Each week, Canada Sports Betting recaps all the top sports betting and iGaming news in Canada, highlights the event of the week, and takes a look ahead at some of the most intriguing games to bet on over the weekend.
Our top stories this week
- Canada One Of The Favourites As FIBA World Cup Camp Opens
- CFL Week 9 Odds, Betting Preview: Blue Bombers Favoured To Exact Revenge On Lions
- A Look At MLB Futures Odds Following The Trade Deadline: Astros, Rangers Make Biggest Moves
- PGA Wyndham Championship Golf Odds, Betting Preview: Struggling Justin Thomas Desperate For A Strong Finish
- Canada’s World Cup Run Ends In Disappointment For Bettors
Event of the week
MLB – Red Sox vs. Blue Jays – Aug. 4-6
The Toronto Blue Jays have a huge three-game weekend series against the Boston Red Sox beginning Friday night at Fenway Park that could have serious playoff implications.
With less than two months remaining in the season, Toronto enters play Thursday 2 1/2 games ahead of Boston for the final AL wild-card spot. More troubling is that the Red Sox have had Toronto’s number this year, taking all seven of the previous meetings this season.
Oddsmakers at bet365 believe the Blue Jays are a playoff team as evidenced by the -300 odds they’ve given them to make the playoffs this year. FanGraphs is giving Toronto a 68.1% chance of playing October baseball, while Boston’s odds are just 23.2% to qualify for the postseason.
Toronto is hosting Baltimore for the finale of their four-game series on Thursday, while Boston is enjoying a day off before welcoming the Blue Jays to town.
CFL partners with NEO.bet
Just over a month after FanDuel announced it was an authorized gaming partner of the CFL, NEO.bet also announced a partnership in Ontario with Canada’s football league on Tuesday.
NEO.bet went live in Ontario with its sportsbook and iCasino platforms last April, roughly one month after securing a gaming license with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
“Our partnership with the CFL will become the foundation as we introduce millions of Ontarians to a higher standard of iGaming – a standard where the safety and security of the customer are placed above profits; where the drive to deliver a better-quality product with technological innovations and unparalleled reliability take precedence over traditional business objectives,” said NEO.bet CEO Thomas Louis.
NEO.bet, A German-facing bookmaker, is owned by Reactive Betting Ltd., which is also licensed in Malta. The operator describes itself as a low-margin sportsbook that offers odds on more than 25 sports and 9,000 live events each month.
Neo.bet is also the official sports betting partner of German soccer clubs SV Darmstadt 98 and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
iGaming Ontario’s New Chair
Last Friday, iGaming Ontario announced Heidi Reinhart as its new Chair, replacing Dave Forestell who was recently appointed as the Chair of the AGCO last week.
Reinhart is a Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, a member of the Ontario Securities Commission’s Securities Advisory Committee and also a member of the Toronto Stock Exchange Listing Advisory Committee. She has also served on the AGCO Board of Directors since 2020.
Forestell became Chair of iGaming Ontario upon its inception in July 2021 with the goal to conduct and manage Ontario’s new regulated iGaming market.
Nick Taylor stops by theScore
The most recent RBC Canadian Open champion, Nick Taylor, stopped by theScore’s headquarters in Toronto this week.
If you can recall, Taylor, who hails from Winnipeg, drained a massive 72-foot putt to become the first Canadian since 1954 to win the event.
As an official gaming partner of Golf Canada, theScore Bet has hosted some interesting marketing activations on the grounds of the RBC Canadian Open the past two years. This year, fans had the opportunity to play a 150-yard, par-3 hole on the grounds at Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto. Back in 2022, theScore rolled out its Skyline Seats activation that sent fans 100 feet into the air for an aerial view of the course and downtown Toronto at St. George’s Golf and Country Club.
Reports surfaced Thursday that the RBC Canadian Open date will be pushed back a week earlier to the end of May in 2024, two weeks before the U.S. Open. This could entice more of the top-ranked players to attend the event in the future, as many of them have historically taken the week before the major off for rest and preparation.
CGA Announces New Members
The Canadian Gaming Association, a national trade association that represents leading operators and suppliers in Canada’s gaming, sports betting, eSports, and lottery industries, announced four new members on Thursday:
- Bragg Gaming Group
- MNP LLP
- Dickinson Wright LLP
- GG Poker
The CGA’s members represent the gaming industry’s leading operators, manufacturers, suppliers and other stakeholders nation-wide, contributing to the nation’s economy with integrity and social responsibility. Some of the known sports betting operators that are CGA members include: Caesars, Bet99, PointsBet, DraftKings, FanDuel, NorthStar Bets, theScore Bet, BetMGM, and many others.
