By far, the NFL generates the biggest handle for sports betting in the United States. In fact, this is the only major professional league that many sports bettors wager on exclusively. Going with the notion that football is football, it would stand to reason that the earlier start of the CFL north of the border would generate more betting interest than it does.
Avid sports bettors that are not locked into the mindset that betting the NFL is the only game in town already know the value that can be found betting on weekly games in the CFL. This league is made up of just nine teams; four in the East Division and five out West. Getting up to speed on nine starting quarterbacks and nine defensive lineups are far easier to do that scouting 32 NFL teams.
The other fact that these nine teams play an 18-game regular season also creates a very high level of familiarity with one another. One widespread betting theory is that a high level of familiarity leads to a much higher level of predictability. This is especially true with the CFL playing a number of home-and-home series with two teams facing one another in consecutive weeks.
The CFL game is basically the same as the NFL will a couple of noted differences:
- Three downs instead of four to gain a first down
- A longer and wider playing field
- Extended end zones
- The addition of a one-point play on kicks landing in the end zone
- A total of 12 players on offense and defense
There is little doubt that loss of one down on a much bigger field of play enhances the passing game in the CFL. This is another value-added benefit for betting the games. The teams with the best quarterbacks tend to win quite a few more games than ones that cannot effectively move the ball down the field through the air.
With two added games, the top CFL quarterback (Mike Reilly) threw for 5,562 total yards in the 2018 regular season. The year before he topped the league with 5,830 total passing yards. Bo Levi Mitchell is the starting quarterback for the Grey Cup Champion Calgary Stampeders. He passed for 5,124 yards last season while leading the CFL with 35 touchdown throws.
Reilly moved from Edmonton to British Columbia this past offseason, and suddenly the BC Lions are second-favorites behind Calgary to win this season's Grey Cup.
Getting quickly up to speed on all the top playmakers in the CFL is rather easy to do. The fact that there are only three or four games on each week’s schedule depending on byes is another aspect of the CFL that adds betting value to the games. This makes it far easier to focus on just one or two high unit bets each week.
The fact that the CFL is not as heavily bet in the US can also lead to softer lines at some of the big offshore sportsbooks taking action online. A perfect example of this is 2019 CFL futures. While the big Canadian books were immediately on top of BC as a top contender with the addition of Reilly to the offensive scheme, the Lions offered quite a bit of value at individual offshore books when the CFL futures to win the 2019 Grey Cup were first released.