Bet On Fantasy Hockey

Many NHL fans get their thrills from gobbling down a couple of brats, knocking back a Molson Ice, and focusing on the ice itself. But for other hockey fans, that ice isn’t nearly enough bling. These hosers usually want to bet on fantasy hockey, too – or, even better, bet on NHL odds themselves!

Of course, there’s plenty of overlap between fantasy hockey and online hockey betting, and many of the same strategies apply across the board. So check yourself before you wreck yourself, and learn all there is to know about daily fantasy hockey action as well as online NHL betting for real-money payouts!

Best USA Sportsbook Sites For Real-Money NHL Betting Lines In 2025

While fantasy hockey is a nationwide activity (though some states bar paid DFS contests), domestic online hockey betting can only be accessed in select states. For most US hockey fans, then, the only way to get up-to-date hockey odds and place real-money Vegas hockey bets is to use licensed international hockey betting sites like those recommended here.

Each operator listed below can count itself among the best NHL betting sites on the Internet, with many years of first-class service – and many millions of happy customers – under their padded girdles. These aren’t just top-of-the-line sportsbooks, either – they’re bona fide first line sportsbooks!

Betonline Sportsbook – 50% Bonus Up To $1,000 To Bet On Hockey Games
Mybookie Sportsbook – 50% Bonus Up To $1,000 To Bet On Hockey Games
Xbet Sportsbook – 50% Bonus Up To $1,000 To Bet On Hockey Games
Sportsbetting.ag – 50% Bonus Up To $1,000 To Bet On Hockey Games

Many people want to bet on hockey games legally in the United States. It’s important to understand the laws in your jurisdiction and what is legally allowed.

What Is Fantasy Hockey?

Fantasy hockey is a pool-based game where hockey fans – using online services like Yahoo, DraftKings, FanDuel, ESPN, etc. – can create fantasy NHL “leagues,” give their clubs funny fantasy hockey team names, make amusing fantasy hockey logos, hold fantasy hockey drafts, and generally play GM to an NHL all-star team of their own creation.

It’s a lot of fun, and if you’ve ever played fantasy football, the concept is the same: You assemble your team to take on your friends, and your performances are determined by how well the individual players on your roster do in their real-life games. Leagues have regular seasons, playoffs, and even fantasy hockey trophy awards for the winners.

Of course, once you know how to play fantasy hockey, you’ll naturally be ready to bet on hockey at a legitimate online sportsbook, too. And though fantasy hockey can earn you cash prizes in some DFS leagues, only online sports betting offers virtually unlimited payout opportunities and is available to players in all US states (18+).

How Is Hockey Betting Like DFS Hockey?

Ice hockey betting – that is, gambling on NHL hockey odds – isn’t identical to DFS hockey, though it’s similar. The central concept is the same: You’re trying to pick which players will perform best, and thus, which team will win a given contest.

Indeed, one of the ways in which NHL betting odds are most similar to fantasy hockey is when it comes to NHL prop betting. Hockey player prop bets are based entirely on individual in-game performances of specific hockey players, which is essentially all fantasy hockey is.

Of course, sports gambling is about more than just props, and that’s why NHL hockey odds give fans many more chances to win than fantasy hockey leagues ever could. Fantasy hockey’s fun, but sports betting is a miracle on ice!

How Is Hockey Betting Different From Fantasy Hockey?

Above, we’ve shown you how sports betting and DFS are similar when it comes to the NHL, but the two pastimes are far more different than they are alike.

When you bet on NHL games, if you stick to prop bets, that’s a rough approximation of DFS hockey in a nutshell…er, black biscuit. But there are many more NHL betting lines at proper sportsbooks than there are variables for fantasy hockey.

Indeed, hockey betting lines go far beyond individual player stats. Hockey odds encompass every aspect of every game of the NHL season and NHL postseason, with many of the best hockey betting sites now offering prop builder tools to give you literally thousands of chances to win for every contest on the boards.

Additionally, legal sportsbooks with NHL betting online now feature live betting, too. Live hockey betting lets you wager on Lord Stanley’s favorite game while the players are deking – and duking! – it out in real time!

Types Of Hockey Bets

As noted, the key difference between fantasy hockey and betting on hockey for real money is that – when you put your bets on ice – you’ll get a huge variety of options to choose from.

Of course, if you’ve never bet hockey before, you’ll need to understand how to read hockey odds, and you’ll need the categories of NHL odds explained, too. You’ve got to walk before you can skate!First things first, hockey odds are presented in the American moneyline format. The moneyline is (usually) a three-digit number – either negative or positive – that is the “price tag” of the bet.

A negative moneyline, say -150, indicates a favorite and here shows that a $150 bet will pay out $100. Meanwhile, a positive moneyline, like +240, indicates an underdog and here shows that a $100 bet pays out $240.

Depending on the NHL bet type, moneylines don’t always indicate favorites and underdogs, but they always show you how much you stand to win.

Remember: A negative moneyline shows how much you must risk to win $100, and a positive moneyline shows how much you’ll win on a $100 bet. This $100 is a ratio, not a betting minimum. Most online hockey sportsbooks will accept wagers of as little as $0.50 to $1.00.

After that, you need to understand the basic kinds of hockey bets. These are briefly explained below:

NHL Straight Bet – Just pick a winner, straight-up! The bigger the favorite, the smaller the payout, while the bigger the underdog, the bigger the payout!
NHL Spread Bet (aka NHL Puck Line) – The favorite is handicapped (usually by 1.5 points), so the underdog can lose the game by up to a goal and still win the bet. Moneylines are usually the same on both sides of hockey spreads.
NHL Over/Under Bet (aka NHT Totals Bet) – Bet on whether the total number of goals scored between both teams in an NHL game will be higher than or lower than the number published by your sportsbook.
NHL Series Odds – Pick the winner of a series of games played between two teams. You can find NHL series prices during the regular season and the playoffs.
NHL Prop Bets – Bet on individual and team-based statistical results across several categories. Examples include how many shots a player will take, how many goals a player will score, how many saves a goalie will get, etc.
NHL Future Odds – Bet on eventual NHL division winners, conference winners, and Stanley Cup winners. You can also bet on various player and team year-end accolades. Get your futures bets in as soon as possible for the best payouts!
NHL MVP Odds – The most popular individual NHL futures bet asks gamblers to pick which player they think will win the NHL Conn Smythe Trophy at the end of the season.
NHL Playoffs Odds – Futures bets on which teams will make the playoffs, advance past each round, and so on. These come in the form of individual game bets and NHL series prices.
NHL Stanley Cup Odds – Bet on which team will win the NHL championship. During the Stanley Cup Finals, bettors can expect to find several hundred separate wagers per game. It’s the Super Bowl of hockey!

Why Online Hockey Betting Is Better Than Fantasy Hockey Leagues

It’s plain to see that hockey sports betting is much more varied than DFS hockey could ever be. Both pastimes are a lot of fun, but if you really want to make money – and if you really want to immerse yourself in your favorite sport all season long – hockey sports betting is the best option by far.

The profit potential is much greater, but more than that, it’s just a lot more fun and convenient. NHL hockey betting lines are published every day during the season, and you don’t have to coordinate your activities with others to enjoy yourself.

To participate in NHL betting online, you haven’t got to worry about local laws, either. In the US, real-money fantasy sports are banned in numerous states, but offshore hockey betting is available to everyone in America.

Hockey gambling is more entertaining, more profitable, more varied, and more accessible. So break away from DFS and lace ‘em up with the big boys!

Use Your Fantasy Hockey Strategy To Win Real Hockey Bets

If you’re familiar with NHL fantasy hockey and want to bet on the sport for real, there are a few DFS strategies that translate well to actual hockey gambling.

These are outlined below, which should help give you a nice, sharp edge (we prefer CCM to Bauer blades, for the record) when you join any reputable online sports betting site.

Fantasy Hockey Rankings

If you play DFS hockey, you definitely follow the fantasy hockey rankings and track the top fantasy hockey players. Well, because hockey itself is performance-based – and because sports betting is also predicated on player performances – this data is extremely valuable.

Other metrics, like fantasy hockey defense rankings, are directly pertinent to NHL betting, and you can fold these into your hockey betting formula, too.

Fantasy Hockey Sleepers

Sleepers – whether they’re up-and-coming players or entire teams that shake up the standings down the stretch – always affect the hockey odds at the best online sportsbooks. You should keep this in mind and consider NHL draft odds, NHL playoff seeding, and NHL “contract year” players whenever wagering on pro hockey games.

Fantasy sleepers often make or break your season, and underdogs due for big performances can be the difference between a meager payout and an epic triple-OT payday!

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire

In DFS hockey, the waiver wire is similar to the NHL trade deadline, and fantasy players pay attention to that for the same reason hockey bettors do. Consider: You’ll never find the best fantasy hockey players on the wire, just like a real NHL team is unlikely to score a superstar halfway through the season.

But the best hockey betting systems – just like the best fantasy hockey strategies – will always keep a close eye on valuable role players and journeymen that can push a team over the hump. Always pay attention to your team’s roster, especially after the year’s trading window closes.

Fantasy Hockey News

Fantasy hockey news is everywhere, as DFS continues to grow in popularity. And that’s a good thing, even if you only care about hockey betting and aren’t interested in the fantasy market. Well, take advantage of the extra information! Tune into a fantasy hockey podcast and get some extra insight that your NHL betting trends sources missed.

After all, an NHL betting consensus is only as good as its varied datapoints, and the more info you can glean for a given matchup, the better off you – and your bankroll! – will be.

Free Fantasy Hockey Leagues

A great way to learn the ropes before betting real money on hockey is to start following the sport by joining one of the best free fantasy hockey league services.

These don’t require any deposits and are just for fun, but they’ll help you identify what to look for in players, teams, and various game conditions so you can make informed hockey bets.

Yahoo fantasy hockey services are popular, as are ESPN fantasy hockey and CBS fantasy hockey leagues. If your state features access to FanDuel and DraftKings, these brands are also extremely well-liked among DFS players.

Fantasy Hockey League Simulator Vs. Hockey eSports Betting

Even as online fantasy hockey and online hockey betting have a lot in common (although one is clearly Wayne Gretzky while the other is, like, Eric Lindros at best), there’s one more betting market that sort of bridges the gap between the two: eSports betting.

Hockey eSports is a popular spectator and gambling market, and many of the best online sportsbooks offer odds on NHL 21, which is the newest official hockey video game from EA Sports.

As the most popular hockey eSports title, there are numerous NHL 21 tournaments held around the world each year. Naturally, you can bet on many of these, and the wagers you place will require you to combine your best fantasy sports and legal hockey betting strategies into one massive power play.