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With the NBA and NHL playoffs finished, the betting landscape looks sparse outside of major league baseball in the summertime. Granted, there is the WNBA, PGA Tour Golf, Soccer, NASCAR, and F1 racing but those are niche sports for those who enjoy watching those sports.
One sport that doesn’t get a lot of run but is fun to wager on is Canadien Football (we spelled like they do up north). Oh sure, we have heard the criticism, “it’s not real football” or “don’t understand the goofy rules”.
That’s all fine if that is not your thing, not everything is for everyone, just like the other five sports that were previously mentioned.
However, if you like football, are up for something a little different that features a lot of passing offense and you’re looking to put money down on a different kind of entertainment, the CFL could be for you.
Keep In Mind, It’s Still Football
No question CFL football is different from the NFL and college football.
- You have three downs to make a first down instead of four. A little-known fact that predates the NFL, all football had three downs before 1912 when U.S. teams went to four downs.
- The field is 110 yards by 65 yards compared to 100 yards by 53 1/3 yards in the NFL.
- The end zones are twice as large at 20 yards compared to 10 yards in college and NFL football. Additionally, the goalposts are at the front of the end not the back like American football. The NFL and college football moved those in 1974 and 1927 respectively for player safety. The larger end zones in the CFL make this less of an issue.
- The CFL uses 12 players rather than 11, adding a receiver and defensive back and pass catchers can move forward before the ball is snapped, just not crossing the line of scrimmage at the snap.
- Canadien Football has a one-point play called a – rouge. The kicking team is awarded a rouge if the team either misses a field goal or punts the football, and the receiving team does not get the ball out of their own end zone. Or, a team can score a rouge if the ball goes through the end zone and out of bounds without being touched on a missed field goal or punt.
Aside from this, the game is the same when it comes to blocking and tackling.
Why Canadian Football is Fun to Bet
Typically, the season starts the first weekend in June and goes to late November for the Grey Cup, which is their championship.
What makes it fun to wager on besides its football is that it’s a quarterback league. With just three downs, you try to run on first down and don’t gain yardage, you have to make 10 yards on the next down or end up punting.
With all the receivers, defenses look to bring a lot of pressure on obvious passing downs to throw the quarterback off balance. This makes for an exciting brand of football that once you learn about teams for betting purposes, it’s actually fun to watch when you are invested in the outcome.
Though the – rouge – sounds a bit crazy by American football standards, from a betting perspective it is very much like a missed extra point in the NFL or going for two after a touchdown. There are maddening or exhilarating half-point outcomes because of those plays.
The simple beauty of betting Canadian Football is most weeks there are four games played Thursday through Sunday, with a few exceptions. There is no heavy workload that is overbearing and you can bet it until the start of the college and pro football seasons as a fun diversion, without a lot of money at stake, yet having skin in the game.
This is just another way to pick up cash without a great deal of daily effort to fill in the slow months of summer. And who knows, maybe you’ll get hooked and keep wagering all the way to the Grey Cup!
