Ice hockey may be known more as Canada's, or to a lesser extent the United States' game, but thanks to a big rise in viewership in 2024 and over the past few years, online betting on hockey is now pretty popular in the United Kingdom. If you're looking for the best betting sites for ice hockey, expert tips and odds explained, you're in the right place. Stick with us for:
There are plenty of hockey betting tips out there, and you'll find all sorts of available bets to take advantage of:
Winner of individual games
Stanley Cup champion
Division winners
Total goals (over/under or odd/even)
Correct score
Most of the major online bookies that offer hockey online betting also provide NHL betting tips and other predictions for the season, like our live feed we've created for you to take advantage of. Here are a few more things to bear in mind:
One cool thing about hockey betting is its consistency: the game is played indoors on ice that's always clean and smooth, so weather has no impact on the game. This makes things more, if only slightly, predictable than other sports
Every year, teams gain new and lose current players through retirement, injuries, trades and drafts. It's not unusual for a few key acquisitions to completely reshape the performance of teams
Weather may not have an impact, but home/away crowds can definitely play a part in affecting player performance. In close games, it may end up being the edge!
Historically, Canadians have dominated the sport of ice hockey. But the last Canadian team to win the the Montreal Canadians, raised the trophy back in 1992/3. Be wary of hockey betting tips that pick Canadian teams to win it all
From NHL betting lines to Euro ice hockey, looking into how to bet on the sport is well worth the time for British punters. With a season lasting around nine months, there's exciting hockey action going on for much of the year, so it will certainly pays to read up on the best odds.
True, it won't be for everyone, but we think that this is a game that's only going to get more popular here in the UK as streaming services make watching the game more accessible. Get stuck into the nail-biting action by signing up to one of our trusted operators that offer ice hockey betting, and you'll be treated to a generous welcome offer straight away.
Editors Pick
100%
100% deposit bonus of up to £30
T&Cs Apply
New UK & Ireland customers only. £10. First deposit matched up to £30. 1x wagering at odds of 1.75 to unlock Free Bet. Credit Card, Debit Card & PayPal deposits only. Full Terms apply.
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£30
Bet £10 get £30 when you place your first bet
T&Cs Apply
New customers only – Minimum deposit of £10 using deposit code 30F - A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £10 placed on any sports market - Minimum odds of 1/2 (1.5) - Free bets credited upon qualifying bet settlement and expire after 7 days - Free bet stakes not included in returns - Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time. General deposit method & withdrawal restrictions apply & Full Terms apply.
Since hockey betting is particularly popular in America, you may run across ice hockey odds in the moneyline format. While this type of odds is reasonably simple to understand in itself it gets more complicated if a line is involved. As an example, £100 wins £200 profit (total payout of £300 including the original stake) on +200 odds, while £100 is required to make £50 profit on odds of -200 (total return of £150).
A point spread, or line, dictates that a team must win by (or can lose by) a certain number of goals in order for bets to pay out. For example, if the line on a Pittsburgh Penguins game is 2.5 then they need to win by 3 or more goals for bets to pay out. Meanwhile, their opponents can lose by 2 goals and bets backing them will still pay.
In Britain, online bookies generally convert odds to the fractional format by default, including hockey betting odds. This means that you'll likely see ice hockey odds for individual teams look like 3/4 and 3/1. In the first example, you need to bet £4 to win £3 and, in the second, a bet of £1 will yield £3 profit. So, the total payouts in these examples would be £7 and £4 respectively when you include the original stake.
Although it's great to be able to follow NHL betting lines and hockey betting tips on your laptop and desktop, it can be difficult to do so in real-time because NHL games generally take place during the night if you're located in a British time zone. This is when being able to use your smartphone or tablet via a betting app or a responsive mobile site comes in very useful. You can check on your active bets, look at hockey news and track the latest hockey betting lines wherever and whenever you please.
Once you've found a site with great ice hockey odds, it's time to grab a bonus and start playing for real money. All of the top online bookmaker gambling sites will offer some sort of welcome offer when you join, and if you're a returning punter you're likely to be rewarded too.
Once you've armed yourself with NHL betting tips and have found some solid hockey betting lines, you're ready to start placing real money wagers. It's really easy to place a bet at an online bookie:
Make sure your bet has been placed. You'll likely get a confirmation email outlining the small print of your Euro ice hockey/NHL betting lines, how much you stand to win/lose and more. Once you've got this you're good to go!
T&Cs Apply
New UK & Ireland customers only. £10. First deposit matched up to £30. 1x wagering at odds of 1.75 to unlock Free Bet. Credit Card, Debit Card & PayPal deposits only. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New customers only – Minimum deposit of £10 using deposit code 30F - A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £10 placed on any sports market - Minimum odds of 1/2 (1.5) - Free bets credited upon qualifying bet settlement and expire after 7 days - Free bet stakes not included in returns - Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time. General deposit method & withdrawal restrictions apply & Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
18+ only, new customers only, gamble responsibly. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New online customers only, min £10 stake, win only, min odds 1/2, free bets paid as 3x £10, 30 day expiry, free bet/payment method/player/country restrictions apply. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New customer offer. Place 5 x £10 or more bets to receive £20 in free bets. Repeat up to 5 times to receive maximum £100 bonus. Min odds 1/2 (1.5). Exchange bets excluded. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New UK & Ireland customers only. £10. First deposit matched up to £30. 1x wagering at odds of 1.75 to unlock Free Bet. Credit Card, Debit Card & PayPal deposits only. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New customers only – Minimum deposit of £10 using deposit code 30F - A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £10 placed on any sports market - Minimum odds of 1/2 (1.5) - Free bets credited upon qualifying bet settlement and expire after 7 days - Free bet stakes not included in returns - Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time. General deposit method & withdrawal restrictions apply & Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
18+ only, new customers only, gamble responsibly. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New online customers only, min £10 stake, win only, min odds 1/2, free bets paid as 3x £10, 30 day expiry, free bet/payment method/player/country restrictions apply. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New customer offer. Place 5 x £10 or more bets to receive £20 in free bets. Repeat up to 5 times to receive maximum £100 bonus. Min odds 1/2 (1.5). Exchange bets excluded. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply to All Bonuses. 18+ only. Gamble Responsibly.
British punters don't always understand the rules of this game, let alone how to bet on ice hockey, so this is a subject that we field quite a few questions on. We've answered the most common ones below:
With games from the NCAA, AHL, EIHL and NHL available to bet on, there's a huge range of ice hockey action toenjoy in 2024. You'll probably be surprised by just how much you find!
Most of them definitely are, but there are some sites out there that should be avoided at all costs. The online betting sites we recommend are always reputable, fair and honest, and we won't hesitate to blacklist the ones that don't live up to our expectations.
Absolutely. All of the top online bookies out there offer welcome bonuses for new players in Britain. You can use these on anything from ice hockey betting to placing outright wagers on the Stanley Cup.
With many games boasting 50+ bets on everything from the winner of the game to player performance or whether or not there will be overtime, you'll never be short of possible real money wagers when it comes to hockey betting lines.
We've done all of the hard work for you, and are proud to showcase the best sites that we've found for players looking to try hockey online betting right here on this page. Go on, get your skates on!