This article is part of our Betting Advice series.
Sports betting launches in Ontario on Monday, and our RotoWire experts are on hand to tell you where to place your bets!
With the NBA and NHL playoffs coming up, and the MLB season set to begin this week, there's no better time for Ontario residents to take advantage of the opportunity to have some skin in the game.
Utilizing the research tools available within RotoWire's Sports Betting hub, let's take a sport-by-sport look at some betting angles to consider.
Toronto Blue Jays Bets
The start of the strike-delayed Major League Baseball season is just around the corner, and it's looking like it will be a fun season for the Blue Jays -- and perhaps those invested in their success.
As you can see, the books are pretty strong believers in the Jays this season. They're settling in between +800 and +950 and check in with the second or third best odds depending on the book. Obviously, the Dodgers are built for another deep run and playing in a division with pushovers like the Rockies and Diamondbacks will help their seeding come April. The Blue Jays are in a much tougher division overall, though getting to play the Orioles 19 times doesn't hurt.
The strength of the Blue Jays lies in the offense as they are projected to score the third-most runs in baseball. Pitching will be the deciding factor; having Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios gives the Blue Jays a top of the rotation that rivals almost anyone, and if Alek Manoah reaches his potential, this is a staff that has the makings of a deep run in October. The bullpen may need some deadline help to get this team over the top, but there's no doubt that this team has World Series bona fides.
FanDuel has the best price on a Blue Jays World Series win at +950.
Of course, if you're in on a Blue Jays World Series, pairing that up with an AL future makes sense. The Blue Jays are trading between +450 and +500 at most books with BetMGM offering the best value. The Dodgers looming out of the NL makes me more confident in an AL Winner future for the Blue Jays over the World Series future, but both bets have their merits.
There's obviously less value on the AL East future with +180 checking in as the best price. While I'm a believer in this team challenging for the title, the margin is razor-thin for winning an East division that has four legitimate contenders.
American League MVP Odds
Vladimir Guerrero (+550 at FanDuel) and Bo Bichette (+3000 at FanDuel) are the headliners for the Blue Jays, and with good reason. Shohei Ohtani, if he stays healthy, is a major hurdle for both given his impact in multiple facets of the game. It takes a Herculean effort to beat out a player who can rack up 40+ home runs and also notch double-digit wins and 150+ strikeouts.
Guerrero playing a position that doesn't allow for much defensive impact means that he will need to challenge last year's offensive output to stay in the mix. Bichette is interesting as well but it's important to separate fantasy production from real-life impact when considering his MVP chances. He has a rare blend of hit tool, power and speed that makes him a Top 5 option in fantasy but his defense needs some work after leading the AL in errors last season. Still, +3000 with that kind of talent is worth consideration.
American League Cy Young Award Odds
The AL Cy Young market seems to be low on the Jays' frontline starters with Jose Berrios and Kevin Gausman checking in at +1800 or longer. Alek Manoah isn't too far behind, either, and he may have the most upside of the trio if everything clicks.
Wins Leader may be the better market to target with these Blue Jays starters. This is a team that is going to challenge for the best record in baseball and run support will always be there for this staff. At +1500, there's not much difference between Berrios/Gausman's Wins Leader odds and Cy Young odds but I think team context can help fuel a serious run for either of them to challenge for the wins lead.
Be sure to make use of our full suite of betting odds and tools throughout the season, as well as our daily betting articles. RotoWire has everything a bettor needs to make informed decisions from updated markets for futures and player futures along with tools such as historical odds and parlay calculators.
It's that wonderful time of the year when Bills fans can take a look at some wagers for the upcoming season while watching all the offseason happenings. Hopefully, they can profit from it. The Bills, like the rest of the NFL, have made some interesting moves and are looking to secure that elusive championship.
Buffalo Bills to win the Super Bowl
Since we mentioned winning the championship, let's start with the best odds to do that feat, and that would be at +700. The AFC East should be a winnable division again for the Bills, and they are in a good position to secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Bills were 13 seconds away from hosting the AFC Championship Game last season and are returning an even stronger team. You can find these odds both at Caesars -- which happens to be the official sports betting partner of the Bills -- and PointsBet.
Josh Allen to win MVP
It's only a matter of time before Josh Allen wins this award, so why not this season at +700? His passing skills have taken a major step forward, and the rapport between Allen with Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis is fantastic. Isaiah McKenzie and Jamison Crowder will easily make up for the loss of Cole Beasley and provide the short to medium routes needed to gain valuable third down conversions or in the red zone. Allen's ability to rack up yards on the ground -- 763 of them last season, to be exact -- gives him a leg up on other quarterbacks who don't have that skill in their tool chest. You can find this wager at the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Buffalo Bills Over 11.5 Wins
The odds on Buffalo going OVER 11.5 wins are -125, and they are in position to convert. Just so this doesn't seem like we're overly gushing about the Bills, the UNDER here is +105, and historically, the Bills have only hit this mark once over the past 30 years. That was two seasons ago, though. They had 11 wins last season, but the overall maturity and improvement of the roster should get them over the top in 2022.
Any significant injury to Josh Allen would be the only path to the under, even with the upgrades that the divisional foe Miami Dolphins have made. You can find this number on both DraftKings and Caesars.
Buffalo Bills to Miss the Playoffs
Just so this isn't a complete Bills "fluff" piece, let's go a little negative here, and you can get +400 on the Bills missing the postseason altogether. We don't like laying the -550 odds on DraftKings for the Bills to make the playoffs, and it's not crazy to take them winning the Super Bowl and then hedging with this wager.
By the way, there's a very strong possibility the "winning the Super Bowl odds" go higher than +700 at some point during the season. As already mentioned, an injury to Allen would be catastrophic and the Dolphins not only won eight of their last nine games, they also got better over the offseason. If the Bills don't win the division, it's going to be a heated contest for Wild Card spots, as the AFC improved markedly in recent weeks.
The launch of sports betting in Ontario comes at the perfect time for bettors to capitalize on the start of the NBA Playoffs, which officially begin with the play-in tournament on April 12. The Raptors will likely finish as the fifth or sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, meaning they will avoid the play-in tournament and begin postseason play Saturday, April 16 or Sunday, April 17.
Let's take a look at how the Raptors' odds stack up against the rest of the field, as well as check in on Scottie Barnes' chances to take home the Rookie of the Year award.
Toronto Raptors to win the Eastern Conference
As the odds imply, the Raptors are generally considered the seventh-most-likely team to win the Eastern Conference. Getting past some combination of Milwaukee, Brooklyn, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami and Chicago to reach the Finals would be a monumental task, but Toronto has a unique combination of experience, depth and young talent led by Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and the emergence of Barnes.
As you can see in the graphic above, the Raptors currently sit at 45/1 to win the Eastern Conference at the DraftKings Sportsbook. That's a significant jump from earlier in the season, when Toronto's odds swelled to as high as 150/1.
Sitting at 50/1 at BetMGM, perhaps the Raptors are worth a minor sprinkle for those in Toronto. However, targeting them on a series-by-series, or even game-by-game, basis probably makes more sense given how stacked the Eastern Conference is this season. Toronto may not know its opponent until the end of the week, but the Raptors will almost certainly be underdogs in Round 1, so there could be some value to be had. Once the playoff matchups are locked in, bettors should keep an eye out for series and individual game lines, as well as a myriad of player prop angles.
Scottie Barnes to win Rookie of the Year
Midway through the season, Evan Mobley looked like he might finish as the near-unanimous Rookie of the Year. But slowly and steadily, Barnes has managed to close the gap, and with Mobley currently sidelined with an ankle injury, Barnes is making one last furious push. While Mobley is still a relatively heavy favorite, his odds have moved from -1000 to -330 at DraftKings over the course of the last nine days. In that same span, Barnes' odds have shrunk from +600 to +225.
With only a week remaining in the regular season, Barnes may be running out of time to truly pull even with Mobley, even if the USC product misses his team's final three games. But the Raptors have already leapfrogged the Cavs in the Eastern Conference standings, so the argument that Mobley's team is more successful no longer holds up. Many of the key advanced numbers -- including PER, VORP and Win Shares -- also favor Barnes, so while Mobley is the likely winner, it would not be a surprise if many voters lean toward Barnes when all is said and done.
No matter what, we should be poised for one of the closest Rookie of the Year votes in recent memory. Snagging Barnes at +225 is a nice way for Raptors fans to spice things up with a player future before the end of the regular season.
Toronto Maple Leafs Bets
Starting with the Hart Trophy, nearly every sportsbook is aligned that Auston Matthews, who has already hit the 50-goal mark with a month left in the season, is the favorite to take home the Hart Trophy. It's hard to argue against that when you consider the other two favorites, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl play on the same team, which in the minds of some voters rules them out as the "Most Valuable Player." Michael Bunting's name does show up near the top of the Calder Trophy odds for top rookie, but it would take a ridiculous finish for him to move past Detroit's Moritz Seider.
It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that the Panthers are going to take the Atlantic Division, so betting the Leafs in that spot doesn't make sense. Toronto will be making the playoffs, so taking them to win the Eastern Conference at +600 -- or double that to win the Stanley Cup -- might be worth a look, though the club seems destined for a first-round matchup with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, which won't be easy.
Having the presumptive Hart Trophy winner in Auston Matthews will keep Toronto in contention in any series. Whether they can get solid goaltending from Jack Campbell or are deep enough at forward to compete with the Bolts or Panthers remains to be seen.
Ottawa Senators Bets
This team isn't making the playoffs this year, but there are pieces in place that could help them compete next season. We will start with captain Brady Tkachuk who is just 22 years of age and leads the team in scoring. If Drake Batherson can avoid a lengthy absence, he should be able to challenge Tkachuk for the team scoring title. He leads the club in points per game despite being limited to just 35 games thus far.
The No. 3 overall pick in 2020, Tim Stutzle, is coming into his own, having already surpassed his rookie numbers. It's a young team, with the average age of the Senators' current forward complement coming in at 25.1. Defensively, Jake Sanderson should be a lock to make the Opening Night roster despite being just 19, and a healthy Thomas Chabot would drastically improve Ottawa's chances.
The Senators' biggest question mark will be goaltending, but with nearly $15 million in available cap space, it could be addressed in free agency. While you may not want to bet them to lift Lord Stanley's Cup next year, they could hit as a long-shot bet to make the playoffs, and you could consider taking the over on their win total.
