A smorgasbord of NHL betting options

It always amazes me to see the variety of betting opportunities that online sportsbooks offer for hockey.

The British and European books in particular have possibly the biggest betting buffet, which is perhaps due to a tradition of legalized and regulated online sports wagering.

Besides all of the standard bets such as moneyline, puckline and totals, books like Bet365 and Bwin.com will post odds on such things as first team to score, team to score last, first team to score three goals, margin of victory, etc.

Called prop bets, these are the type of betting options North American bettors would be used to seeing during big events like the Super Bowl. British and European books, however, offer these types of odds everyday on virtually every pro sports contest, including NHL games.

For instance, in tonight’s matchup between the Canucks and Oilers, Bet365 already had 15 different betting options as of 8:30 a.m. ET. Let’s take a look at three selections:

European-based sportsbook Bwin.com had 23 options for the same game as of 8:30 a.m. ET. Let’s take a look at three selections at this book:

The betting options will multiply through the day as the book posts such things player-related props.

And once the puck drops, betting hits frenzied pace as books offers live in-game wagering, meaning you can bet on such things as the next team to score, period winners, period totals, and more.

Both Bet365.com and Bwin.com are safe, reliable, licenced sportsbooks that accept Canadian players (they currently don’t take Americans). I have accounts at both books and the user experience is top notch. I highly recommend both of them.

To open an account, click here for Bet365.com or click here for Bwin.com.