Betting Real Money on NHL Hockey
Updated: 22.08.2025
22.08.2025
For more than a century, the National Hockey League has been the premier hockey league in North America, captivating fans like few others. For almost as long, people have been betting on the NHL, though often in informal or illegal ways. But now you can bet with real money, in a way that is both legal and safe, at the very best sites for betting on the NHL.
Betting on the NHL requires more than just knowing the game and the types of bets that can be placed on the NHL. It also requires an understanding of how to choose among the NHL betting sites available to you online and with which to place your bets. By combining this knowledge, you can become a handicapper in terms of making educated NHL bets.
This thorough NHL betting guide covers every facet of the undertaking, from picking a betting site to getting your head around U.S. hockey odds in time for the next season.
We will inform you about the absolute best NHL betting platforms and delve into their many beneficial qualities. In addition to this, we will cover the tips one must have in their possession when partaking in the act of betting on the NHL and the many different types of formations a bet can take when placed on this particular league.
- Best NHL Betting Site
- Top NHL Betting App
- More Safe NHL Sites
- NHL Betting Options
- Basic NHL Betting Tips
- NHL Structure and Format
- Other US Major Leagues;
Best NHL Betting Site – BetUS
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Year Launched: 1994
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Welcome Bonus: 100% for sports up to $2,500 + 25% for casino up to $625
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Crypto: Yes
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US Players Accepted: Yes
At BetUS the NHL betting section is very user friendly. You can easily navigate through it and see all the options available to you. When you make your way to the actual betting lines, you will notice that they are quite easy to understand. Straight bets and money lines are obviously not complicated, but even some of the other types of bets, such as the puck line, are still not too difficult to figure out if you are a novice bettor.
The National Hockey League odds provided by this site are consistently superior to those offered by other online hockey sportsbooks.
Using this service has a truly impressive aspect.
The selection of bets available is also far better than what you’re likely going to be able to find at other sites.
There is an impressive range of futures bets available, from picking individual athletes to win awards to picking teams to dominate their divisions or win the underdog Stanley Cup. This range will appeal to experienced bettors.
For those of you who enjoy betting on the go, the BetUS app offers all the NHL betting lines you would find on the main site. It's just so damn convenient to have this at your fingertips.
Navigating the app is easy, whether you are an avid puck wagerer or trying it for the first time. You'll enjoy the intuitive layout.
All of this is worth mentioning, but what really affects your success in online hockey betting with BetUS are the sportsbook bonuses themselves. These are exclusive to the BetUS BetOnline platform and come in the form of various promotions linked to deposits made with a specific payment method; in this case, we're talking about deposits made with cryptocurrency.
We have looked at every NHL betting application and site you could possibly come across. Notably, BetUS rose to the top. BetUS is a secure site that ranks high in convenience and offers all the features you could want when betting on hockey. Their mobile application is equally competent and allows you to bet on the go.
Top NHL Betting App – MyBookie
- Year launched: 2014
- Welcome bonus: 100 percent sports welcome bonus (doubling your deposit)
- Crypto: Yes
- US players accepted: Yes
One feature of MyBookie that you'll notice right away when you visit their app is the way they present the variety of prop bets available on the NHL. Prop bets are a mainstay of the app, right alongside traditional bet types, and that's no surprise considering how popular these novelty bets are among punters. Having that kind of variety simply gives you a lot more opportunities to win.
For example, the list of NHL games on MyBookie has a link to the various props next to each game. Many of these props are tied to team performance. But as you get into the bigger NHL events like the All-Star Game or the Stanley Cup, you'll see individual player props pop up as well.
Check out the live NHL betting opportunities available in the MyBookie app. When a game is in progress, the oddsmakers are working hard to give you betting options that will keep you on your toes. And because they do, you're given opportunities to find value that you might not otherwise find when the game is in progress.
Expect MyBookie to offer you regular bonuses. These go above and beyond what you'd normally expect and include features that boost your account balance, give you rebates on your not-so-winning bets, and even combine with certain specific events in the hockey world to create some very unique offerings.
You get all of this on an app that is a breeze to use and never glitches out, as is the case with some lesser mobile betting sites.
We would definitely recommend MyBookie if you want to place your NHL bets online and on the go. You won't find a more convenient or reliable service among NHL betting apps.
More Safe NHL Sportsbooks Online
Above we give you what we think are the absolute best sites and apps for betting on NHL hockey. But they're not the only ones worthy of consideration.
The work has been done by our researchers to find more trustworthy NHL betting sites that will provide you with the best possible betting experience.
It is very important to make serious choices about sites.
A betting site that is either bad or untrustworthy can cause serious damage.
Below we have listed a number of sites that do an excellent job in the areas mentioned above. Below is a look at a few more that we believe in, in addition to BetUS and MyBookie.
What do we look for when selecting the best real money NHL betting sites? Here are the main features that an online sportsbook should have if it wants to be considered a good option for betting on the NHL.
NHL Coverage
Access to a wide range of NHL betting markets, even down to the live betting level, is a pretty important factor in choosing where to place your bets. It gives you the freedom to choose the types of bets that appeal to you, rather than being forced into types of bets that you may not feel comfortable with.
NHL Bonuses and Promotions
Hockey betting bonuses are a necessary part of any NHL betting site. The bigger the bonuses and the less strings attached to them, the better your chances of making a profit on your NHL bets.
NHL Odds
Make sure that the site you choose features NHL betting odds that are competitive.
Mobile NHL Betting
Look for online sportsbooks for the NHL that come with an excellent mobile component.
There will be a lot of hockey betting available to you during the season.
You don't want to find yourself shut out if the site you choose doesn't have an app.
We've also included general ranking considerations that apply to all of the leading NFL online sportsbooks. Let's take a look at those as well.
- Safety and Security
- First and foremost, you need to be able to trust that the site in question is safe. Arriving at a site that is not on the level can result in your personal and/or financial information being put at risk.
- Payment Options
- Another of the many reasons you should choose a site from our list of hockey betting sites is the breadth of banking options. The best sites in this niche allow you to choose from a nice variety of deposit and withdrawal methods, making your payments feel tailored and efficient.
- User Interface;
The above options also have fantastic mobile sports betting applications for betting on the NHL. They work on all major phones and tablets and give you direct access to their full menu of betting markets and features - plus any hockey-specific promotions they happen to be running.
NHL Betting Options
If you have never bet on the NHL before, you may not be aware of all the different types of bets you can make. There are numerous ways to bet on the outcome of a single game and on the outcome of the entire NHL season. There is even a way to bet on the performance of individual players throughout the season.
There are numerous angles from which to view a game, and you can dissect various aspects of the NHL other than focusing on one particular game.
The leading NHL betting sites do a fantastic job of making these almost all available to you. What you can do with these various NHL prop bets is make decisions on which ones to use based on what you are trying to accomplish with the betting itself. Each one carries its own risks and potential rewards as well.
You can find some other wild and wonderful betting options that we won't mention in this review. But if you follow what we are saying here, you should have a pretty good handle on the most typical bets you will find when betting on the NHL.
- Moneyline
- The simplest option is to bet on which team will win or lose an NHL hockey game. When betting on the NHL, the money line (which can be explained here) defines the favorite and the underdog
- Spread
- Sometimes people refer to the spread in hockey as the puck line. Just know that this term and the previous one are both talking about the same concept. In hockey, the underdog almost always gets 1.5 goals added to their total at the end of the game. So, if you can understand betting on the underdog in this sport, you can certainly understand betting on the underdog in any sport. And here's why: Hockey is an extremely low-scoring game
- Over/Under;
Other types of bets that can be found at leading NHL gambling sites are propositions, which can be either in a single game or as a type of parlay that covers the entire league. These forms of betting take a little getting used to and can seem like a secret language at first, but with a little more exposure, they feel like second nature. You won't have to think much about what they mean when you see them on the betting boards.
NHL Futures
NHL futures bets are an excellent and fast way to make a profit in sports betting if you can get them right. However, they are more risky because when you place the bet, you are often placing it well in advance of the actual event. Of course, the risk is mitigated if you are betting on a sure thing. But when the bet isn't a sure thing, it can be fun and often full of drama by the time the bet is settled.
Note:
For this reason, you will find that the leading NHL Hockey betting platforms not only allow you to place the kind of bets that can yield very nice returns (or paybacks as they are sometimes called), but also offer odds on those bets that reflect how unpredictable the outcome of the event is likely to be.
However, for individuals looking for a substantial return on an NHL bet with low risk, these odds represent a good opportunity.
Examples of NHL futures bets include:
- Stanley Cup Winner - Since there are currently 32 teams in the NHL and only one can win the Stanley Cup, you're likely to get big odds on the franchise you pick. The further away from the Cup you pick, the bigger the NFL odds will be
- Conference Winners - You can place a futures bet on which team will win a conference. With 16 teams in each conference, the payoff is usually excellent.
- Division Winners - If you're looking to cut your odds a bit more from the previous two NHL futures bets, we suggest you try picking a division winner instead. There are four divisions, each with eight teams. Those looking for value in this bet should look to make it early in the season or even in the off-season.
- Individual Player Awards - If you'd prefer to focus on individual hockey players in the NHL, you can make futures bets on who will win various awards. You can bet on season-long awards, such as the Hart Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Player. Or you can bet on post-season awards like the Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP);
Visit the best real money online betting sites for the NHL and you will come across numerous team and individual futures bets. Examples abound! For a player looking to score big, these bets offer just that. Conversely, a player looking to play it safer can back the favorites in these very same bets. More to the point, whether betting on teams or individuals, the player has the potential to find great value in these types of bets.
NHL Live Betting
Real time NHL betting at online gambling sites refers to the bets you can place after the hockey game has started. This is a completely unique way to approach the competition, and countless fans adore it.
You will still get the usual US markets for betting on hockey, such as over/under and puck line, when you bet live. But the best sites for betting on the NHL often offer some unique in-game bets. You may find that some of these are almost exclusive to in-game betting on the NHL.
- Which player will be the next to hit the net
- Is it possible that one of the teams will pull their goalie at some point
- How many penalties will there be from that point on
- Will there be a shorthanded goal in the rest of the game?
You can watch the game and see how well the two teams match up and use that to your advantage when betting live on the NHL.
Live betting can also be used to really back up your pregame bets. Or, if you're feeling shaky about your pregame NHL bets, you can use live betting to hedge them.
Basic NHL Betting Tips
If you want to bet on the NHL, there are some important pieces of information that you need to know. First and foremost, you should understand the ins and outs of the game of hockey and how the NHL operates from one night to the next. You should also have a rudimentary knowledge of the principles of sports betting as they relate to NHL odds - the kind of stuff that forms the basis of your betting activity.
The basics listed below will apply to you even if you have watched a lot of NHL hockey and understand it quite well.
- Set Clear Goals - Decide what you're trying to accomplish with your NHL betting online
- You should have a good sense of the types of risk you're willing to accept and the types of rewards you desire. Once you know this, you will be in a much better position to understand what types of bets you want to pursue
- Manage Your Bankroll - Establish a betting budget for betting on NHL games
- Suppose you want to allocate about $100 weekly for NHL betting and are aware that ten games are slated for the week in question. You could split it among those games, betting about $10 per game. Basic bankroll management is a good skill to have no matter what the sport
- Prepare Properly - Learn about the league and the sport before betting on hockey games;
The betting advice provided above for the NHL is relevant to nearly every type of bet you might place online. Therefore, it's in your best interest to heed it. Below are some even more advanced strategies for different types of bets that you should definitely check out as well.
NHL Regular Season Betting Advice
Betting in real time on the NHL regular season requires a specific approach to winning. These are not games that take place in a vacuum. In other words, the best teams don't necessarily win every game they play in a given week. Why is that? Because any number of factors can affect the outcome of a game one way or the other. Here are some strategies to help you come out on top when betting real money on NHL regular season games.
Tip:
A basic piece of advice to always keep in mind is to not only follow the teams you like during the regular season, but also to pay attention to them in small segments.
In the NHL, "hot" and "cold" teams mean a lot, so try to keep up with the daily action. These win-loss trends may not show up in the overall records, but they are very much in play.
Here are some other important tips for betting the NHL regular season.
Home and Away
In the regular season, home ice can be a huge factor, but it's not just about picking the home team. Some teams are much better on the road than at home, and some teams use their home ice much more effectively than their opponents.
Therefore, you need to look at the NHL standings, which list both home and road records. Here are some cases of teams that performed much better on the road in the 2020-21 NHL season.
Team |
Home Record |
Away Record |
St. Louis Blues |
12-11-5 |
15-9-4 |
Anaheim Ducks |
6-18-4 |
11-12-5 |
New Jersey Devils |
7-18-3 |
12-12-4 |
Winnipeg Jets |
13-13-2 |
17-10-1 |
Finding comparable teams each year allows you to spot trends early and helps you throughout the regular season.
If possible, dig even deeper to analyze how certain teams perform when they have to travel long distances or on long road trips. Combine this information with everything else to get a more accurate picture of how much-if any-home ice helps teams in individual games.
The Grind
As a sport that relies on physicality as much as any other, hockey certainly exacts a health price from its players.
Important:
For this reason, it is an absolute must that you check the injury report before staking any money on a game. Nothing is more annoying than betting on a team only to find out that their key players are all on the shelf.
It can even be more than informative when a hockey team is in the middle of a busy part of its schedule. For example, suppose a team is playing the second game of a back-to-back against a team that has been idle for the past few nights. The team that just had a few days off should have the advantage of freshness and be more likely to come out on top. Keep this in mind when making your bets on the outcome of these contests.
Matchups and Trends
If you're a hockey expert, you can probably watch a team play and figure out what their strengths and weaknesses might be. This kind of information is very important when it comes to deciding whether or not to place a bet on a particular game. One of the main reasons is that the team you are considering betting on might be very well equipped to exploit the weaknesses of the opponent they are playing.
But even if you've never laced up your skates and prefer to gamble on the competitive nuances of a given matchup, you can still take advantage of trend betting.
An example of using advanced stats to your advantage is this: You might notice that a certain team has faced a certain goalie nine times and lost all nine times. If a particular team is about to face the same goalie again, this is a good time to back the team with the goalie in net.
Strategy for Betting on the NHL Playoffs
Many of the same strategies that apply to regular season betting can be used when betting on the NHL postseason. However, players must be aware of other elements that play a greater role in playoff betting than they do during the regular season.
Here are the most important among them.
Experience in the Postseason
A team's previous playoff experience can pay dividends. The increased pressure of the postseason can cause an inexperienced team to falter when it matters most.
Similarly, a group of veteran players who struggled during the regular season might come together in the playoffs.
Athletes who have faced that moment many times before are better equipped to perform at their peak when it really counts.
Impact of the Goalies
Any team with a strong goalie can look forward to the playoffs. Players in this position rely on their confidence to get them through the many tight spots they find themselves in, and the team's definition of "identity" can't live without it. Living on the edge may very well define the lives of NHL goaltenders, past, present and future.
Important:
If a goaltender gets warm at the right time, he can work wonders in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It's a chain reaction that can create unexpected champions and settle the dust of the postseason.
Therefore, you should consistently monitor the performance of the goaltenders. This is vital to your chances of winning money from betting on the NHL online.
Coaching
In the playoffs, coaches have more of an impact because coaches tend to prepare more for each individual playoff game than they do for most regular season games. There's no doubt about that. That's the conventional wisdom.
The staff has more opportunity to study the other teams and try to find ways to exploit any weakness with each successive game.
Selecting goalies, adjusting lineups, or simply inspiring the team becomes essential. Postseason experience is vital for any coach hoping to achieve the kind of success that will lead to more wins and keep them behind the bench.
Tips:
When looking at past results, you also need to take into account the added motivation of the postseason. What happened between two teams in the regular season is usually a good starting point for your analysis, but the different context of playoff games can and often does lead to different results.
NHL Live Betting Tips
Betting on live events is truly a different beast, with a series of opportunities that must be met with a tailored plan of attack. That's not to say that the betting advice we've gone over in earlier sections doesn't apply to these electrifying moments of opportunity. It does. But for these specific scenarios, where the action is unfolding right in front of you, you also need some strategies that apply only to betting on the action as it's happening.
When live betting on the NHL, remember the following rules.
- Keeping a cool head
- You will have to digest a lot of information at a fast pace, as the odds will change quickly. This means that you need to be able to pull the trigger on a bet when you feel good about it. But it also means that sometimes not making a bet can be the right decision if you don't feel good about it
- Timing Is Everything
- It's also about timing when to place a bet to get maximum value. For example, if you have a good feeling about which team is going to score next, make the move when you see the odds rising. If the team is a man down, the odds will plummet and the value will disappear when you might otherwise jump on it
- Follow the Referees;
By adhering to the above NHL live betting advice, your long-term profit chances increase significantly.
More Popular US Sports to Bet on
The NHL is one of America's "Big Four" professional sports, along with baseball (MLB), football (NFL), and basketball (NBA). It ranks last in popularity as measured by ratings and coverage (at least in the states). But the intensity with which the cities that host professional hockey embrace the sport is something to behold.
Some of the same betting fundamentals apply to the other sports (Money Line, Spread, Over/Under, etc.) and are also applicable to betting on them at leading sportsbooks. If you want to learn more about how to bet on them and some strategies for doing so, check out the following pages.