Ice Hockey

Ice Hockey Betting

Ice hockey is a contact sport that is very popular in countries and regions with harsh climate, where people are used to the cold. The reason is simple, it is played on ice and the arena has to be pretty cold at all times, so that the ice won’t melt. Ice hockey is a fast, but also very physical game and ice hockey players are often listed among the fittest athletes. Currently more than 70 countries have national ice hockey federations.

History of Ice Hockey

Hockey as we know it today has evolved from a similar game that was played on the British Isles during the 18^th and 19^th century. Stick and ball games like hockey have been played long before that, even in the BC years. Canada is the birthplace of modern hockey. The first indoor ice hockey game was played in Montreal on the 3^rd of March in 1875. The basic characteristics of the game have not change – the rink is of the same length and a puck is used instead of a ball.

The first leagues were formed in the following decade and the first professional league was established at the beginning of the 20^th century. Hockey was played on the Olympic Games in 1920 and ever since it has been one of the most popular sports in the world. The United States, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic are the six most successful nations and most of the Olympic medals and World Championship medals have been won by these 6 countries.

The situation with female ice hockey is pretty much the same, most of the relevant international medals and other prizes have been won by the same six nations, whereas every gold medal in both the Women’s Olympic tournament and the World’s Championship for women has been won either by the American or the Canadian team. 

Ice Hockey Betting Options

Most bookmakers offer at least several ice hockey betting markets, and the number of markets can even exceed 20. You can bet on the match result, i.e. the winner and here you just need to correctly predict which of the two teams is going to win the match. Bear in mind that hockey matches can aslo end in a draw, therefore that option will be offered as well.

However, in most competitive leagues there has to be a winner, therefore if a match ends in a draw, there will be an overtime which will decide the winner. Therefore, bookmakers also offer a market where the option of a draw is eliminated and if you bet on one of the teams and the chosen team wins after the overtime, you will win. Betting with the tie option is often called 3-way betting, whereas the market where the tie is eliminated is called 2-way betting.

Winning method betting is very similar to winner betting. Here you need to predict the winner and the way in which the game will be concluded, either in the regular 60 minutes, with an overtime or on penalties. The odds for the selection ‘team X to win on penalties’ are usually pretty high, due to the rare occurrence of penalties.

Handicap betting, where one of the teams is given an imaginary advantage is also very popular, especially if we consider that sometimes one of the teams is significantly stronger. With handicap betting one of the teams has an advantage from the beginning, it is assumed that, for example, the underdogs lead by 1.5 goals. So, if in order for the favourite to win, they will have to win the game by at least 2 goals. If they win by just one goal, than a handicap bet on them to win will be lost. Some bookies will offer multiple handicap betting lines, e.g. 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 and the odds will be adjusted accordingly.

Over/under betting is betting on the total number of goals that will be scored. For example if the bet is over or under 5.5 then an under bet will win if both teams score a total of 5 goals or fewer, whereas an over bet would win if there are at least 6 goals. Again, multiple options can be offered, for example the bookie may offer 5.5, 6.5 and 7.5 as options and you can choose one and then choose if you wish to bet that there will be more or fewer goals than that.

And if you’re feeling really lucky, or knowledgeable about a certain match you can bet on the correct score. The odds for these selections are much higher compared to match betting selections and you will earn quite a bit of money if you manage to correctly predict the final result at the end of the regular 60 minutes.

Outright betting is also very popular and you can bet on the outcome on many tournaments and competitions that are listed in the betting offer. You can bet on the team that you think will win the Stanley Cup before the beginning of the American hockey season.

Most Popular Ice Hockey Leagues

Bookmakers offer betting on American and European hockey matches, as well as international matches. The National Hockey League is the most popular and most renowned ice hockey league in the world. Teams from the US and Canada participate in it. All matches of the NHL are offered for betting and outright betting is also available.

The Kontinental Hockey League is the most popular Eurasian league. Teams from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, China, Slovakia and Croatia participate in this league and the matches always attract a lot of punters. The Asia League Ice Hockey features teams from Japan, China, Russia and South Korea and is also very popular.

Most national European leagues, or at least the national leagues of the countries where hockey is one of the most popular sports are also offered for betting.