NHL Sportsbooks & Hockey Betting Promo Codes

Hockey is hugely popular in many parts of the US, and the NHL features the best talent from all over the world. It’s now legal to bet on the NHL in a growing number of states, and you can sign up to one of our top-rated NHL sportsbooks below. If you’re new to betting on hockey, don’t worry. We’ve created this guide just for you.

Best NHL Sports Betting Bonuses and Promos December 2024

SportsbookReviewPromotionPromo CodeClaim
Caesars Sportsbook
Caesars Sportsbook
Up to $1,250
21+. Bet Responsibly. | T&Cs Apply
CZRFULLClaim Now!
BetMGM Sportsbook
BetMGM Sportsbook
Risk Free Bet up to $1000
21+. Bet Responsibly. | T&Cs Apply
No code neededClaim Now!
Bet365 Sportsbook
Bet365 Sportsbook
Bet $1, Get $200
21+. Bet Responsibly. | T&Cs Apply
No code neededClaim Now!
Unibet Sportsbook
Unibet Sportsbook
Risk Free Bet up to $500
21+. Bet Responsibly. | T&Cs Apply
No code neededClaim Now!
WynnBet Sportsbook
WynnBet Sportsbook
Bet$100 Get $100
21+. Bet Responsibly. | T&Cs Apply
No code neededClaim Now!

How to Choose a Sportsbook for NHL Betting

To begin betting on the NHL, you’ll first need to create an account at an online sportsbook. Sportsbooks are websites that offer odds on all the latest sports, letting you stake real cash while making predictions and winning money if your bets are successful.

There are now a growing number of sportsbooks available in the US, although you’ll be limited to those that are licensed in your state. When choosing a site to join, you should consider the following factors:

License and Security

It’s important to always choose a sportsbook that’s licensed in your state, as this means it’s legal to use. In addition, you can check whether the site uses encryption to keep your data secure.

Reputation

The best sportsbooks treat their users fairly and have an excellent reputation. You can learn more about a site’s reputation by reading our reviews.

Ease of Use

Placing bets on the NBA should always be easy. Make sure that creating an account and finding the markets you want is as simple as possible before joining.

Bonuses

Bonuses are a fun way to get more out of your bets and help you get more out of your bets. Make sure any sportsbook you join has fun bonuses that are easy to claim.

Odds

You can make more profit if you have better odds. Use our reviews to see which sportsbooks offer the best odds on the NBA.

Betting Markets

NBA games should have lots of different betting options at the best sportsbooks, including live betting markets.

Payments

Deposits and withdrawals should be as simple as possible. Before signing up, make sure that your preferred payment method is accepted and that there are no fees, limits, or long processing times.

Mobile Access

All top sportsbooks are compatible with mobile devices, and most also offer apps for you to download onto your device. The app should be simple to use and make betting more convenient.

Customer Service

Great sportsbooks also provide helpful customer support in case you ever need assistance.

Our NHL Sportsbook Reviews

To help you decide on which site to join, you should check out our sportsbook reviews. Our review team signs up to all licensed sportsbooks to test them out personally. When writing our reviews, we consider all of the most important factors and give a balanced opinion on how each site is to use. As big sports fans ourselves, we know what makes a great sportsbook, and we help bettors like you find the right site for them.


NHL Sports Betting Bonuses

Bonuses are one of the best parts about betting online, giving you incentives for signing up and making deposits. All of the sportsbooks we review offer bonuses, and they’re all relatively straightforward to claim and use. There are a lot of different bonuses available, and before joining, it’s important to understand how they work.

Most of the bonuses you’ll come across are welcome offers, which can only be claimed if you’re creating your account for the first time. However, most of our top-rated sportsbooks also provide regular cash promos for NHL bettors. Here are some of the most common bonus types you’ll come across:

  • Risk-free bets – With this bonus, it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose. When you place a bet with this bonus active, you’ll keep any winnings if you win. However, if you lose, your stake value is refunded in the form of free bets up to a certain amount. For example, a $250 risk-free bet would give you $250 in free bets if you placed a $250 bet and it lost.
  • Free bets – Free bets, or bet credits are they’re sometimes known, can be placed in your betslip instead of using real cash. You get to keep any winnings made using the free bet, although you’ll lose the free bet itself. If your bet loses, you only lose the free bet rather than your cash.
  • Matched deposit bonuses – This bonus is great for increasing your bankroll when you first join, matching your total deposit value to give you more funds to bet with. For example, a 100% bonus will double the amount of money in your account, giving you a $100 bonus if you make a deposit of $100.
  • No deposit bonuses – Unlike the matched deposit bonus, there’s no need to make a deposit to claim these offers. All you do is sign up, and the bonus is ready for you to use when placing bets.
  • Odds boosts – The simplest bet to use, these can be applied in your betslip to instantly increase your odds on NHL markets, giving you more profit if your bet wins.  

How to Claim Your NHL Bonus

You can claim your bonus by following the provided instructions, making sure you carefully read through all of the steps and any terms and conditions. Here’s a quick guide on claiming your NHL bonus:

  1. Sign up to your sportsbooks
  2. Use a promo code if required
  3. Make a qualifying deposit
  4. Place a qualifying bet on an NHL game
  5. Claim your bonus offer

Always check the terms and conditions carefully before you sign up and claim your offer, as these will affect how you can use the bonus. Some terms can be quite restrictive, so it’s important to consider them when looking at whether or not an offer is worth claiming. Some common terms and conditions include:

Terms and ConditionsExampleExplanation
Rollover10x rollover on your matched deposit bonus.Wager the full bonus amount ten times before you can withdraw it as cash.
Promo codeBONUS10If a promo code is needed, you’ll have to copy and paste this code into the box when making your deposit.
Minimum deposit$10 minimum deposit to claim the bonusTo unlock the bonus, a deposit of at least $10 is required.
Minimum bet$10 minimum bet to claim the bonusA qualifying bet would need to be $10 or more to unlock the bonus.
Minimum oddsminimum odds of -200To claim the offer, your bet will need to be at odds of -200 or higher.

NHL Betting Guide

While betting might seem confusing at first, it’s actually fairly simple to get into. Once you understand the basics, you’ll have a much easier time of signing up and placing your first bets. In this guide, you’ll find everything you need to know to start betting on hockey.

The NHL season typically begins in early October and ends in early April, with the postseason beginning in late April and ending in June. During the regular season, each team plays 82 games, and there’s currently a total of 32 teams, though this could expand again in the future.

NHL Betting Odds Explained

In hockey and any other sport, sportsbooks provide odds on games for fans to bet on. Odds show you the relative probability of something occurring in the game, and they also help you understand how much money you could win from your bet if it’s successful. As a result, it’s extremely important that you understand how odds work.

At US sportsbooks, you see odds expressed as a number with either a plus (+) or minus (-) sign in front. For example:

  • Tampa Bay Lightning +100
  • New York Rangers -120

You can use the odds to work out which team is considered to have a higher chance of winning and which is the underdog. In all cases, the minus sign is used to denote an outcome that has a higher chance of occurring, while the plus sign shows something that is less likely according to the data.

In the above example, the Tampa Bay Lightning are the slight underdogs, with the sportsbook predicting that they’re more likely to lose the game. The odds tell you that if you bet $100 on them and they win, you’d win $100 in profit.

On the other hand, the New York Rangers are the slight favorites according to these odds. The books’ research suggests that they’re more likely to win the game. The odds tell you that you’d need to bet $120 on them to make $100 in profit if your bet is successful.

In some cases, you’ll see both odds for a game with minus odds, meaning that there’s no strong underdog. Rather than giving both teams +100 odds, the books will give -110 to both. The difference in the odds is known as the juice, and it’s how the sportsbooks make money. It means that no matter what the outcome is, they’ll always profit, provided the money is equal on both sides of the line.

What Are NHL Betting Markets

The options that you have available to bet on are known as betting markets. For the NHL and other major sports, there are normally lots of different markets to choose from, and it can be confusing at first. More options mean more opportunities to find value, but it’s important to know what each market means. Here are some of the most common NHL markets:

MarketExampleExplanation
MoneylineEdmonton Oilers -340 Anaheim Ducks +280A simple bet on which team will win the game at the end of overtime.
Puck LineCalgary Flames -1.5 -215   Winnipeg Jets +1.5 +185A 1.5 goal handicap is placed on the favorite, while the underdog is given a 1.5 goal advantage. This means that the favorite needs to win by more than 2 goals to win, while the underdog needs to avoid losing by more than 2 goals.  
Total GoalsO 6 -110  
U 6 -110
This is a bet on how many goals you think will be scored in the game, with the total goals scored by each team.  
PeriodsBoth teams to score in the first period
Yes +155
No -205
A bet on what happens during a particular period in the game. Each game has 3, 20-minute periods followed by overtime and a shootout if the game is a tie.
FuturesNHL Championship winnersThis is a prediction of what you think will happen at the end of the season. Team futures are available as well as betting on awards and the draft.
Game PropsTo win with a shutout Las Vegas Golden Knights +1100 Nashville Predators +1000  A bet on certain outcomes within the game, with a lot of different variety to choose from.
Player PropsCam Fowler O 0.5 +120 U 0.5 -150Bets on specific outcomes relating to particular players that are usually unrelated to the result.
ParlaysThe Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Seattle Kraken all to winParlays are where you combine multiple bets into one, increasing the odds. Each of the bets within your parlay needs to land for it to win. You can also create same game parlays, with multiple selections on the same game.

How to Place Bets on the NHL

Now you understand how odds work and the different markets available, you’re ready to start betting on hockey. To begin, simply follow these steps:

  1. Choose one of our recommended NHL sportsbooks on this page
  2. Create your account by entering your personal details
  3. Verify your ID and location before making your first deposit
  4. Claim your bonus by following the instructions
  5. Look for the NHL in the menu or search for the team you want to bet on
  6. Select a game to view all of the available markets
  7. Choose a bet to add it to your betslip then enter your stake
  8. Confirm your bet and watch the game live to see the result

Live NHL Betting

All sportsbooks let you bet on games, but a growing number now allow you to bet on games that are in progress too. Our recommended betting sites all offer live betting markets, which means you can view instantly updating odds and place bets on NHL games as they happen. You can use live NHL betting to find better value, as the odds move a lot during the game, depending on what’s happening.

To make live betting easier and more enjoyable, most NHL sportsbooks offer the following features:

  • Live stats
  • Live streaming
  • Instant updates
  • Cashout live bets

Cashout is a special feature that lets you collect profit from a winning bet before the game is over. The amount you can cashout will be affected by the current odds, and it’s a great way to preserve your winnings if you’re worried about a change in momentum. You can also use cashout to protect some of your money on a losing bet, preventing you from losing all of your initial stake.

Mobile Betting Explained

You can bet on hockey from your mobile too, with all of the sportsbooks featured on this page being fully compatible with smartphones and tablets. To sign up and place bets on your mobile, you just need to visit the site in your browser, although most sportsbooks also have apps you can download to iOS and Android devices.

Mobile betting is even more convenient, as it means you can bet from anywhere. You never need to miss out on a betting opportunity again, and as long as you’re within the borders of a legal state, you’ll be able to view the latest odds and make real money bets.


NHL Betting Strategy

Hockey is typically less predictable compared to basketball and football because scores are much lower. This means that games can be decided on fine margins, which makes it more likely for upsets to occur. It also makes it a more intriguing sport to bet on, and there’s a lot to consider if you want to be successful. Here are some of our top NHL betting strategies, as backed up by data from analyzing thousands of games.

Research Each Bet

While some bettors like to make predictions based on what they want to happen or a gut feeling, it’s always better to use real data when making your bets. If you want to be successful, research is key, and there’s a lot of data available to look at. You should be checking form, schedules, and stats. You can learn a lot from stats like expected goals (xG) and use them to make informed decisions for each bet.

Manage Your Bankroll

Your bankroll is the funds you have available to bet with, and managing it will help you bet for longer while spending less. You should create a weekly or monthly sports betting budget and ensure you never exceed it if you want to stay in control of your betting. Managing your bankroll and tracking your bets also helps you measure your profits and change up your strategy if something isn’t working.

Avoid Risky Parlays

Parlays are where you combine multiple bets into one and increase the odds of winning bigger potential profits. While they can be fun and offer the chance to win more cash, each selection you add to your parlay significantly decreases your chance of success. As you need all of your picks to win in order to win your bet, it makes sense to avoid these risky parlays if you’re trying to make a consistent profit.


Current NHL Teams



NHL Betting FAQ

Is it legal to bet on the NHL?

Yes, betting on the NHL and hockey is legal if you live in a state with legal sports betting. Always check your local state laws before you try and sign up to an online sportsbook, as some states have different rules and regulations on how it all works.

What bonuses are available when betting on the NHL?

NHL sportsbooks offer a lot of different bonuses which you can claim to boost your bankroll and minimize risks while betting. Matched deposit offers and risk-free bets are the most common, but you can also find no deposit offers, bet credits, and odds boosts. Always check the full terms and conditions before you claim a bonus.

Is there an optimal strategy for NHL betting?

The optimal NHL betting strategy is the one that works best for you. Most bettors have a particular strategy that they like to follow, but the key is to do your research before each bet and to always manage your bankroll carefully.

What markets are available when betting on the NHL?

You can find lots of markets on NHL games, with major sportsbooks all providing hundreds of options for you to bet on. Moneyline, puck line, and total goals are some of the most common bets, but you can also place player props, game props, period bets, future bets, parlays, and much more.


Sources

Author

Tom Edlin is a senior author and contributor to SportsbookPromo.com. He's been writing and reporting on the US sports betting industry for years and has crafted hundreds of in-depth reviews and guides.

Chris Williams is a senior editor and fact checker at SportsbookPromo.com. He's been active within the US sports betting industry for over five years and has edited and fact checked hundreds of articles.