Parlay Betting: The Secret to Win Massive Bonuses?

Sports betting on paper is a very straightforward task. You look for a licensed bookmaker, choose a sport, and place a bet. However, the details are often jaw-dropping when you actually go into it. Parlay betting, also known as accumulator betting in Europe and Asia, is one of the many aspects of sports betting.

Needless to say, it’s true for online sportsbooks in Canada too. All brands you can sign up to right now will accept parlay bets. And it’s one of the best ways to increase your likelihood of landing big wins.

This is our guide to parlay betting in Canada. We’re going to learn what it is by looking at actual examples. We’re also going to learn how the odds are calculated. Last but not least, we’re going to evaluate some bonuses you can get while placing parlay bets. Let’s go!

Best Online Sportsbooks with Parlay Bets

As usual, we’re going to start our guide with the list of online bookmakers in Canada. This time, these are brands that not only accept parlay bets but also offer parlay bonuses. Our experts have taken care of the safety paradigm so that you don’t have to worry about it.

What is Parlay Betting?

In simple words, when you add more than 1 selection to a single bet, it’s a parlay. But if you’re not familiar with the variables that go into this, only the definition won’t make much sense to you. So, let’s go over the concept of a market, selection, and bet slip to revisit this definition.

A “market” in sports betting is an outcome you can bet on. If it’s a hockey match we’re talking about, “who scores the first goal” is a valid market. At the same time, “which team wins the match”, “how fouls there are”, etc. are all valid markets.

To get to the list of available markets on an online betting site, you’ll need to sort through the tournaments and the matches. The markets are actually the fundamentals of an event. When you click or tap on a market, it’s added to your bet slip.

The bet slip is exactly what it sounds like. It looks like a receipt where you can keep track of your expenses as well as your bets. When you add 1 market to your bet slip, that’s 1 selection. On the slip, you can then input how much you want to bet. Finally, you confirm your bet slip. After you do it, your bet is registered with the bookmaker and you cannot change it.

However, your bet slip is not limited to only 1 selection for a wager. Rather, you can add multiple markets for the same amount of money you’re willing to spend on a bet. And that’s what parlay betting is all about.

The whole purpose of placing parlay bets is to “stack” the odds so that the returns are higher. It’s simply because your potential of winning is directly associated with the odds your bet slip is projecting.

Now, go ahead and read the definition again. It makes a lot more sense, right?

Types of Parlay Bets

Well, to be honest, there are no “types” of parlay betting. Every bet you place with more than 1 selection belongs to the category. However, bookmakers do tend to label the bets differently based on the number of selections to keep track of things more easily.

Let’s go over the system they follow so you know exactly what’s at stake when you read the terms of the betting rules for a particular sport.

Double: Ideally, the first and smallest parlay bet. As the same suggests, when you add 2 selections to a bet, it’s considered a double.
Treble: If you understood what happened with the double, the same rule applies to the treble. Instead of 2, you now have added 3 selections to the bet slip.
4-Fold: As soon as you reach 4 selections, all you have to do is add “fold” with it. So, 4-fold means 4 selections, 5-fold means 5 selections, and the list keeps going.

A very important aspect of parlay betting is how many selections you can add to your bet slip. Well, it actually depends on the bookmaker’s policy. We’ve seen bookies limiting parlays to only 15 selections. At the same time, we’ve seen sportsbooks with more than 40 selections.

Sure, the more selections you add, the more you can stand to win. But there’s a catch to it. For an accumulator or parlay to work, you must win on all selections. If only 1 selection loses, you lose the entire bet.

As you can see, adding 40 selections might seem very attractive but unless you’re a veteran sports bettor with years of experience, it’s unlikely you’ll land all accurate selections.

How Are Parlay Odds Calculated?

Remember we said that the purpose of parlay betting is to stack the odds? You might be thinking that the odds are added together. But that’s not the case. Even if we take theoretical possibilities, this formula only applies to decimal odds, which is not the favourite format for Canadian punters.

Let’s start with the American odds as it’s the most likely format you’d use. We know that the favourite teams are represented as negative moneylines. It simply means that the odds have a “-” before it. The opposite is true for the underdog where you’ll get a “+”.

For negative moneyline odds, you divide 100 by the odds. So, if an event is projecting -140 odds, your calculation will look like (100/140) = 0.71. When you multiply your stake with the yield, you get the profit. If you bet $100, you get $71 as profit.

The calculation for positive moneyline odds is simply the opposite. You divide the odds by 100 and follow the same rule.

As for decimal odds, you multiply all the odds together and finally multiply it by your stake to get the potential payout. And when you deduct the stake, you get your profit from the parlay.

How to Place a Parlay Bet?

Placing a parlay bet could seem challenging at times. Especially if it’s your first time. Thankfully, the process is straightforward.

Let’s address one of the most asked questions regarding this bet. Can you include multiple sports in the same bet? The answer is yes, you can. It doesn’t matter what sports you’re choosing or what kind of market you’re going for.

As long as you’re confident that you can win across all the selections, you’re free to place the bet. Even if you’re not, the bookmaker has no say in what you want to add. Unless, of course, the bet is part of a promotion. In that case, you’ll need to stick to the preselected events by the bookie.

Here are the general steps for parlay betting:

Sign up for one of our recommended online sports betting sites in Canada.
Deposit real money using one of the offered online payment methods.
If you want to claim a bonus, read the T&C beforehand and proceed accordingly. From step 4 and onwards, we’re going for general bets that are not part of any online bonus.
Look into the T&C of the sportsbook to know what’s your limit for parlay betting. If you’re new to the paradigm, we suggest starting slow. Don’t go overboard with 30-40 selections right away.
Rather, choose one or two sports that you know by heart. Also, try to add markets that you’re certain will work.
As you develop more confidence in your betting abilities, you can increase the number of selections.

Parlay Betting Examples

Sure, we can give you all the complex definitions and theories by experts to try and make you understand what parlay betting is. But we strongly believe that everything becomes a piece of cake with examples.

So, we’ve gathered a few examples from Betfinal, a reputed online bookmaker in Canada. Remember, these are “our” examples meaning you won’t find identical bets on the betting site. We’re going with ice hockey given that it’s the most popular sport for betting among Canadian punters.

An NHL match between Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks boasts -172 and +130 odds for the match-winner market. Let’s say you pick Nashville Predators at -172 odds as 1 selection.

For the same match, you may add another market about “Team to Score Goal 1”. This time, the odds of Nashville and Jose Sharks are -161 and +112. Let’s go with the Sharks this time.

Now, let’s say you’re craving to bet on the NBA because it’s the Super Bowl season! So, you target a match between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers. The odds are -213 and +170 respectively. If you’re going for the Celtics, you add -213 to your bet slip.

At this point, you have 3 selections on the slip. So, what is your potential payout? Let’s go about it one by one, considering you’re betting a flat $100 on the parlay.

For the first selection, you have (100/170) = .58 x $100 = $58 (profit).

For the second selection, you have (112/100) = 1.12 x $100 = $112 (profit).

For the third selection, you have (100/213) = .47 x $100 = $47 (profit).

If we add the profits together, we get ($58 + $112 + $47) = $217. It’s against the same $100 wager. If the profit is looking on the lower side, it’s simply because 2 out of the 3 selections are for the favourite. As we all know, the return on favourite outcomes is always lower.

In comparison, if you had only the first selection as your bet, you need to bet $170 for a $100 profit. You’re getting $117 more for the same stake by simply adding 2 more selections. And that’s the beauty of parlay betting.

Some Parlay Bonuses in Canada

Across online sportsbooks, the idea of an “ACCA Bonus” is pretty famous all over the world. Following the trend, Canadian online betting sites too offer many bonuses regarding an ACCA or a parlay bet. So, why don’t we list the best we can find in the country for you?

Betfinal – Sports ACCA Insurance Up to $50

What we like most about this particular online bonus is that it’s available every single day! And this bonus targets the only problem with parlays. Of course, we’re referring to the fact that you lose the bet if one or more of your selections go wrong.

But when you’re participating in Sports ACCA Insurance up to a $50 Daily bonus, you get insurance on that bet as long as your bet value is not more than $50. To qualify for this bonus, the parlay you place must have at least 5 selections at a minimum of 1.30 (-333) odds per selection. And you can lose on maximum 1 selection to get the refund.

Keep in mind that this is not an automatic bonus so you’ll need to send an email to bonus@betfinal.com with your bet ID. You can expect the return within 24 hours in your account.

Bet365 – Soccer Accumulator Bonus

This is one of the simplest parlay bonuses out there. The more selections you add, the more you win. It starts at a mere treble and goes all the way up to 14-folds and more. If you place a treble, you get a 5% incentive on your return.

Every time you add a new selection, you get an additional 5% bonus. By the time you reach 14-fold, your bonus is already at 70%. If you add even more selections, you will increase the potential final payout as usual but with no additional bonus.

However, if an odds boost is already active in your account for a multi-bet, the accumulator boost won’t work. It’s no shock because no online bookmaker will allow you to keep 2 bonuses active at the same time.

Powbet – ACCA Boost

As you can see, most international bookmakers label parlay bets as accumulators or ACCA to make it more global. But let’s not focus on that. Rather, let’s think about the potential $150,000 bonus you can land from this promotion!

To qualify for this bonus, your parlay must contain at least 3 selections and each of the selections must have at least 1.80 (-125) odds. After the bet settles and you win, you’ll receive a 10% bonus on whatever your bet value was.

To utilize the full potential of this bonus, your initial stake must be $1,500,000. Let’s be honest, it’s a bit far-fetched even for the high rollers. But as long as you’re ready with a substantial bankroll, you can expect some good returns.

Is Parlay Betting Worth It?

Of course, it is! We see many punters get hung up on the fact that you’ll lose the bet if even one selection goes wrong. But we don’t believe that’s reason enough not to utilize such a juicy opportunity of lengthening your odds.

Keep in mind that you might be adding a lot of selections but you’re still spending the same as you would for a single selection. So, even if you lose the bet, you don’t lose much. But if you win, you’re exponentially increasing your profits.

However, we’re not encouraging you to only place parlay bets and forget about the rest of the types. That’s not how it works in sports betting. This has always been and will always be a balance. You need to balance your bankroll and your betting strategies to make the most out of your time.

The best way to approach the paradigm, in our opinion, is to start practising parlay betting with smaller portions of your bankroll. At this point, you should still be spending the majority of it on singles or any other kind of bets with less risk. This way, you don’t run the risk of blowing your entire bankroll on a bad accumulator.

The bottom line is that you can make great profits from the accumulator or parlay betting if you’re cautious. We’re certain that any seasoned bettor will agree with us on this front.

Tips to Succeed in Parlay Betting

We’re nearing the end of our discussion. But before that, we believe we can help you further by sharing our experience in the industry. In this section, we have some tips that have helped us, and hopefully, they’ll help you too.

Keep the Selections Feasible

We’ve already hinted at this once in our guide. Just because an online bookmaker is offering up to 40-fold parlays doesn’t mean you should go for it. Managing expectations is crucial for success in sports betting. Accumulators are often compared to double-edged swords and you don’t have to be a betting expert to understand why.

Research is Your Best Friend

Compared to casino games, sports betting comes with massive profit potential. It’s simply because you have a lot more variables under your control for sports events. Casino games, on the other hand, are completely based on luck, unless it’s poker or blackjack.

That’s why research goes a long way in betting. When you add selections to your bet slip to form a parlay, we highly recommend that you add the ones you’re certain about. Now, it’s never possible to guarantee a win because then it wouldn’t be gambling anymore. But doing your homework will give you helpful insights that you can use to form a more accurate parlay.

The area of research expands on previous statistics of the team, a particular player, team management, injury news, player transfers, and everything else that can potentially impact the outcome of an event. You need to be on top of all of these to make the most accurate predictions.

Try to Parlay with a Twist of Arbitrage

We already have a dedicated guide on arbitrage betting. Although the purpose of arbing is completely different from placing parlay bets, you can always combine the two for a bang!

In short, arbitrage betting is placing opposing bets at two different bookmakers to eliminate the possibility of a loss. And the profit is actually generated from the difference in odds between the two bookmakers.

Now, let’s say you added 5 selections to your bet slip on Powbet. At the same time, you can place all the opposing selections on bet365! It doesn’t have to be the exact opposite at all times because there will always be a few selections that you’re certain of. So, change the ones you’re so sure about to protect your bet from all angles.

Best Alternative to Parlay Bets

If you don’t want to go with parlay betting, you must have your reasons. But it doesn’t mean we can’t suggest some alternatives, right?

Arbitrage: If you don’t want to increase your profits, you might want to reduce the chances of a loss. And you can’t go wrong with arbitrage betting in Canada for that.
System Bet: System bets are somewhat similar to parlays but you don’t absolutely have to win for all the selections. As long as at least 2 selections come true, you’re golden!
Bet Insurance: Even though you don’t do regular parlay betting, don’t miss out on parlay insurance bets. This is too juicy of an opportunity to let go because even if you lose the parlay, you’re getting the stake back.

FAQ

Can you bet parlays in Canada?

Yes, you can. Since the very beginning of sports betting in the country, parlays have been valid bets. The same is true for online betting sites.

How much does $100 for team parlay pay?

It depends on how many selections you add to the bet. Check out our example section for a breakdown of how the odds work on parlay bets.

Can you sports bet online in Canada?

Yes, online sports betting has been completely legal in Canada since the beginning of the iGaming industry. Even single-game wagering has been made legal as of August 2021.

What is a Canadian accumulator?

If you place 26 bets on 5 different sports events, that’s nicknamed a Canadian accumulator. It’s also known as Super Yankee among some bettors. Among the 26 bets, 10 are double, 10 are trebles, one is 4-fold, and the other one is 5-fold.

What is a Heinz bet?

A Heinz bet is somewhat similar to a Canadian accumulator but with a different bet combination. This time, there are 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 4-folds, 6 5-folds, and one 6-fold across 6 events.