Rugby League Betting Types Explained

There isn’t a faster growing sport in Canada than rugby league. The popularity of the sport has increased quickly over the past couple of years after the Toronto Wolfpack were promoted to the England’s Super League in 2020. However, pandemic restrictions and financial demands have meant that the Wolfpack needed to pull out of the competition and were narrowly saved from going out of business.  The club now competes in the North American Rugby League, which looks to be a potential popular league to make rugby league bets online in Canada. You can learn all about the betting markets that you can make wagers on below.  If you are at all unsure about some of these betting types or markets, maybe you should take a few moments and read our beginner's guide to rugby league betting.

Spread Betting

Unlike many other sports, the most popular betting market when it comes to rugby league is spread betting. In this market, the side considered the favourites would start with a disadvantage that they need to overcome. The number of points disadvantage that they start with is decided by the sportsbook. For example, players can then bet on the favoured side to overcome that disadvantage. The Toronto Wolfpack could start a game against the Austin Armadillos with a -3 spread.  In order for this bet to be a winner, the Wolfpack will need to beat the Armadillos by at least four points. The market can also be used to get value on the outsiders, as a bet on the Armadillos with a +3 spread means that gamblers could get returns providing that the Armadillos don’t lose by more than four points.

Match Betting

The match betting market is still popular for rugby league betting, but it can often be less lucrative than gamblers will expect to get with other sports. It is for that reason that the spread betting option is more popular with gamblers. When it comes to betting on this market, customers will simply have to correctly predict the outcome of the match.  Bets made in this market only cover regulation time, which means that should a match be drawn and an extra period is needed, then the correct outcome on this market is the draw. Draws are often the most lucrative selection of the three available, with this option typically being around 10/1 or higher.

Head to Head

Gamblers can also take the equation of the draw out of the question by utilising the Head to Head market. Odds on this market will be even smaller than the ones that you can find in the Match Betting market, but it does eliminate the risk of draw ruining your bet.  The only selections that gamblers can bet on in this market are the two teams involved. Returns are awarded should the team that you bet on win the match in regulation time. Meanwhile, a draw will see the bet void and returns awarded back to the gambler. The only way to have a losing wager on this market is by selecting the wrong team to win in regulation time.  

Winning Margin

Winning margin betting is popular with rugby league fans that are looking to get added returns from their selection. First, gamblers must pick the team that they believe will win the match, before then deciding on the winning margin that the team will win by. Margins are predetermined by the sportsbook, which means that gamblers will be placing their most inside the brackets that have been determined.  Many of the leading Canadian sportsbooks will offer just two brackets, with gamblers able to bet on whether the winning margin for the selected team will be between one and twelve points, or more than thirteen. Providing that gamblers wager their money on the correct winning team, along with the margin of victory, they will be awarded the returns for their selection.

First Tryscorer

The most important part of the rugby league game is scoring tries. This is the prominent way to score points in the sport, and bettors can place a wager on the player that will score the opening try in the game. Selections must be correct to get returns from this market, which means that should you put your money on the wrong player, then the stake will be losing.  In this market, only the player that scores the opening try will be credited with returns. There is an alternative betting market for gamblers that want to remain interested in this market throughout the game that they are betting on, and those selections can be made in the Anytime Tryscorer market.

Outright Competition Winner

There are rugby league competitions taking place around the globe, and many leading sportsbooks are aware that customers looking to make rugby league bets will want to place wagers on all the competitions. For the most part, sportsbooks will enable bets to be made on all the markets that we have already mentioned regardless of the competition.  However, the most engaging market is the outright winner, which is available for all the most prominent competitions. To get a winner on this market, the bettor must successfully wager their money on the team that will be crowned champions of the tournament that you are betting on. Therefore, if you bet on New Zealand to win the World Cup, then they must win the competition for your account to be credited with the returns.