NHL Betting Sites

The National Hockey League (NHL) is one of the most popular sports leagues to gamble on in North America. As one of the “Big Four” leagues, it is also the most-wagered-on professional hockey league worldwide.

Our goal with this page is to introduce some of the top NHL betting sites. We’ll explain key features to consider when choosing a sportsbook, markets that are available for hockey gambling, and states where you can bet on NHL action.

Best NHL Betting Sites for the 2025-2026 Season

Bettor In Green has chosen the following sportsbooks as the best NHL betting sites for the 2025-26 season for repeatedly delivering a solid experience for hockey gamblers. They’ve shown this commitment through things like bonus frequency and generosity, NHL market availability, and sportsbook platform performance.

bet365 Sportsbook

bet365 Sportsbook does a sufficient job of offering NHL betting markets, and we appreciate their revamped same game parlay market look. For example, instead of browsing “Player to Record 2+ Shots On Goal,” you can now view the odds for each shot projection total for each player at the same time.

Bettor In Green can also vouch for the usefulness and overall value of bet365’s welcome bonuses, which have at times offered as much as a 150X return on investment relative to the qualifying stake.

Caesars Sportsbook

One of the main draws to Caesars Sportsbook for NHL bettors is Caesars’ loyalty program, which offers many generous rewards that go beyond betting perks. As players work through various rewards tiers, they can redeem their points for discounted hotel stays, dining experiences, travel, and more!

We’ve also found Caesars to frequently offer the richest rewards on welcome bonuses, with second change bets between $1,250 and $1,500 as the norm. Other operators on this list and across the industry seldom approach those totals.

DraftKings Sportsbook

Beyond DraftKings Sportsbook excellent selection of NHL player prop markets, DK is quick to issue bonus bets and odds boosts; if you opt-in to promotional emails, you’ll often find at least one boosted line or profit boost bonus available every day.

We’re also big fans of DraftKings’ customer service; the FAQ pages contain loads of helpful information for novice bettors, and their support teams have been knowledgeable, courteous, and quick to resolve any issues along the way.

BetMGM Sportsbook

BetMGM Sportsbook is a go-to option for futures wagers, as their NHL lines and odds will drop mere hours after the Stanley Cup is awarded. Bettor In Green has observed that BetMGM is usually the first to have these odds available, which can present extra betting value.

Additionally, BetMGM will be a great choice for odds shopping, with odds that are competitive among the others on this list. The MGM Rewards program is also quite helpful in maximizing potential gambling returns.

FanDuel Sportsbook

FanDuel Sportsbook thrives in same game parlay offerings, with an abundance of markets to customize your slip as well as pre-crafted SGPs you can play with the push of a button. The prop markets available to NHL bettors are impressive, balancing the coverage of depth players and stars to provide a superb all-around experience.

Furthermore, FanDuel’s mobile app is top-of-the-line, earning the honors of being the highest-rated platform among both iOS and Android users.

Fanatics Sportsbook

Last on our list is Fanatics Sportsbook, which we regrettably must penalize for only having a mobile app offering and not a desktop platform. However, there are enough other perks to using Fanatics to make it worthy of your time and consideration.

Fanatics users earn “FanCash” for every wager made on the app; FanCash can then be used either as bonus betting funds or for discounts at Fanatics’ merchandising partners. The NHL has partnered with Fanatics to produce on-ice jerseys through the 2033-34 season, so betting with this bookie could help you discount your authentic memorabilia purchases, too.

Types of NHL Bets and How They Work

There are many types of NHL bets, and most of them work similarly to the bet types offered in other sports. In some cases, the terminology will vary slightly, but the functionality is the same. Here are the most popular markets to play:

• Moneyline: Moneyline wagers are bets on which team will win a hockey game. The margin of victory is a non-factor, and you don’t need to worry about whether the game ends in regulation, overtime, or the shootout.
• Puck Line: Puck line bets are akin to spread bets in other sports; they require the moneyline favorite to win outright and beat their opponent by multiple goals, while the moneyline underdog can win on the puck line by keeping the score close even if they lose the game. Most of the time, the puck line will be set at +/- 1.5 goals, though if the talent level of the teams is dramatically different, a 2.5-goal puck line could come into play (meaning the favorite would need to win by three goals while the underdog could lose by two goals or fewer, or win outright to cover). This line could also change while live betting to exceed the 1.5-goal line.
• Totals: Also called “Over/Under betting“, totals wagers focus on the combined number of goals between the two teams without considering which team wins the game. If the New York Rangers were playing the Toronto Maple Leafs and you bet over 6.5 goals would be scored, your wager would pay out whether the Leafs won 4-3 or New York won 7-0.
• Props: Prop bets are a type of wager that once again is not tied to the final score. Instead, it focuses on team- and player-specific in-game events, often tied to statistical accomplishments. Some examples of NHL props would be which skater will score the first goal, whether a goaltender finishes with more saves than their projected pre-game total, or whether a team scores at least one goal in each period.
• Futures: Futures wagers are often season-long bets that revolve around a team’s place in the standings or various awards and milestones for players. NHL futures bets would include which team will win the Stanley Cup, which player will win the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player, or whether a team will finish over or under their projected season points total.

Live Betting on NHL Games

Live betting amplifies the fast-paced action of NHL games and gives bettors the opportunity to cash in on the momentum as it changes throughout the contests. Odds and lines are constantly changing based on the game scenarios and “flow” of play which can lead to odds changing in favorability relative to their position before the game.

Placing a wager after the game has begun can also allow you to practice hedging, which is backing to opposing outcomes with the odds movement effectively guaranteeing a profit.

With that in mind, it’s imperative that whatever live bets you make are only in games you are actively watching. Statistics and box scores help indicate and quantify what is going on, but you are missing out on tons of information if those are your only tools for in-play wagering.

Trust your gut, act with purpose and efficiency, and you’ll develop into a winning live bettor in no time!

NHL Parlay Betting

Parlays are wagers that combine multiple betting outcomes (called “legs”) into a single wager. The odds are multiplied for each leg that is added to the wager, potentially leading to a massive return for a relatively small initial stake.

In recent years, the same game parlay (SGP) has risen to prominence for allowing NHL gamblers to concentrate research efforts on a singular matchup instead of multiple contests. This has also helped to expand the number of prop bet markets available within each game as bettors craft their wager slips.

As a result, sportsbooks will often offer parlay profit boosts to further enhance the amount of money players can earn on a winning wager. These boosts can be used on both standard and same-game parlay wagers.

NHL Sportsbook Bonuses and Promotions

NHL-related sportsbook bonuses and promotions are available throughout the season, though they are typically at their most frequent and beneficial in the days leading up to the regular season and in the first round of the playoffs. Here are a few of the types of promotions offered at the top NHL betting sites you should familiarize yourself with:

• Bet/Get Bonuses: Bet/get offerings give players betting credits or bonus bets after they place a small wager (such as $1, $5, or $10) in any NHL market. These often represent a 10X or more return on the initial stake, with the credits earned instantly rather than having funds contingent on the outcome of their initial bet.
• Second chance bets: Popular as a welcome bonus, second chance bets award bet credits equivalent to the amount of a qualifying wager (up to a certain amount) if the initial bet is scored as a loss. This gives users a second chance to “win” with the same “funds,” though it’s important to know the bonus funds used to play a second chance bet are not included in the payout of a winning bet – only the profit amount will be disbursed.
• Odds boosts: Odds boosts promotions increase the potential return available to winning bettors for both straight wagers and parlay combinations. For example, if a player had odds of +400 to score a goal in a game but an odds boost changed the line to +500, a $10 wager would win $50 instead of $40 if the player scored.
• Profit boosts: Unlike the odds boosts which apply to the odds themselves, profit boosts are issued as a percentage of the profit on the winning wager, landing in your account as straight cash that is immediately eligible for withdrawal.

NHL Betting Tips and Strategies

As you prepare to hit the sportsbooks, we hope you’ll keep these NHL betting tips and strategies in mind:

• Fatigue is a factor: The NHL is moving toward a schedule where teams won’t have to play back-to-back games at any point during the season. Unfortunately, teams are still playing in 8-12 such situations each year in the meantime. NHL teams tend to rotate which goaltender plays on the second night of a back-to-back which could result in a different style of play with a backup in net (different levels of aggression, choosing not to make a hit because it’s riskier, etc.). Fatigue can also come into play during back-to-backs and long road trips. Be sure to check the schedule to consider how fatigue may impact the outcome.
• Prioritize 5-on-5 play: Special teams units briefly increase the likelihood of scoring opportunities, but the majority of game time will be played at even strength throughout the year. During the 2023-24 season, 65.9% of goals were scored during 5-on-5 play, and more than 70% of season play came at even strength. Sites like NaturalStatTrick.com and MoneyPuck.com are outstanding resources for researching 5-on-5 data and normalizing your research when making your wagers.
• Embrace advanced analytics: Understanding which players are scoring is important to betting success, but even more important is knowing why those players are scoring. General stat categories (goals, assists, points, +/-, and total shots on goal) are a good starting point for your research, but they often paint with too broad of a brush to glean enough detail for betting purposes. Understanding metrics like Corsi (all shot attempts), Fenwick (all unblocked shot attempts), PDO (the sum of a team’s shooting and save percentages), and expected goals (both for and against) will help you get a clearer picture as you try to understand and calculate the likelihood of scoring chances and whether teams and players are due for positive or negative regression in their offensive and defensive production.

Mobile Experience on NHL Betting Apps

Placing NHL wagers through a mobile betting app is so easy and convenient that according to Uplatform, roughly 70% of gambling revenue comes from wagers made on mobile devices. This is also partially due to the age demographic of NHL bettors, more than a third of which comes from users under age 35 (per data from BirchesHealth.com).

Convenience isn’t the only factor to consider though. Promotions and bonuses help to further enhance the mobile betting experience, as do rewards programs offering further perks, many of which offer non-gambling-related rewards.

In our experience, the NHL betting apps that have delivered the best mobile experience are FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM.

NHL Betting Legality by State

Sports betting has been somewhat controversial across the U.S. since the Supreme Court reversed its decision on PASPA in 2018. This has led to varying degrees of legality across the country.

Fortunately for hockey bettors, any state that has allowed sports betting will allow you to bet on the NHL. Here is a list of NHL legality by state.

**NOTE: On November 5, 2024, Missouri voters narrowly agreed in favor of Amendment 2, legalizing sports betting in the state with a December 1, 2025 launch date for the state’s sports betting industry. Bettor In Green will continue to update this page as anticipated launch dates are announced. It is unlikely that betting will launch before the end of the 2024-25 NHL season, but a launch ahead of the 2025-26 season is a realistic expectation.

Conclusion

NHL betting still trails behind NFL, NBA, and MLB betting among the “Big Four” leagues, but it continues to be a multi-billion dollar enterprise annually. Now that you’ve learned a bit more about each of the top operators, you can get registered and try to turn your knowledge and insight into a profit!

As a reminder, clicking on the links above will redirect you to our sportsbook promo pages so you can not only learn more about each operator but also access information about the latest welcome bonuses at each site.

Also, set yourself up for betting success by signing up for the Bettor In Green cheat sheets, which come loaded with NHL betting props every day throughout the season. You can access the cheatsheets for just $4.99/month, which you should easily be able to win back by using the information contained on the sheets!

FAQ

Are there specific promotions for NHL betting?

Yes, there are specific promotions for NHL betting. Check the “Promotions” tab of your preferred sports betting app during the NHL season to browse active offers. You may also want to opt-in to marketing messages to receive emails with the latest NHL bonuses.

How does puck line betting work?

Puck line betting works by requiring the moneyline favorite to win outright and beat the underdog by a predetermined margin decided by the sportsbook. For most pregame wagers, the puck line will be set at 1.5, meaning the favorite must win by at least two goals. Conversely, the underdog can lose outright but win on the puck line if they manage to keep the score close.

Do NHL betting sites offer live streaming?

Yes, NHL betting sites offer live streaming. You’ll need to place a wager on the game before you’ll be able to access the live stream. This will also give you access to many in-game statistics to help you determine the wagers you should consider backing.

How do I place futures bets on NHL outcomes?

You can place futures bets on NHL outcomes by tapping “NHL,” then “Futures,” in your preferred betting app. Once there, you’ll be able to browse a broad range of betting markets, including picking a Stanley Cup winner, projecting team win totals, predicting division winners, and choosing which players will win various NHL awards.