Types of CFL Bets – A Beginner’s Guide (2026)

The CFL (Canadian Football League) is the major league in Canada and the highest level of Canadian football. Its championship game, the Grey Cup, is one of the most widely televised sporting events in the country. 9 teams compete in the CFL, each located in a city in Canada. The teams play in two divisions: four in the East Division and five teams in the West Division. The season starts in mid-June and goes through to early November and comprises a 21-week regular season and a three-week playoff, ending with the famed Grey Cup championship game.

Each team plays 18 games during the regular season, playing all the other 8 teams twice and then two more divisional games against rotating opponents each season. Once the regular season has concluded, the three top teams from either division proceed to the playoffs. The two division champions receive a bye for the first round, in which the second and third-placed teams in the divisions face each other. The winners of the first round face the winners of the divisions in the second round. Then, the Division Champions face each other in the Grey Cup.

Scoring in Canadian Football (CFL)

So how does Canadian football work? The two teams field 12 players and have to fight for territorial control over the field of play. Scoring can be down by a touchdown (a major in Canadian), a conversion, a field goal, a safety, or a single.

Touchdown – 6 Points

This is when the attacking team bring the ball into their opponent’s end zone. Play stops, the attacking team wins 6 points and then can proceed with a conversion.

Conversion – 1 or 2 Points

Following the touchdown, the team will be given the chance to attack once more, and can either score points by kicking the ball through their opponent’s posts or bringing the ball back into the end zone. If they decide to shoot and score, they are awarded 1 point. Successfully attempting to bring the ball into the end zone will award the team 2 points.

Field Goal – 3 Points

When the ball is in play, the attacking team may decide to shoot the ball rather than attempt a touchdown. To score, they need to shoot the ball between the two posts over the opponent’s end zone, and this will win the team 3 points.

Safety Touch – 2 Points

When the ball becomes dead in the possession of a team in its own end zone, the other team is awarded 2 points. The team that wins the points gets possession and can proceed with a kickoff or a scrimmaging from their side of the field. Basically, it is scored if the team in possession takes the ball into their own end zone and then ends up losing it there.

Rouge – 1 Point

If the ball was in possession of the attacking team, is taken by the defending team and then becomes dead in the defending team’s end zone, then the attacking team are awarded a rouge. This is a single point. It differs from the safety touch in that the defending team did not start the play in possession of the ball. This happens when the attacking team brings the ball into the defending team’s end zone, then loses it, but forces a dead ball.

Structure of the Game

The games are divided into two 30-minute halves in which there are two 15-minute quarters. Whenever the ball goes out of bounds, a player is dead or points are scored, the clock is stopped. If the score is tied at the end of regulation play, then both teams are given 2 rounds of offensive possessions to break the tie. When a team successfully wins some points, then the other team is given the opportunity to score. If they cannot, then the team that is in the lead is declared the winner.

A big difference between Canadian football and its American counterpart is that there are only 3 downs as opposed to 4. This makes the game far more exciting as the switch of play is much faster. Teams are forced to be more aggressive and make the most of their downs.

Types of CFL Bets

Now that you know the basics, you are ready to start learning about what types of betting markets are offered on CFL. Though the sport does not have the same worldwide following as its American counterpart, there are still ample bets offered by Canadian bookies. These give you the chance to bet on virtually every aspect of the game, putting your knowledge to the test.

1. Futures
2. Moneyline
3. Point Spreads
4. Over/Under Totals
5. Quarters and Halves
6. Player Props
7. Match Events
8. Live Betting Markets

Futures

Futures are bets on what will happen at the end of the season. They are called futures because bookies usually offer them before the start of the season, giving you the chance to start your betting early. The most common futures bet is who will win the Grey Cup. You can take your pick of any of the 9 teams and then make your wager. In more specialised bookies, there may be additional bets offered such as which player will be the MVP, which coach will be named best coach, and various other bets.

These bets are not only available before the season starts, but you can bet on the champion at any time during the regular season or playoffs. The odds will change throughout the course of the season. If you are planning to bet on the favourites, then it is best to place your bets as early as possible. After they have found their form and are on a winning course, their odds will drop significantly. Usually, the odds on the favourite are best before any of the games have been played.

Moneyline

This is a simple bet on which team will win the game. For example, if you want to bet on a game between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts, you can bet on the Tiger-Cats to win or on the Argonauts to win. The odds will give you a good idea of which team the bookmakers thinks has the better chance. Extremely short odds points to a big favourite, whereas long odds are given to underdogs.

Point Spreads

When the difference in odds between two teams is too large, you can always try betting point spreads. What this does is level the playing field by awarding the underdog a points boost and the favourite a deduction in points. For example, the point spread on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Edmonton Elks may be -4.5 and +4.5. If you bet on the Blue Bombers, they will need to overcome a point deficit of-4.5 and beat their opponents. Betting on the Elks will require the team to bet the Blue Bombers with a boost of +4.5 in their score. The odds on either team are far more level, as is the risk factor.
What this does is bring longer odds on the favourite, at the expense of making it more risky to bet on them. The underdogs, on the other hand, have an improved chance of winning the game but at shorter odds.

Point spreads are not just levelled versions of moneylines either. There may be even more spreads offered that come with different odds. You may find different spreads offered, and they correlate to how likely the events are to come through. A spread of the Blue Bombers winning with -2.5 will come with shorter odds but less risk. If you think they will completely dominate, you can pick a higher spread of -6.5, which will require them to win the game by 7 or more points. The risk is higher, but the odds will also be more generous.

For more information on how point spreads work, check out our guide to point spread betting.

Over/Under Totals

This is a bet in which you need to predict how many points will be scored during the game. Picking the exact number of goals would be extremely difficult to predict, and therefore unfeasible. However, with totals you will not need to do that. The bookmaker will provide a betting line, and you can simply bet under or over that line. For example, if the betting line is 45.5, you can bet on the game ending with 44 points or less, or to end with 46 points or more.

Good bookmakers will not limit your betting opportunities with one line. They may offer many different lines, all with over and under bets that you can take advantage of. This way, you can define the range for yourself. If you think the game will end with fewer points, you can pick a low line such as 40.5 and bet under. On the other hand, you can pick a large betting line and bet over. These will bring the longest odds. To play safe, you can do the opposite. Namely, pick a large betting line and bet under, or a small betting line and bet over. The possibilities are endless.

There may also be even more totals bets opportunities. A bookmaker may offer totals on how many points one of the teams will score, and not both. It may offer totals on the number of touchdowns, rouge, safety touch and field goals.

Quarters and Halves

You do not need to always bet on the game as a whole. With quarters and halves, you can divide the game up into separate periods and bet on each of these independently. The score in the previous period will not carry into the period you bet on. Nor will you have to worry about what happens in the following period. You can form all your predictions on one of the quarters or spread out your bets to include all 4.

These bets allow you to dissect a game into numerous parts and make even more predictions on the same game without contradiction. This is especially handy for punters who want to form big parlays.

Player Props

Player props are always exciting and even more so when you are betting on your favourite players. How many touchdowns will they score, will they score a field goal, or will they score the first touchdown of the game. There is a lot of statistical information that you can research when picking a good player bet.

Game Props

Props are intriguing bets for punters who know their Canadian football. These can relate to practically anything that happens on the field, so you can make extremely detailed predictions. For example, you can bet on which team will score first, which team will get to 10 points first, the winner and winning margin, and many other selections.

Bigger Canadian sportsbooks tend to offer far more variety when it comes to game props. If you want to find the most props, you should look for reputable bookmakers or ones that specialise in CFL. International sportsbooks or those that are based in other countries, may regard CFL as a “niche sport”. They may have limited betting markets.

Live Bets

Once a game is in session, the live betting markets will open. You can find all the same bets as you could at the beginning of the game in the live betting markets. The only difference is that the odds will fluctuate during the game to reflect what is happening on the field. A lot of punters prefer to make live bets than form their predictions before the game starts. Those first few minutes can be crucial, especially if you pick up some indicators as to how well the teams have prepared.

Another great part of live betting is that they can offer bets which you would otherwise not find in the pregame betting markets. These are the “next to” betting markets. For example, which team will score next, which team will score the next touchdown, whether will there be another successful conversion in the quarter and other similar types of bets.

Conclusion

As mentioned before, outside Canada, the CFL may be considered a niche sport. If you are betting at a Canadian sportsbook, you will have tonnes of opportunities to bet. However, international bookmakers may offer significantly fewer options. Some may only offer a handful of bets on a game in the CFL. As a punter, you will need all the betting markets you can get your hands on. Those bookmakers that have limited betting markets should be avoided, as you will never get the same offers or variety of options.

Once you have found a good bookie, you can go anywhere you like with your predictions. From betting on the winner of the fixture to which player will score the first touchdown, there will be plenty of opportunities to try. It is a thrilling sport that brings joy to many people, but remember anything can happen in a game. This is why you should always bet responsibly and never spend more than you can afford to lose.