The CONCACAF men’s soccer match between Canada and Jamaica this past Sunday in Toronto, where Canada won 4-0 and qualified for this November’s World Cup, was a true epochal moment in the sports history of the country.
Everyone watching the game was fully aware of the gravity of it. The men’s national team has deeply captured the interest of Canadian sports fans, including those who have never followed the sport.
The last time Canada was in soccer’s World Cup was 1986, and anyone back then will tell you the objective was not to get blown out. This team, coached by John Herdman, is on a whole other level — building Canada into a soccer nation. That’s why qualifying for the World Cup was vital.
Ontario sports betting stats for PROLINE reflect the interest in the team. Sunday’s match was the third-highest bet soccer match on digital since PROLINE+ launched in August, according to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.
The competitive and regulated Ontario iGaming market launches on April 4. World Cup betting should be huge for all involved.
Money on the Canadian Team
Not surprisingly, 85% of the pre-match money and 95% of the live bets came in on Canada, the heavy favorite. Canada was still missing Alphonso Davies, one of its top stars.
But the Jamaicans also were not able to call on their full-strength squad. Odds opened at 1.27 to the Canadians but ended up as low as 1.15 prior to game time. There was also heavy pressure on the various over bets for total goals scored, and moneyline betting did not disappoint, either.
The top four teams in the CONCACAF group all winning their respective games was a popular bet with PROLINE — 211 players parlayed the four teams together and won on Canada, US, Mexico and Costa Rica coming through.
Final Four Betting
Then there’s the NCAA Final Four, coming up this Saturday, another giant from a sports betting perspective.
According to an OLG spokesperson, in early betting, the game between No. 8 North Carolina and No. 2 Duke is taking “slightly heavier action.” Although these two teams have played 257 games during their long rivalry (two bitter ACC rivals with campuses just 20 kilometers apart), they have never met in the NCAA Tournament.
Bettors so far prefer North Carolina on the spread, likely anticipating a close game and being happy with the points. According to the spokesperson, moneyline is seeing relatively even betting on both sides.
“As far as No. 2 Villanova versus No. 1 Kansas, Kansas seems to be the consensus favorite amongst the bettors for now, but of course it is all still early,” the spokesperson added.
