We have our own major football league with all-local teams. We have our own set of rules, with some of them arguably better than those of our Southern counterparts. We have all the makings of a genuinely local high-profile betting scene, and a population that loves betting. Still, more of them check out gambleonline.co/en-ca/sports-betting/nfl-football/ on a daily basis than ever. Why is that?
The NFL is much more popular
Let’s face it, the NFL is “bigger” than the CFL from many points of view.
First, being a hugely popular North American sports franchise, the National Football League outshines every other form of gridiron football played anywhere in the world. While the CFL certainly has a devout local following, the NFL has fans all over the globe, stealing the spotlight from its Northern cousin completely.
The NFL is covered more widely
The popularity and massive fan base make American football, in general – and the NFL in special – one of the most widely covered sports leagues in the world, even in countries halfway across the globe. Every major newspaper in North America covers the league in detail, and so do all sports TV channels (and many news channels as well). Not to mention sports websites – nowadays, all of them seem to not just analyze and predict the outcome of the games but list the best odds for them as well. This makes it much easier to take your picks.
More teams mean more opportunity
While it may be much easier to keep up with the statistics of the nine teams playing in the CFL… there’s something fascinating about keeping tabs on 37 teams. But it’s not just the teams: the NFL has 17 games in the regular season and the playoffs, not to mention the Super Bowl, which is one of the biggest sporting events of every year. And one of the biggest betting events as well.
The Super Bowl
The Grey Cup is the biggest event in the CFL season. Its history goes back to long before the American football league introduced the playoff system, and it’s much older than the Super Bowl, first played 56 years ago. But when it comes to scale and spectacle, the Grey Cup can’t hold a candle to the Super Bowl.
The final game of the NFL season attracts a huge number of bettors, and betting shops prepare for the onslaught with special offers and promotions every single year. How huge, you might ask? Last year, over $179 million were bet on the Super Bowl at the Nevada sports books alone.
In conclusion
Why do Canadian punters bet on the NFL? Because it’s bigger, it is more spectacular, it is incredibly widely covered in the media, and it has the biggest media and betting event in the year. This doesn’t mean they don’t bet on the CFL as well, of course.
