcoming 2021-2022 season, you’ll be happy to know that the league plans to return to its normal 82-game season, giving you lots of opportunities to place bets on your favorite teams.
Where Can I Bet on Hockey Games?
If you want to bet online, hockey is one of the many sports that lends itself to that particular betting platform.
Sportsbooks abound, so you won’t have trouble finding a site to place your online bets. But, you’ll want to be careful which particular sites you choose. We’ll give you some tips on that below.
You should also be aware that online betting is not legal in every state. So, before you start placing bets online, you should do some research to find out if you can legitimately place sports bets online in your state.
To see if sports betting is legal in your state, check out this list.
Where Can I Place a Bet on NHL Games?
As already mentioned, NHL games abound. Online sites for NHL betting are also numerous.
If you’re looking to place NHL bets, the regular season will give you ample opportunity.
For even more exciting and potentially profitable bets, the Stanley Cup may be where you want to focus your efforts — and your wallet.
In general, betting on the Stanley Cup functions much like betting on regular-season games. However, during the playoffs, many sportsbooks offer promotions and other types of bets.
“To win the series” wagers are available for each round as well as outright bets on who will win the Cup.
Or maybe you like a challenge and enjoy making long-term future bets on who will win the Stanley Cup at the beginning of the season. As teams are eliminated, the odds get stiffer and can mean big returns if you’ve made the right wagers.
If you’d like to give NHL sports bets a try but would like to avoid the bookmaker altogether, ZenSports is the hockey online betting site you’re looking for.
Zen Sports
ZenSports is the fastest, easiest, and most secure way to bet on your favorite sports — including hockey.
ZenSports offers a peer-to-peer betting marketplace that puts you in control. You can:
- Accept bets
- Create your own bets
- Bet against the house
- Use fiat
- Bet in cryptocurrency
The choice is yours.
Without a sportsbook, you can avoid slow withdrawals and deposits and high betting fees.
And do it all from your phone with the ZenSports app.
How Do You Bet on Hockey?
There are many ways to bet on hockey, and this betting variety makes wagering on hockey games exciting and engaging.
Not only can you bet on regular season and playoff game winners, but in hockey, you can also bet on:
- The number of goals scored
- The differential; or
- The future outcome of a big match
How to Bet on Hockey Online
Online hockey betting is much like betting on other sports, and many of the same types of bets are available for hockey bets as well — moneyline, future bets, parlays, live betting, multiple game bets, to name just a few.
The next section breaks down all the details for the types of bets you might see in hockey.
When betting on hockey matches, the following tips can help you make the most educated wagers:
- Watch the streaks – Pay attention to teams with either winning streaks or losing streaks. Teams with winning streaks may be the best bets.
- Special teams – Look for teams with strong power plays and penalty kills.
- Recognize the records – Pay attention to when teams play at home or away. Home ice advantage sometimes makes the home team the best bet, but watch for trends to know when that’s not the case.
- Look at schedules – With an 82-game season, there are bound to be times when a team has several road games in a row and simply gets beat up and tired. A team that’s fresh and rested may be a stronger wager.
Goalies – Know when backup goalies might be slated to start a game. (Often, in back-to-back games, a backup will start the second game.) If you place your bet before the backup goalie is announced, you’ll most likely get better odds.
4 Types of Betting Odds for Online Hockey Betting
When placing hockey bets online, understanding …
- Bookmaker’s fees
- Odds; and
- Line release times
… is important so that you can make the most educated bets possible.
Let’s take a look at four popular types of betting odds to bet on hockey games online.
#1: Standard Betting Odds
Moneyline
Betting on the moneyline is probably the most straightforward and popular bet in the NHL.
In hockey, this type of betting is simply on who will win the game.
For example, let’s say Philadelphia is playing Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is the favorite at -120, and Philadelphia is the underdog at +110.
If you bet on Pittsburgh, you’d need to bet $120 to win $100, and if you decided to bet on the underdog, your bet of $100 would result in a $110 win (along with your $100 bet).
Betting on a victorious underdog offers bigger payouts because of the risk involved.
Puck Line
Puck lines can be compared to runlines in baseball or spread in football.
Puck lines are set at an advantage of 1.5 goals for the underdog and a disadvantage of 1.5 goals for the favorite.
The underdog would have to win outright or not lose by more than one goal. On the other hand, the favorite would have to win by at least 2 goals.
Totals (Over/Under)
Totals bets in hockey are based on how many goals are scored.
In over/under bets, you bet on whether the goals will be over or under the number set by oddsmakers.
For example, if the over/under for Pittsburgh and Philadelphia is 5.5, at least 6 goals would need to be scored to win the over and a maximum of 5 goals would need to be scored to win the under.
In this type of bet, it doesn’t matter who wins the game.
However, if a push happens in an over/under bet, the bettor would simply be refunded the amount of his wager.
#2: Online Hockey Prop Bets
In prop bets, short for proposition, you bet on other parts of the game besides the outcome. Prop bets can deal with the performance of the entire team or individual players.
Some examples of popular prop bets in hockey are:
- Choosing which team will win the opening faceoff
- Guessing the time of the first score; or
- Correctly estimating the shots on goal a certain player will take
You might find more prop bets available for big-time games like playoff games or the Stanley Cup.
#3: Online Hockey Grand Salami Bets
Grand salami bets are only available for hockey and baseball.
In these types of bets, you’ll be placing a bet on all the games being played on a particular day.
Grand salami bets are totals bets where bettors may be able to choose an over/under on the total or choose whether the home or away team will score more goals.
#4: Online Hockey Futures Bets
Future bets in the NHL can be enticing but also risky.
In future bets, you predict winners of big events — like the Stanley Cup — that will happen in the future.
Since your bets are weeks or months away from being decided, odds can fluctuate significantly during the season.
Another type of future bet is predicting how many wins a team will accumulate throughout the year.
How to Find the Best Online Hockey Betting Sites
There are numerous betting sites available online, but how can you know if you are using the best ones?
Understanding the criteria to look for in a sportsbook is an important first step. Below we’ve outlined some of the most essential features to familiarize yourself with when making a choice.
Explore the Features of Each Sportsbook
Is the NHL Betting Site Licensed to Operate Legally?
When choosing a sportsbook, the most important feature to look for is licensure. For the best experience, stick with sportsbooks that are licensed to operate legally.
Placing bets with licensed entities ensures:
- The security of funds
- Faster payouts
- Other safeguards are followed
States that offer legal online sports betting should be able to provide a list of licensed sportsbooks.
Are There Convenient Options for Deposits and Withdrawals?
No matter how you bet, deposits and withdrawals will be part of the process.
When it comes to online hockey betting, you’ll want to find a site that offers several options for depositing money like:
- Credit cards
- E-wallets
- Cryptocurrency
You should be able to withdraw funds in the same way that they were deposited. The time it takes to process the withdrawals and payments can vary from a few minutes to a few days. Cryptocurrency transactions are instantaneous.
What Lines and Features Are Available in the Actual Sportsbook?
Another important feature to look for in a sportsbook focuses on what types of bets are available.
Bookmakers always have a built-in advantage, so you’ll want to find a bookmaker that will deliver the best odds.
Also, when it comes to lines, you’ll want to pay attention to line release times — when the odds for a game are released. Because of the packed NHL schedule, hockey lines are usually released the day before a match.
Are There Bonuses or Special Offers Available?
Bonuses and special offers are always enticing perks, and most bookmakers offer some variation of them.
When searching for sportsbooks, you might come across some of these common perks:
- First-time bettor incentives that match a percentage of your first bet
- Sport-specific bonuses
- Free bets
- Free bet credits
Welcome offers and other offers can be financially lucrative, so don’t underestimate them.
When considering special offers, always pay careful attention to the terms and conditions attached. Each sportsbook is different, so make sure you look at the details fully.
Explore Online Hockey Betting With ZenSports
If betting with a sportsbook doesn’t sound appealing to you, we understand.
Online hockey betting sites come with all kinds of extras that end up costing you more money and control.
ZenSports offers a unique betting platform that keeps you in the driver’s seat. You choose how you want to bet and the currency you want to use. And you can do it all without the bookmaker and his fees.
And when it comes to security, ZenSports is second-to-none. We offer a platform that is trustworthy and secure.
Bet in fiat, cryptocurrency, or our very own SPORTS tokens.
With SPORTS tokens, you’ll be able to take advantage of discounted betting fees, get cash back when reaching certain betting volumes, and earn other bonuses.
Speaking of bonuses, check out our:
- Welcome bonus where we’ll give you 5% of your first 15 days’ betting volume in our SPORTS token.
- Cash back bonuses where you can earn 2% cash back on your betting volume.
- Bonuses for making infrequent withdrawals.
- Referral bonuses where you can earn 30% of the SPORTS token betting fees paid by your referrals for the first 6 months.
Experience sports betting like never before. Download the ZenSports app today.
