Legal NHL betting begins in earnest this October with the start of the 2024-25 season. The best NHL betting sites are open for business, taking wagers on every game and who will win the 2025 Stanley Cup. And this year, it is legal in more states than ever to bet on the NHL online and in person.

On this page, BettingUSA covers everything fans need to know to bet on the NHL legally and intelligently. Read on for BettingUSA’s list of the best hockey betting apps, legal information for fans in every state, updated NHL betting promotions, and answers to common questions.

Best NHL Betting Sites

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*The options available in your state are fantasy pick’em apps and social sportsbooks, not technically sports betting.

Where Is NHL Betting Legal?

Sports betting is legal in more states than not. The following map shows where it is legal to bet on the NHL online, in-person, or both.

States with Legal Sports Betting Placeholder
States with Legal Sports Betting

Map Key

  • Blue: States where online sports betting is legal.
  • Red: States with retail sportsbooks only.

Best NHL Betting Apps

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The legalization of sports betting has vastly improved the quality of online sportsbooks across the board. Where once illegal offshore betting sites dominated the industry and operated with questionable security standards, today bettors can do business with licensed and regulated operators.

Choose Licensed Hockey Betting Sites for a Safe Experience

Betting exclusively with licensed online sportsbooks ensures the safety of funds, quick payouts, and other safeguards mandated by state regulators.

Additionally, most states encourage competition among multiple NHL betting sites to further promote a high level of quality overall. As a result, most hockey betting sites provide competitive NHL lines and offer attractive welcome bonuses.

States with legal online sports betting provide a public listing of licensed operators that bettors can check to verify which sportsbooks are licensed. For example, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) keeps an up-to-date list of authorized betting apps and websites.

Licensed hockey betting sites in most states also display an official seal of approval to indicate their licensing status. For example, here’s what the seal of approval looks like in New Jersey:

njdge logo

Other states provide similar seals of approval for licensed operators. It is also worth noting that a seal of approval alone is just one indicator. Bettors should still verify the licensing status of any online sportsbook by visiting their state regulator’s website or checking in with BettingUSA.com (see our state guides here).

Alternatives in States Without Legal Online Betting

In most states without legal online sports betting, NHL fans can use daily fantasy sports sites for a close experience.

Daily fantasy sports sites host fantasy NHL contests in which users draft teams and compete for same-day cash prizes. It’s not identical to sports betting, but there is a lot of crossover in the skills needed to win. Plus, there is significant money to be won in DFS.

Meanwhile, fantasy pick’em apps like PrizePicks dance right up to the line of actual sports betting with over/under parlay-style predictions for real money payouts.

Consider Sportsbooks with NHL Partnerships

Sportsbooks partnered with the NHL provide bettors with benefits they won’t find at other hockey betting sites.

For example, FanDuel’s deal with the NHL includes access to real-time data straight from the league. In turn, FanDuel can use that data to provide more detailed, up-to-date in-play betting markets than sportsbooks that lack direct access to league data.

The NHL has similar deals in place with BetMGM and DraftKings.

Such partnerships also extend to live streaming, giving sportsbook customers the ability to stream live NHL games online and through mobile betting apps. For example the NHL’s partnership with sports data firm IMG Arena allows partnered sportsbooks to offer live NHL streams to their customers.

Specifically, BetMGM is one of the only hockey betting apps with permission to stream select NHL games to all customers. Bettors need only have a verified and funded account to watch live NHL games online at BetMGM.com or through its iOS and Android apps.

NHL Betting Bonuses and Promotions

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A cursory Google search may make it seem like there aren’t many unique NHL betting promotions out there, but online sportsbooks actually launch quite a few special hockey offers every year. The key is knowing where and when to look for the latest NHL betting bonuses.

Here’s what bettors need to know about finding and maximizing NHL betting bonuses and promos.

New Customer NHL Betting Bonuses

The most efficient way to secure maximum value on your NHL wagers is to take full advantage of new customer bonuses at online sportsbooks.

Some states have issued licenses to more than a dozen NHL betting sites, each with a welcome bonus worth nearly $750 on average. There’s much value to be had just by registering and placing wagers across multiple NHL sportsbooks online.

Note: Some welcome bonuses require new customers to input NHL betting promo codes when registering or depositing, but others do not. See BettingUSA’s list of betting promo codes for more information and current promo/bonus codes.

The most important thing to remember is that new customer NHL betting bonuses are one-time deals. It is critical to fully understand how each offer works before claiming it because there are no redos if you flub it and invalidate your bonus by withdrawing too soon or betting on an ineligible market.

Fortunately, high-quality NHL betting apps usually offer bonuses that aren’t overly confusing. A quick read-through of the terms and conditions will give you everything you need to know upfront. It also helps to become familiar with the most common types of NHL betting bonuses and their unique terminologies.

  • NHL First Bet Refunds: Also known as second chance bets, first bet refunds are the one type of welcome bonus fans will see more frequently than any other. A standard NHL second chance bet promotion invites new customers to register, deposit, and place a wager on the hockey game of their choice. If the wager loses, the sportsbook will refund it with a bonus bet of equal value.
  • NHL Deposit Bonuses: First deposit promotions offer bonuses based on the size of each new customer’s first real-money deposit. For example, a 100% deposit bonus would enable a fan to deposit $100 to receive an additional $100 in bonus funds. Things to investigate before claiming NHL deposit bonuses: the match percentage, the maximum bonus amount, wagering requirements, and whether the bonus funds are withdrawable.
  • NHL Bet and Get Offers: Bet-and-get promotions offer a fixed bonus amount to anyone who signs up for an account and places a wager. For example, a sportsbook may invite new users to place a $20+ bet on any NHL game for an instant $200 bonus. New customer bet-and-get promotions are valuable but rare. Sportsbooks typically only issue them temporarily in lieu of the sportsbook’s standard bonus at the start of the NHL season, when launching in a new state, and ahead of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
  • No-Deposit NHL Betting Bonuses: No-deposit bonuses are scarce, usually no larger than $40, and invariably require a deposit before allowing bettors to withdraw their winnings. They can be useful for testing new NHL betting sites without depositing, but overall, no-deposit bonuses are not super valuable.
  • No-Brainer NHL Betting Bonuses: No-brainer hockey betting bonuses are semi-rare but offer significant value to customers. Usually, sportsbooks offer no-brainer NHL bets as temporary replacements of their standard welcome bonuses. For example, a sportsbook may temporarily launch a welcome bonus where new customers can bet $10 on any NHL game and get $200 in bonus bets if any team scores a goal.

Short-Term NHL Betting Promotions

All major NHL betting sites release unique, short-term hockey betting promotions each season for new and existing customers. Online sportsbooks often fail to promote their NHL betting promos far and wide, but there are many more out there for the taking than most people realize.

Many betting sites often don’t even bother announcing one-day promotions beyond a notice that pops up inside the app after logging in. Fans who only check for NHL betting offers by visiting the “Promotions” tab on each sportsbook’s website without logging in will miss many promos.

The best way to get the latest hockey betting bonuses is to open accounts at a few reputable online sportsbooks and check in often during the NHL season. The most prominent NHL betting sites use AI-powered technology to tailor bonuses to individual customers. So, as fans bet on hockey and claim related promotions, they are likelier to receive notices of new NHL betting bonuses.

Additionally, BettingUSA will soon provide a running list of short-term NHL betting promo codes and special offers on this page.

  • NHL Odds Boosts: Odds boosts are common, one-day promotions where sportsbooks increase the odds on individual NHL betting markets. For example, a sportsbook may shift the odds on a specific team winning its next game from -110 to +110. The main thing to watch out for with odds boosts is whether they are actually good deals. This isn’t an issue with reputable NHL betting sites, but some sportsbooks have been known to “increase” the odds to a number that other sportsbooks already had for that market.
  • First Goal Scorer Insurance: NHL betting apps offer first goal scorer insurance promotions fairly frequently to encourage bettors to try proposition bets. The concept is simple: if you bet on which player will score the game’s first goal and lose, you’ll receive a refund paid as a bonus bet. Less attractive variants of this promotion only pay the refund if the selected athlete scores a goal at any time during the game or his team wins. As always, it pays to know the terms and conditions.
  • NHL Early Payout Promotions: Early payout offers grade pending moneyline bets as winners if the selected team gets ahead by X number of goals at any point, regardless of what happens after that point. For example, the Bet365 NHL early payout offer pays pregame moneylines the instant the chosen team gets ahead by three goals. Even better, Bet365 applies the promo to wagers that are parts of parlays. These are some of the best NHL betting promotions, even though they rarely hit because they don’t require customers to do anything special to qualify.
  • Enhanced NHL Parlays: This common promotion increases the payouts on winning parlay wagers by anywhere from 5% to 70% depending on the number of legs in the wager. Sportsbooks love parlays because they are high-margin bets, so proceed with caution.
  • NHL Parlay Betting Insurance: Most parlays insurance promotions offer refunds to customers who place NHL parlays and lose by just a single leg. Occasionally, sportsbooks provide insurance on all losing parlays, particularly during the Playoffs.
  • No Sweat NHL Same Game Parlays: No sweat SGPs are like parlay betting insurance but applied to same game NHL parlays.
  • Bonus Bets for Every Goal: This promotion can take various forms, but it always involves giving customers bonus bets for every goal scored in the game. For example, a recent BetMGM hockey promotion invited fans to wager at least $25 on a player to score at any time. In exchange, BetMGM paid a $2 bonus bet for every goal scored in the game by either team, regardless of the initial wager’s outcome.
  • NHL Playoffs Betting Promotions: Online sportsbooks ramp up their promotional schedules each season during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, making that a great time of year to check in for the latest offers. For example, one sportsbook recently offered a $25 bonus bet to every customer who wagered $50 or more on any team to win the Stanley Cup.
  • Stanley Cup Betting Promotions: The Stanley Cup Finals represent the peak of the NHL betting season and can take many forms. For example, one recent Stanley Cup betting promo offered a $20 bonus bet to fans who bet on any team to win the Stanley Cup and whose selections made it to the Finals.

How to Bet on the NHL Online

NHL betting online begins with understanding how the odds work. Readers can see BettingUSA’s live odds comparison page for more information, but the basic rundown follows.

Types of NHL Bets

The phrase “moneyline” also refers to the standard NHL wager on who will win the game. Bettors simply choose the team they think is most likely to win, choose an amount to risk, and get paid if their selected team wins the game.

Also known as the “regular time line,” the 60-minute line is a bet on who will be winning after three periods. 60-minute lines also include the tie outcome as a betting option. 60-minute lines are harder to win because any wagers on Team A or Team B are graded losers if the game ends in a tie, but they pay better odds than standard moneylines.

The puck line is hockey’s equivalent of point spreads bettors encounter when wagering on other sports. NHL betting sites typically set the puck line at 1.5 goals, meaning the favored team must win by at least two goals for any wagers on that team to be graded winners.

Bets on the underdog win if that team wins outright, ties, or loses by just one goal.

The double chance wager allows bettors to cover two of the three possible outcomes after 60 minutes of play:

  • Team A and Tie: Bet wins in every outcome except a Team B victory
  • Team B and Tie: Bet wins in every outcome except a Team A victory
  • Team A or Team B: Bet wins in every outcome except a tie

Double chance bets offer bettors more paths to winning but at the cost of worse odds relative to wagers that involve picking just one outcome.

This is a wager on how many combined goals both teams will score throughout the game. The sportsbook sets the total, and the bettor chooses whether the actual total will be higher than or less than that amount.

Correct score bets involve predicting the final score of the game.

Sportsbooks typically list this bet by providing many final score options such as 0-1, 0-2, 2-2, 3-2, and so on. Payout odds accompany each final score, and the bettor chooses one.

Payouts for correct score bets tend to be on the higher side due to the difficulty of picking a hockey game’s exact final score.

Proposition bets (a.k.a. “props”) are a sort of catch-all category of wager that includes all manner of potential outcomes not related to who will win the game. Common types of hockey props include predicting which player will score the first goal, if either team will stage a comeback at some point, whether either team will win without allowing a goal, and much more.

The Grand Salami works like a total goals bet except it covers the total combined score of every game played on a particular day. For example, a day with seven scheduled NHL games might set the Grand Salami total at 42.5 goals. Bettors would then pick whether the total number of goals scored in that day’s games would be more than or less than 42.5.

NHL futures are bets that are longer-term in nature. Examples of NHL futures include betting on the winner of the next Stanley Cup, conference winners, and season win totals.

Parlays combine two or more wagers into a single, multi-leg bet with a larger payoff. Mobile sportsbooks allow customers to build custom parlays by adding multiple wagers to the betting slip and combining them into one big bet. Parlays offer large payouts, but every leg must win, or the entire bet is lost.

Stanley Cup Betting

Stanley Cup betting is like wagering throughout the regular season but with more bet types and promotions. NHL sportsbooks cover each Playoffs and Finals game in detail with an expanded menu of straight bets, props, and in-play betting.

Betting sites also offer “to win the series” wagers for each round of the Playoffs, plus outright bets on who will ultimately win the Stanley Cup.

All year long, bettors can also place longer-term futures on who will win the next Stanley Cup. Sportsbooks adjust the odds throughout the year, and as the NHL season progresses and various teams are eliminated, the odds begin to tighten as fewer teams remain viable contenders.

Bettors can get great odds on the Stanley Cup by betting well in advance of the Playoffs but at the cost of placing those wagers when information is still limited. Bettors should also keep in mind that any money they put on Stanley Cup futures will be locked in until they win or lose the bet.

In-Play NHL Betting

In-play NHL betting markets provide live odds throughout the game. Standard in-play wagers settle at the end of the game or period, while instant wagers (sometimes called “flash bets” or “micro bets”) settle within minutes.

NHL in-play bets mimic pregame wagers (who will win, point total, second-period total, etc.) but are available throughout the game with real-time odds updates.

Flash bets occur over a shorter time, covering markets such as who will score the next goal. Instant in-play betting provides an intense experience, and bettors must think quickly because the odds change frequently.

Specific things to look for when choosing a sportsbook for in-play NHL betting include:

  • The average number of NHL betting markets offered during a typical game
  • How often the sportsbook introduces new in-play wagers during games
  • How quickly live stats are updated
  • Availability of live streaming NHL feeds

NHL Stance on Sports Betting

The NHL’s stance on legal sports betting has evolved from one of outright opposition to careful embrace. The NHL joined the NCAA and other major pro sports leagues in challenging efforts to legalize sports betting but is now taking full advantage of the many opportunities provided by legalization.

After the Supreme Court struck down PASPA in May 2018, the NHL issued a statement acknowledging the decision:

The Supreme Court’s decision today paves the way to an entirely different landscape – one in which we have not previously operated. We will review our current practices and policies and decide whether adjustments are needed, and if so, what those adjustments will look like. It’s important to emphasize that the Supreme Court’s decision has no immediate impact on existing League rules relating to sports wagering, and particularly, wagering involving NHL games. So, while changes may be considered in the future, today’s decision does not directly impact the operation of the League or any of our Clubs in the short term.

A short quote from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman uttered a week after the Supreme Court’s decision efficiently previewed the NHL’s evolving stance on betting:

The Supreme Court has spoken and we need to deal with the realities of our world.

Since then, the NHL has embraced the sports betting opportunity via partnerships with sportsbooks that involve data rights, advertising, and even the construction of in-stadium betting lounges.

NHL Responsible Gambling Efforts

The NHL joined the American Gaming Association’s “Have A Game Plan, Bet Responsibly” campaign in October 2020.

In a press release announcing the partnership, NHL Chief Business Officer Keith Wachtel explained:

“The fan experience remains one of our highest priorities as more hockey fans than ever have the opportunity to legally and responsibly bet in their home states. Ensuring that our passionate fans know how to participate in this exciting new opportunity is important, and we’re thrilled to be working with the AGA to share the responsibility in this worthy education”

Bill Miller, AGA President, and CEO added that they were thankful for the NHL’s leadership on responsible sports betting, being the first of the four major sports leagues to officially join the initiative.

NHL Betting FAQ

Yes. Most states have legalized online sports betting and allow fans to place NHL wagers through licensed sportsbook apps and websites. All major US sportsbook apps offer hockey betting online.

FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars Sportsbook are the best hockey betting apps in terms of wagers offered, odds, promotions, and customer service. They are also the most popular operators in most states with legal online hockey betting.

It depends. The most prominent hockey betting sites take turns offering the best odds on individual games. Sometimes FanDuel has the best NHL betting odds; other times, a different sportsbook provides the most value. The most consistent way to get the best hockey odds is to line shop before placing every bet.

Online hockey betting sites offer various promotions to new and existing customers. Typically, new users can claim first deposit bonuses and refund offers in exchange for signing up and placing their first wager.

Additionally, the best hockey betting sites celebrate the Stanley Cup Playoffs with odds boosts, NHL parlay insurance, early payouts if your team gets ahead by X goals at any time, and more.