Rugby betting sites in Canada & legal Ontario market: Premiership, URC, Top 14, NRL & Rugby World Cup

Rugby has a strong history in Canada. Canada's national teams in Rugby Union and Rugby League have competed well in many international competitions, and many top Canadian rugby players have positions at top professional clubs in leagues around the world.  However, the fact remains that other sports take more prominence when it comes to coverage at many betting sites that serve Canada and the legal Ontario sports betting market.  We highlight the best Rugby betting sites for the Ontario legal market and the wider Canadian market as served from reputable 'grey market' providers, and we outline the key issues. Above, no matter where you are, Ontario, or outside it in the rest of Canada, we show you our top-ranked rugby betting providers. Below, we take you through some of the things to look out for with regard to rugby and online sportsbooks.

Ontario rugby betting problem: US brand entrants don't care about rugby

Here's one of the main problems for Ontario rugby fans: the US brand entrants to the Ontario market essentially bring their US offering to the Province, and Americans essentially could not care less about rugby. They are a football nation. Anyone that might have played rugby in that country, plays football instead.   Thus, when you look at the rugby coverage at many of the major US sportsbook brands that have entered Ontario, you will noticed very little in terms of the available leagues upon which you may bet. 

Then, if you can find coverage at a given site, since they take such little betting action, the odds margin or 'sportsbook hold' ends up being very high in a relative sense, sometimes approaching 10% for the main match betting and handicap markets.  To get good odds on rugby, you need to play at a betting site that takes enough bets to offer tighter margins.  The sportsbooks we recommend do a bigger volume in rugby wagering.

What to look for from Ontario for solid rugby betting

The reality remains that Rugby Union and Rugby League remain most popular in the UK and Ireland.  Sportsbook brands that operate in and originate from this region and that have entered the Ontario legal market are going to have superior rugby betting coverage compared to any US brand that has migrated north of the border.  So when you think rugby betting, you should not be thinking about DraftKings Ontario, FanDuel Ontario or BetMGM Ontario - they just can't give you what you're looking for in this regard.

You will be doing yourself a disservice if you expect proper betting coverage of the Rugby World Cup 2023 in France, English Premiership Rugby, France Top14, the United Rugby Championship, European Rugby Champions Cup, Six Nations, Super League or the NRL at these American sportsbooks.

What odds margins should you expect for good value on rugby?

No matter if you are in Ontario, or in the "rest of Canada", on the main Rugby Union or Rugby League betting markets, you should be seeing margins around 5%, which is what you would expect on the main markets for the NFL, NHL or NBA.  Without having to calculate the margins for yourself on the moneyline or match winner market, you would be able to see margins near 5% by looking at the main 2-way handicap and totals markets.  Ideally, you would see odds like 1.90/1.90 or -110/-110 or thereabouts when the odds are the same on both potential results, as this indicates a margin near 5% and tells you the kind of 'sportsbook hold' on offer for rugby. 

Oftentimes, from US sportsbook brands, you will see odds that look like 1.85/1.85 or -118/-118, which means that you will be getting value that is just not very competitive when compared to the value as offered by sportsbooks that take a much more betting action on these events.  Brands that don't take a lot of betting action need to protect themselves on the liability side of things, and they do this by operating with higher margins on low volume events.  In other words, if you love rugby and want to bet it, you need to be with sportsbooks that take enough action to offer tighter margins toward betting odds.

What about Rugby betting from the rest of Canada, outside Ontario?

The US brands that entered the Ontario market do not serve the rest of Canada from the so-called 'grey market'.  However, all the top Rugby betting sites that we recommend as licensed Ontario sportsbooks also continue to serve the rest of Canada from the 'grey market'.  They all also support Canadian Dollar accounts and payment methods, which is something you should not take for granted, given what we've written about avoiding sportsbook scams.

All our Ontario-licensed providers would love to serve all of Canada as licensed providers, but this is down to the individual provincial regulators that oversee gaming to create a proper market like Ontario, which unfortunately, many will not do.  In the end, know that all the top Rugby betting sites for Canada that we recommend will be legal in Ontario.

What about Canada-only 'grey market' brands, how do they cover Rugby? 

Just like the brands that entered Ontario from the US, these brands mainly focus on the 'big four' sports and leagues.  Those sports outside this narrow scope tend to get less coverage in terms of betting markets and less competitive odds values.  While you can get rugby betting coverage at Canada-only brands, it will never be as good as the coverage you can get from brands that also serve a UK audience which is highly interested and engaged in all things Rugby.

Rugby betting markets: ways to bet on rugby

For Rugby Union and Rugby League, at most betting sites with proper Rugby betting coverage, you will find both 3-way and 2-way markets.  3-way markets include a 'Tie' as a betting option.  2-way of course only includes bets on either club, whether as a match winner, or including a points handicap.  You may also have access to 'totals' markets where you may bet on the over/under for the total number of points to be scored in the match.  Some top rugby betting sites will also offer 1st half betting markets and an array of prop bets, so if you know where to find value, the top sites provide a huge number of places to look. 

Top Rugby Union betting sites also provide a full array of outright winner markets, Canadians would often call this kind of bet, a 'futures' bet.  With this, you can bet on the given club or nation that you think will win the given rugby competition.  These outright winner markets for Rugby Union or Rugby League are not often offered by sites that have cursory coverage of these sports.  So if you want to bet on the Grand Final winner of any of the major Rugby Union or Rugby League competitions, you will certainly have far more options available at our top-listed options.

Canadian Rugby Teams upon which you might bet

Obviously, you might have an interest in betting on the Canadian National team in any number of competitions, or some of the more traditional world favourites, like the All Blacks, Australia, Ireland, South Africa or England.  Depending on the given sportsbook, you may be able to bet on both the Canadian Men's and Women's teams for Rugby Union matches, Rugby League matches or even Rugby Sevens.  Given the relative obscurity of these events within the wider sporting context, it likely takes a betting site with top Rugby coverage to offer bets on all of these teams.

From a club perspective, the Toronto Wolfpack made headlines in the UK as it began play in the British RFL system in 2017, with hopes of playing in the Super League.  Unfortunately, the Wolfpack eventually withdrew from the Super League in 2020 due to financial difficulties related to the pandemic. The Wolfpack is however looking to be one of six founding members of the new North American Rugby League, which plans to have its innaugural season in 2022.  NARL betting will surely be available at all of our top listed Rugby betting sites for Ontario and Canada.