The final score is only one question a game can answer. Who scores first? How many shots does the captain put on net? Who lifts the Stanley Cup in June? Props and futures turn those questions into bets. They’re fun, they reward knowing a sport in detail, and they’re also where the bookmaker’s margin tends to be widest and the terms most varied. Here’s how props, futures, outrights and each-way bets work, the 🧮 maths on why futures cost more, and the Canadian calendar that sets when futures settle.
- Props: bets on events inside a game, from player points to the first goal.
- Futures: season or tournament winners, settled months later.
- More outcomes, more margin: an illustrative four-runner future carries 8.36%.
- Each-way splits your stake into a win bet and a place bet at a fraction of the odds.
Prop bets: inside the game
A proposition bet, or prop, is a bet on something other than the result. There are two broad families.
- Player props: a player’s goals, points, assists, shots, passing yards, rebounds. Most are over/under lines, such as “over 3.5 shots on goal”, priced like a total.
- Game props: events in the game, such as the first team to score, whether there’s a goal in the first period, or the method of victory in a fight.
Worked example, illustrative odds: a player at over 0.5 points, priced 1.80, and under at 2.00. Over implies 55.6%, under 50.0%. Total: 105.6%, a margin of 5.26% (computed). That’s a little above a standard -110 line. Props aren’t always priced worse, but we couldn’t find a credible published table of typical prop margins, so check each one yourself by adding up both sides. Our bookmaker margin guide shows how.
Props settle on official stats, and the details matter. Does a player need to play for the bet to stand? Does overtime count? Does a shootout goal count as a goal for the player? Books answer these differently in their house rules, so read them before betting a market you haven’t used before.
Futures and outrights
A futures bet is settled at the end of a season or tournament. An outright is the same idea for a single event with many runners, such as a golf tournament. The classic Canadian futures markets:
- Stanley Cup winner. The 2026 Cup went to the Carolina Hurricanes, who beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 for their second title (NHL). The 2026-27 market runs from opening night to next June.
- Grey Cup winner. The 113th Grey Cup is on November 15, 2026 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary (CFL), inside Alberta’s regulated market.
- Super Bowl winner. Super Bowl LXI is on February 14, 2027 at SoFi Stadium.
- Season awards and totals: MVP markets, team win totals, top scorers.
Sport Select’s retail menu lists futures alongside its game bets, with markets such as a World Series winner (Sport Select).
🧮 Why futures cost more
Futures markets have many outcomes. Each one is priced a little short, and the shortfalls add up. Here’s the same margin calculation on markets with more and more outcomes.
| Market | Outcomes | Overround | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two-way line, -110 / -110 | 2 | 104.76% | 4.55% |
| Soccer 1X2 (1.90 / 4.76 / 3.17) | 3 | 105.19% | 4.93% |
| NHL 60-minute three-way (illustrative) | 3 | 106.82% | 6.38% |
| Four-runner future, 3.00 / 3.50 / 4.00 / 4.50 (illustrative) | 4 | 109.13% | 8.36% |
Computed by BonusMadness; soccer odds from Hegarty and Whelan’s CEPR VoxEU column, other odds illustrative.
In the four-runner example, the fair prices (with the margin removed) would be about 3.27, 3.82, 4.37 and 4.91. Every runner is priced shorter than fair. A real Stanley Cup market lists every team in the league, which leaves room for a bigger total overround, and long shots in many-outcome markets tend to carry the worst value: in soccer, Hegarty and Whelan found 1X2 longshots lose more per dollar than favourites.
Regulator data points the same way. Nevada’s sportsbooks held 9.91% on the “Other” category over the 12 months to July 2026, above every major sport, though that row mixes many products.
🧮 Margin grows with the number of outcomes
| Two-way -110 | 4.55% |
|---|---|
| Soccer 1X2 | 4.93% |
| NHL 60-min three-way | 6.38% |
| Four-runner future | 8.36% |
Canadian teams in the futures markets
Canadian teams shape the futures board, and how many there are depends on the league. The NHL has seven Canadian teams: Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. The CFL’s nine teams are all Canadian, so the Grey Cup market is entirely domestic. The NBA has one Canadian team, the Raptors, and MLB one, the Blue Jays. MLS has three Canadian clubs (Toronto FC, CF Montreal and the Vancouver Whitecaps), and the Canadian Premier League has eight, with its final weekend on November 21-22, 2026. The PWHL has five Canadian teams among its 12.
A home-team future is a bet on loyalty as much as on odds. Price it the same way as any other: convert to implied probability and ask whether the team really wins that often. Our NHL betting guide and CFL betting guide cover the leagues in detail.
How to judge a prop
- Add up both sides. A two-way prop priced 1.80 / 2.00 carries a 5.26% margin; a 1.87 / 1.87 prop carries about 6.5%. Same player, different price.
- Read the settlement rule. Minimum playing time, overtime and voids differ by book.
- Check the limit. Maximum stakes on props can differ from main markets.
- Watch for correlated legs. Two props on the same player usually move together, which matters if you combine them.
The time cost of futures
A futures stake is locked up until the market settles. The NHL’s 2026-27 regular season runs from September 29, 2026 to April 10, 2027, with 84 games per team, and the playoffs follow (NHL). A Stanley Cup bet placed on opening night waits about nine months. The PWHL’s 2026-27 season runs from December 5, 2026 to April 18, 2027. MLS Cup is on December 18, 2026.
Three practical effects. Money in a future can’t be used for anything else. Some books offer cash out on futures, at a price they set, which our live betting and cash out guide explains. And if a bonus needs bets to settle before it expires, a future won’t help, as our sports bonuses guide notes.
Each-way bets
Each-way is common in golf and horse racing, where there are many runners. It’s two equal bets: one to win, and one to place (finish in the top few) at a fraction of the win odds.
| Result | Win part | Place part | Total returned on C$20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | C$10 x 21.0 = C$210 | C$10 x 5.0 = C$50 | C$260 |
| Places (2nd or 3rd) | Loses | C$10 x 5.0 = C$50 | C$50 (net +C$30) |
| Unplaced | Loses | Loses | C$0 (net -C$20) |
Computed by BonusMadness. Illustrative: C$10 each-way at 21.0 (20/1), place terms 1/5 of the odds for 3 places, so place odds = 1 + 20/5 = 5.0.
Place terms vary by book and by event: the fraction (1/4 or 1/5) and the number of places both change the value. Golf outrights, such as the RBC Canadian Open, can come with each-way terms. The 2026 edition went to Bud Cauley at 17 under; the 2027 edition is June 9-13 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley (RBC Canadian Open). Our golf betting page covers the markets.
Where props and futures fit
Props suit bettors who follow players closely; futures suit bettors with a season-long view and the patience to wait. Both are worth comparing across books, since many-outcome markets leave the most room for prices to differ. The parlay guide covers combining them, and our sport pages cover the markets: hockey, football, basketball and MMA and boxing, where method-of-victory props are common. The UFC betting guide goes into rounds and methods.
🍁 Before you bet
A futures bet is a long-shot ticket with a long wait. Stake it like one, and keep it inside the budget you set for the month, not on top of it. The sports betting guide covers how betting works outside Ontario and Alberta, and the sportsbook list shows the books we cover. Everything here is for players aged 19 or over outside Ontario and Alberta. Our responsible gambling page lists every provincial helpline.
FAQ
What is a prop bet?
A bet on something inside a game other than the final result: a player's goals, points or shots, or a game event such as the first team to score. Props are often two-way over/under markets on a player's stat line, priced like a total.
What is a futures bet?
A bet on an outcome settled at the end of a season or tournament, such as the Stanley Cup, the Grey Cup or the Super Bowl winner. Your stake is tied up until the market settles, which can be months away.
Why do futures have a bigger margin?
The margin is spread across many outcomes, so there's room to shave each price. In our illustrative four-runner market priced 3.00, 3.50, 4.00 and 4.50, the margin is 8.36%, almost double a standard -110 two-way line at 4.55%. Real futures markets list far more teams.
How does an each-way bet work?
It's two equal bets: one to win and one to place, with the place part paid at a fraction of the win odds, commonly 1/4 or 1/5, for a set number of places. C$10 each-way costs C$20. Each-way is common in golf and horse racing; terms vary by book.
Can I bet props on provincial sites?
Sport Select, the Western Canada Lottery Corporation's retail product, lists props and futures among its bet types, including markets such as a World Series winner. Online menus vary by province; check your provincial site for what it currently offers.
