Best NHL Betting Sites & Apps 2024

In the United States, there are four main sports that players enjoy betting on, and hockey, specifically the National Hockey League (NHL), is one of them.

With the ever-growing popularity and a sport that spans the end of each calendar year and into the middle of the next, we’ll touch on the best hockey betting sites on the market today, bonuses/promotions offered, how to rank them, and so much more. 

Our team here at USALegalBetting.com has you covered when it comes to hockey and NHL betting. 

After a lengthy review process, we’ve found si best hockey and NHL betting sites that we highly recommend you explore:

1. BetMGM
2. Betway
3. Bet365
4. BetRivers
5. Borgata
6. FanDuel

Below, learn more about these sites, including their features, hockey coverage, deposit methods, and more

Above, we mentioned several betting features you’ll encounter at our top hockey betting sites and below, we’ll dive into more detail about each of them. 

• Live Betting: This is a betting market that allows you to wager on games as they progress in real-time. Most pre-game betting markets are available though odds change depending on what happens in the game. 
• Live Streaming: This isn’t typically available for NHL betting, but for select sites, you may find live streams for international hockey games to make the betting experience that much better. 
• Cash Out: This is a feature that allows, on occasion, the early exit from a wager. This could be to save yourself some cash on one that’s failing or to take some winnings and not risk the final result. 
• Same Game Parlays: This is another betting market. Like parlays which typically include multiple games, Same Game Parlays are parlays that take multiple markets from within one game and put them together on one slip. 
• DFS: DFS, also known as daily fantasy sports, allow you to create lineups using players from the sport and compete against other players for cash prizes based on player performance. There are numerous iterations of DFS nowadays, but for example, FanDuel’s DFS allows you to create a lineup using a salary cap. Players are assigned salaries, and you create the best possible lineup within those constraints and compete against other players.

Blacklisted Hockey Betting Sites

It’s important to recognize and understand that we’ll only ever recommend legal online hockey betting sites. There are several other sites you may come across, like Bovada, BetOnline, MyBookie, and others.

While these do allow you to wager on them, these are considered offshore and blacklisted hockey betting sites. These are not overseen by a legal governing body in any state in the United States.

What this means is that there’s no consumer protection. If you place a bet and win, there’s a chance you’ll never receive your winnings. With legal online hockey betting sites in the United States, that’s an issue you’ll never have to worry about.

Additionally, there’s no telling what security is in place to keep your personal information, including payment information, safe.

Legal hockey betting sites in the United States have protections in place that ensure these sites meet a certain standard of protection, which provides peace of mind.

We encourage you to always examine whether or not a site is a legal online hockey betting site. To do so, check the governing body's website in your state or scroll to the bottom of the desktop platform or mobile app. There’s often some level of transparency on the site, which recognizes who licensed the site.

How We Rank The Sites

When examining NHL betting apps and sites, there are a number of things we take into consideration. While we understand you may have different sensibilities and preferences, here’s a list of things we’re considering when listing the best hockey sportsbooks.

• Markets and Odds: The more hockey markets there are, the better. This not only includes North American markets like the NHL and college, but also international leagues. As for odds, we encourage you to check all of the sites we mentioned to see which provides the best odds for your desired wager. Odds can differ from site to site based on betting action. 
• Hockey & NHL Coverage: As mentioned, when examining the best hockey betting apps, we, of course, want there to be much more than just the NHL. While this is going to be the focus for US bettors, there’s still a market for international leagues, especially with sites that offer live streaming.
• Bonuses and Promotions: One of the key pillars of successful NHL betting sites is the bonuses and promotions they offer. This may include welcome bonuses, which could provide boons to your account for hundreds or even thousands in bonus bet value. We also look for sites for additional promos like parlay insurance or a smaller bonus bet amount after wagering a specific amount. Another popular bonus is the odds boosts that most sportsbooks offer.
• Mobile Experience: All of the NHL betting sites we mentioned above offer a mobile app for both iOS and Android users. The best ice hockey betting sites will have mobile apps that mimic that of the desktop platform to make the learning curve that much easier.
• Banking and Payout Speed: It goes without saying, but with real money involved, it’s important to not only have methods you’re comfortable using, but these sites owe it to you to get your winnings to you as fast as possible. The best NHL betting sites, which we listed above, provide fast payouts.
• Security and Trust: Thanks to the laws overseeing online sports betting in the United States, you can play at these NHL sportsbooks and know your data is going to be completely safe. The laws ensure that these sites have a certain level of consumer protection.
• Customer Support: There are numerous ways to access customer support for hockey betting, including FAQ sections, live chat, email, and phone support.
• Key Features: We discussed the features above, and the more of these, the better. This includes live streaming, live betting, DFS, Same Game Parlays, and cash out.

As we mentioned above, promos and bonuses are what make an already great NHL sportsbook better.

But what types of offers can you expect to run into at the top betting sites?

Let’s explore below.

• Welcome Bonuses: This is more of a general offer, but these are the introductory offers to a new site. They’re designed to offer high monetary upside to compete with their competitors. These can be deposit bonuses, “bet and get” offers, and more. 
• Odds Boosts: Many sportsbooks offer these daily. With these, an event will have its odds artificially boosted with the upside of a bigger payday if the wager wins. 
• Bonus Bets: This is the most common “currency” you’ll receive when engaging with sportsbook promos and bonuses. For example, if an offer gives you $200 after wagering $5 like FanDuel, the $200 isn’t cash; it’s bonus bets. You can wager with these and keep the winnings from any wagers you use them on. However, you won’t receive the amount of the bonus bet back as cash. 
• Bet & Get: Like FanDuel or bet365 mentioned above, the concept of this promo is that you “bet” a specific amount and “get” an amount in bonus bets. 
• Deposit Bonuses: These were more common in the early days of online sports betting and still are prominent in online casino play. With these, you’ll earn bonus bets or site credit. A common example used to be a 100% match up to $1,000. So, if you deposit $1,000, you’ll get $1,000 in bonus bets or site credit. 

How to Find the Best NHL Betting Site

While we’ve gone over what we look for in a top NHL betting site, we want to discuss the process of finding them. 

As you may know, there are dozens of legal online sportsbooks out there to choose from. As a result, there’s a lot of personal gameplay involved with finding which sites make the most sense. 

Not only do we actually play on these sites, but we also surf around them to see how easy it is to find key sections of sites like customer support, banking options, sports, markets, and more. 

We only browse legal platforms, too. 

We also engage with NHL betting apps in addition to the desktop. While the desktop is fine, let’s face it, most of us are going to wager on hockey on our phones or mobile devices. Thus, we download the apps and test them out to see how easy they are to use both connected to WiFi and when not. 

Overall, we try to put ourselves in the position of a brand-new player and eliminate our pre-existing expertise on sports betting apps to ensure we’re suggesting platforms that are compatible with all types of players. 

Some of the key things we consider “must-haves” are: 

• Legally licensed platform. 
• Variety of banking options. 
• Immediate availability of promotions and betting lines.
• Bonuses and promotions that offer real value. 
• We also compare these sites through the lens of objectivity. We compare these sites based on our criteria and simply rank those above one another based on that. We also have our reviews here on the site that we encourage you to explore to see a more in-depth analysis of these sites. 

For our rankings, we recommend that you make your own list of what’s most important and decide which sites are best for you based on that. 

Yes. Betting on the NHL is available and legal in the United States. There are well over two dozen states that have legal online sports betting in the United States, and that number is only growing. The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was overturned in May 2018, and since then, numerous states have brought online sports betting to the masses, along with the NHL.

The NHL and numerous sports teams are partnered with online sportsbooks.

You can comfortably wager on the NHL at any of the online sportsbooks mentioned throughout this page.

Now that you’re considering getting into betting on the NHL, we want to provide an in-depth guide on how to best approach it without any issues. 

Below, we’ll discuss things such as the types of bets, understanding the sites, strategies, key terms, and more. 

Understanding NHL Betting Sites

As discussed above and throughout this page, finding and understanding the best NHL betting app involves examining the variety of hockey markets, competitive odds, user-friendly interfaces, excellent promotions and bonuses, and more.

Each of these elements creates an experience that’ll keep you coming back each time you want to wager on the NHL.

At the same time, it’s important to remember that you can play as many of these as you want. This isn’t a situation where you pick only one and can’t play elsewhere. If you’re in a state with multiple legal online NHL betting sites, you can create an account at all of them.

Types of NHL Bets

There are numerous ways to bet on the NHL and we have betting guides available for most of what you’ll read below. Here’s a quick summary of each.

• Moneyline: Pick which team you think will win the game.
• Puck Line: Similar to the point spread, the puck line is actually more similar to baseball’s run line. This number is always set at 1.5 and provides handicap to the game. A team will either be +1.5 or -1.5 and you need to pick whether or not a team will cover that run line. If you wager on a team at -1.5 and the win 4-3, you’ll lose the bet because they failed to win by two goals or more.
• Totals: Bet on the combined number of goals scored in a game.
• Futures: Bet on events such as player awards, playoff success, and division titles. The odds shift throughout the season.
• Parlays: Package multiple games together onto one betslip. The odds increase for each game added, but remember that in order for a parlay ticket to cash, all “legs” on it must succeed. If you have three games on a parlay and only two wins, you lose the wager.
• Prop Bets: The most common prop bets for hockey betting are player props. Instead of betting on the team's success, you’ll wager based on individual statistical performance. This could be for the number of goals scored, assists, goals saved, and more.

NHL Betting Odds Explained

With these hockey betting sites mentioned above, you’ll run into odds that are listed with a “-” or “+.” 

To best understand these, let’s think about them through the lens of winning or wagering $100.

For “+” odds, this is considered the underdog. If you place a $100 wager on this and win, you’ll win the amount listed with the odds. For example, if the odds are +200, you wager $100 and win, you’ll get $200. 

For “-” odds, this is the favored team. For these, you’ll need to wager the number linked to the odds to win $100. For example, if a team is -140, you must wager $140 to win $100. 

As mentioned with the puck line, you’ll find either -1.5 or +1.5. These wagers will often have odds at or around -110, but for the puck line itself, here’s how to approach it.

• At -1.5, a team needs to win by two goals or more. 
• At +1.5, the team needs to win outright or lose by one goal or less. 

NHL Betting Strategies and Tips

• Set a Budget: Thies goes for all sports betting, but we recommend you set yourself up with a budget and stick to it. For example, if you deposit $100 to wager with, keep wagers between $1 and $10 each for longevity.
• Watch the Injury Report: The absence or status of key players can thoroughly change the thought-process of a wager. Determine whether a player is out or, if they’re going to play, how severe is the injury.
• Home-Ice Advantage: According to numerous studies, the home-ice teams tend to win moneyline wagers at a higher rate. During the 2022-23 season, home teams won the moneyline in regulation 53.10% of the time.
• Analyze Key Statistics: Before making any wager, you should always do your best to examine the key stats. One advanced stat that can help is the Corsi For Percentage (CF%). This is a stat that measures the shot attempts by a team compared to their opponent. There are plenty more statistics to consider, too, such as points, goals, assists, and more.

NHL Betting Key Terms

• Power Play: A power play happens in hockey when one team gains an advantage over the other team based on the number of players on the ice. For example, if a player commits a penalty and heads to the penalty box, there could be a situation where there’s a 5-4 power play, meaning the other team has one more player available on the ice.
• Short-Handed: This is a term that aligns with a power play. It simply indicates the numerical disadvantage, whereas power play is the name of the situation on the ice.
• Shootout: A shootout is a tie-breaking method used in hockey. While a game will have an overtime period, if the game remains tied after that, a shootout occurs.
• Hat Trick: This is when a player scores three goals.
• Unit: This is a term used to describe your average bet amount. So, if you see an analysis that says to “wager one unit,” this would indicate what your typical wager amount is.
• Regulation: This is used to describe the 60 minutes in a hockey game across three 20-minute periods.
• Hedge: This term describes wagering on the other side of a wager in an attempt to minimize losses or, if timed right, a small profit. You can use live betting to your advantage with this.
• Juice/Vig: If you see betting odds at -110, the 10 in that is considered the “commission” paid to the sportsbook. You’ll need to bet $11 to win $10 instead of it being “equal money.”

Live Betting on NHL Games

Live betting is available and can be done with NHL and other hockey games. This is an experience that allows you to wager on games as they progress. The markets mentioned above, such as the moneyline, totals, props, and more will remain available, but the odds switch as the game evolves. So, if a team goes up 1-0, their moneyline odds may be different than their pre-game odds.

At the best online NHL betting sites, you’ll be provided with a page dedicated to each game. This game will display all available markets and, most of the time, a live track that updates you with things such as goals, shots on goal, power plays, results of shootouts, and more.

Some sites even go a step further and have key statistics listed such as all of those mentioned above so you can make betting decisions without needing to watch the game if you’re unable to.

While we recommend actually watching the game when live betting, we know that’s not always possible, so having a live tracker and stats on the screen makes it that much easier, especially when on the road.

NHL Betting Trends and Analytics

Before making any wager on any sport, it’s important to have a grasp of the statistics within each sport so you can truly evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each team. We mentioned one stat above with the Corsi For Percentage (CF%), but there’s of course plenty more than that, including Fenwick, PDO, xG, and more.

For newer players, exploring more “approachable” stats like goals scored, goals conceded, power play efficiency, and more provides a safe baseline for what to examine before placing any bets.

Examining things such as injuries and how they impact lineups can also play a major role.

Understanding NHL Line Movement

From the time odds are posted until the game starts, they will change. This change is known as “line movement” and is something you can monitor before placing a bet. A popular situation for this could be waiting for an injury. You could take a risk and assume a player is playing and perhaps get more advantageous odds, but at the same time, you could wait to hear if he’s in or out and bet accordingly.

Additionally, lines can shift due to the overall money coming in on a certain side or if a bettor that a sportsbook considers “sharp” places a big wager.

As always, we recommend comparing multiple NHL betting sites before making a wager to see which gives you the best odds.

Throughout the NHL season, there are a number of high-interest events that could attract more casual players. These are important as online NHL betting sites may offer additional promotions and bonuses to conjure more wagering on their markets.

Below are four notable events during the NHL season.

• Opening Day: The 2023-24 NHL season opened on October 10. This was the first time most teams hit the ice. Many fans get excited for the start of the season, and you can expect promotions because of that.
• Winter Classic: This event started in 2008 and takes place on or around New Year’s Day. It’s a highlighted event with two teams usually playing outdoors in a football stadium, making a spectacle of itself.
• Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Stanley Cup Playoffs feature numerous rounds of action with a seven-game series. The Stanley Cup Finals include the winner of the East and West Conference as they battle it out to see who will win four of seven games and take home the Stanley Cup. Betting on the Stanley Cup at the best hockey sportsbooks will likely include access to exclusive hockey-only promotions as this is the championship for that sport and league.
• NHL All-Star Game: Taking place in January or February, the NHL All-Star game is meant to celebrate the best players in all of the league.

Choosing the best hockey betting site will ultimately come down to your interests in terms of how you wager, how much you wager, the sports you’re interested in, and more.

That said, we can provide you with some general reference points to remember when evaluating each site.

• Licensing: This goes without saying, but make sure it’s a legal online hockey betting site in the United States. You can check each state’s licensing authority to see, or scroll to the bottom of the page to see if there’s mention of an association with the local gaming enforcement agency. 
• Security: Of course, keeping your customer data safe is of the highest priority. All of the online hockey betting sites we’ve mentioned throughout this page come equipped with the best software to keep your personal information and payment information safe.
• Payment Options: Without being able to add money to your account or take it out, there’s really no point in playing. Research the sportsbook deposit methods to ensure they offer something you’re comfortable with before signing up for an account.
• Customer Service: In general, we look for four methods of customer support, including FAQ, phone, email, and live chat. The more options the site has, the better.
  Features: Whether it’s live betting, cash out, Same Game Parlays, or something else, the more features a site has, the better. In our experience, most modern online hockey betting sites offer all of these.
• Bonuses and Promotions: The better the welcome bonus that makes sense for your budget and play style, the more money and bonus bets you’ll have to work with when betting on hockey.
• Betting Markets: If you like betting on player props and the site you’re interested in doesn’t have them, this could be a problem. Research the markets for each game before signing up for an account.

If you’re ready to get started playing at NHL betting sites, follow our step-by-step process below to ensure you don’t miss anything. 

• Choosing the Site: Review what we mentioned above including how to choose and how to find the best NHL betting sites. Once you’ve read over those and our reviews, pick where you’d like to play. 
• Registration Process: Click our links to head to the site of choice. Begin the registration process and use our exclusive promo codes when required to. This process will ask for personal information. Complete this and get yourself a new account. 
• Making a Deposit: After completing the registration process, make a deposit. A link for this can typically be found in the upper right corner of the page on the home screen after logging in. Once here, choose the payment method and the amount to add funds to your virtual wallet. Note that crypto isn’t an acceptable payment method at any of these top NHL betting sites. 
• Claiming Bonuses: Most online NHL betting sites will have welcome bonuses. Depending on what it is, you can claim it after making a deposit of a specific amount. We strongly encourage you to read the terms and conditions of each offer before engaging with them to ensure you follow the proper steps. 
• Placing Bets: With funds loaded into your account, it’s time to wager. Venture to the NHL section and find a game. Once you’ve found a game you’re interested in, explore the available betting markets. Add the wager you’d like to make to your betslip along with the amount you want to wager. Confirm the wager and wait for the results. 
• Managing Your Account: While playing, we recommend keeping up to date with your account. Set limits on your play if needed and also keep track of your wins and losses to determine where you stand financially. Use this data to make more informed wagers. 
• Withdrawing Winnings: After winning some cash, head to the cashier page to withdraw. The cashier page can typically be found on your account page which is also often found in the upper-right corner of the page. You may need to confirm your identity before completing the withdrawal. If not, simply pick the method and the amount you wish to take out—enjoy the winnings.

With mobile betting, you’ll engage with NHL betting sites in a different way. For mobile devices, you can play at your favorite hockey betting sites via iOS and Android devices. The mobile apps are available on the Apple App and Google Play Store. Some sites will allow you to play on your mobile web browser. The experience is fine but certainly pales in comparison to the mobile app or desktop platform.

Here, you’ll find a “squished down” version of the desktop, but the best online hockey sites make it so they’re nearly identical. This allows a minimal learning curve, so you don’t need to learn two new platforms completely.

Other than that, the welcome bonuses, existing user promotions, odds boosts, cash out, Same Game Parlays, and other features are still completely relevant and available.

Mobile hockey betting allows you to take your betting experience with you on the road, so long as you remain in the borders of a legal betting state where your choice of an online sportsbook is available.

This experience is meant for convenience and ease of access, whether you’re in the drive-thru, picking kids up from school, or in the passenger’s seat on a road trip.

Responsible gaming is a key component to having a successful experience when playing at hockey betting sites. At these sites, you’ll find sections dedicated to it, including resources like 1-800-GAMBLER, local organizations’ contact information, and limits on which you can set your account. These limits include playtime, deposits, spending, and more. These will help set you up for an experience that puts guardrails on how you play to promote a healthy gameplay experience and to avoid spending too much money.

Additionally, you can request to self-exclude yourself from online gambing as a whole for a set period to ensure you take a break.