Canadian Football League (CFL) Betting Guide

What is the Canadian Football League (CFL)?

The Canadian Football League represents the highest level of football outside of America and has been a mainstay on the Canadian sporting scene since 1958.

A total of nine franchises, one from each city in Canada, participate in the CFL and are divided into two conferences. Four teams do battle in the Eastern Conference and five teams in the Western Conference.

The entire premise of the competition is to win the Grey Cup - all nine teams begin the season aiming to get their hands on the prestigious trophy. To find out more about CFL betting lines, the history of its teams, and much more, check out our CFL betting breakdown below.

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What is the main difference between NFL and CFL?

There are several notable differences between the NFL and CFL - however, we have broken down the top three discrepancies below:

CFL teams can field 12 players on the pitch at any one time. That’s opposed to the NFL, where only 11 players can take to the field.

Scoring. An extra point is up for grabs for the kicking team in the CFL. It occurs if a field goal is missed or the football is punted and the receiving team cannot exit their end zone. This is known as a single point.

Less downs. The NFL allows for four downs per possession, while the CFL limits teams to three downs. Fewer opportunities to score a touchdown makes for more aggressive tactics.

There are several other nuances - but those are the main differences between the two.

How many teams play in the CFL?

There are nine franchises in the CFL - each from a different city. Check out the full list below:

• Edmonton Elks
• Saskatchewan Roughriders
• Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• Toronto Argonauts
• Calgary Stampeders
• Winnipeg Blue Bombers
• BC Lions
• Montreal Alouettes
• Ottawa Redblacks

CFL Teams

We have cherry-picked three facts to give you a brief overview of every CFL team.

Edmonton Elks

• They have won the Grey Cup 15 times, including a three-peat and a record five consecutive wins between 1978 and 1982.
• They set a North American sports record by making the playoffs for 34 seasons in a row between 1972 and 2005.
• The kit is green, gold and white.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

• A winner of the Grey Cup on just three occasions - in 1966, 1989, and 2007.
• Their rivalry with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers is considered the most heated in the division.
• They sport green, white, black, and silver colours.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

• The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are the result of a merging of two separate clubs - the Hamilton Tigers and Hamilton Flying Wildcats.
• They have won eight Grey Cups under the Tiger-Cats pseudonym.
• In 2003, they lost a record 17 games in one season.

Toronto Argonauts

• A record 17 Grey Cup wins means the Argonauts are the most successful team in the history of the competition.
• They have been in existence for 148 years, having been founded in 1873.
• They have had the lowest attendance record in the division since 2015.

Calgary Stampeders

• They are an eight-time Grey Cup winner.
• Despite their name and logo revolving around horse imagery, the team’s mascot is a dog.
• The team’s colours are red, white, and black.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

• They have won the Grey Cup on 12 occasions.
• They are the defending champions, after beating the Tiger-Cats 33-25 in 2021.
• The mascot is referred to as the Buzz and Bomber.

BC Lions

• The oldest professional sports franchise in the city of Vancouver and in the province of British Columbia.
• They are six-time Grey Cup winners.
• After the Edmonton Elks, they have the second-longest streak of reaching consecutive playoffs - a run that stretches from 1997 to 2016.

Montreal Alouettes

• Seven-time Grey Cup winners.
• Nicknames include the Larks and the Als.
• Participate in the Eastern Conference.

Ottawa Redblacks

• The 2016 Grey Cup triumph for Ottawa Redblacks was the first time in 40 years that the city of Ottawa could celebrate a team from the city lifting the trophy.
• The 2016 win was the only time in their short 12 year history that they have won the Grey Cup.
• They are the third team from the city of Ottawa to play in the CFL.

CFL Regular Season

The CFL Regular Season runs from June and lasts for 21 weeks, including 18 games and three bye weeks. The goal is to finish as high as possible in the league to garner the best advantage heading into a six-team Playoff scenario.

Teams can climb their respective divisions by improving their win percentage. The higher the win percentage, the likelier they are to finish at the top of the pile.

CFL Playoffs

Once the regular season has finished, teams do battle in the CFL Playoffs for a chance to make the Grey Cup final.

The Playoffs comprise the top two teams from each division qualify and two teams with the next two best records, regardless of division. The top two teams in each division will bag the first and second seeds respectively. The team with the next best record gets the third seed in the home division, while the final qualifier gets the third seed in the remaining division.

The first seeds in each division receive a free passage to the semi-finals.

What is a CFL Grey Cup?

The CFL Grey Cup is the most prestigious trophy as part of the CFL - it crowns the overall champions. It’s Canada's largest annual sports and television event and attracts millions of viewers.

All-Time CFL Champions

Here is the list of all-time CFL champions since the tournament was launched back in 1909. Please note, we are not including champions that are no longer active in this list.

• Toronto Argonauts: 17 times (1914, 1921, 1933, 1937, 1938, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952, 1983, 1991, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2012, 2017)
• Edmonton Elks: 14 times (1954, 1955, 1956, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1993, 2003, 2005, 2015)
• Winnipeg Blue Bombers: 12 times (1935, 1939, 1941, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1984, 1988, 1990, 2019, 2021)
• Hamilton Tiger-Cats: 8 times (1953, 1957, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1986, 1999)
• Calgary Stampeders: 8 times (1948, 1971, 1992, 1998, 2001, 2008, 2014, 2018)
• Montreal Alouettes: 7 times (1949, 1970, 1974, 1977, 2002, 2009, 2010)
• BC Lions: 6 times (1964, 1985, 1994, 2000, 2006, 2011)
• Saskatchewan Roughriders: 4 times (1966, 1989, 2007, 2013)
• Ottawa Redblacks: Once (2016)

CFL Schedule 2022

The regular CFL season will run from 10th June until 29th October, while the Playoffs will run from November 6th until November 13th. The final will take place on November 20th.

CFL Betting Lines

The CFL represents hundreds of pre-match and in-play betting opportunities for Canadian football fans, and a healthy dose of ante post bets too.

Check out some examples of the types of CFL betting trends below.

• Championship Winner (outright): Pick the team you think will lift the trophy come the end of the season.
• CFL Moneyline: Probably the most simple CFL bets - back the team you think will win.
• CFL Point Spread: Predict the number of points you think a team will win by. In this market, the favourite is given a points handicap, while the outsider gets a head start.
• Total Points: Back the number of points scored in any given match.
• Touchdown Scorer: Predict a player to score a touchdown at any point in the match or back them to get into the end zone on multiple occasions. The odds will vary according to the market.

CFL Betting Odds

You can find the latest odds for all CFL games on LeoVegas Sport!

How to Bet on CFL

It’s as easy as pie on mobile and desktop devices! To bet on the CFL with LeoVegas Sport, simply head to our attuned search function and type in CFL. Click on the result and you will be taken directly to the CFL betting page.

CFL Betting Tips

Looking for a betting suggestion ahead of season? We have earmarked three for you below. Please only bet what you can afford to lose. Odds can change throughout the season.

• Outright Winner: Hamilton Tiger-Cats - 6.0.
• Winnipeg Blue Bombers to win over 11.5 games - 1.77.
• Calgary Stampeders to win Eastern Conference - 3.75.