NFL Odds Seeing More Action as North American Football Expands

Super Bowl LVII wrapped up the 2022-23 NFL season on February 12th. Like back in 2020, the Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes led a fourth-quarter comeback for a win against the Philadelphia Eagles. It was an exciting game to watch between two quality rivals—even for CFL fans who don’t follow the regular season.

And, despite the fact that locals either cheer on the Edmonton Elks or the Calgary Stampeders throughout the CFL season, added attention is being given to the US league. Though the Chiefs won the Super Bowl championship game only a week ago, NFL odds are already focused on next year’s winner. While it might seem strange to focus on which team will lift the Lombardi Trophy next year when the last season just concluded, it’s actually a popular time for bettors to forecast a winner.

That’s because sportsbooks offer high-value lines on futures bets that are placed a year ahead of the event. And it looks like they’re favoring the Kansas City Chiefs to win yet again with odds of +550, followed by the Buffalo Bills with odds of +700. For Alberta locals, the availability of odds from sportsbooks has helped boost interest in the league—and especially its championship game.

But the availability of betting markets isn’t the only reason residents in Red Deer and beyond are focusing on the NFL. It’s also because US-based football has seen major expansion in the last few years, including the launches of the USFL and the XFL. As North American football grows, so does its coverage north of the border.

The New Spring & Summer Leagues

Those who only loosely follow the CFL and NFL might not realize such a weighty expansion is underway. In fact, despite its successful first season as a US-based professional summer league, the USFL has flown under the radar for many.

The league was originally launched back in the early 1980s as a competitor to the NFL. However, its 2022 relaunch, helmed by Fox Sports, is instead branding itself as a ‘summer league’. This prevents the USFL from competing directly with the NFL or CFL, which remain North America’s most dominant tournaments in terms of viewership and revenue.

Meanwhile, Dwayne Johnson and his co-stake in Redbird Capital are looking to relaunch the XFL after multiple false starts under WWE owner Vince McMahon. McMahon first attempted to launch the league back in the early 2000s, then failed again after a doomed 2020 spring restart.

After a buyout from Redbird Capital, the XFL is set to start again in mid-February. Similar to the USFL, it will avoid direct competition with the NFL and CFL by running a spring league. Notably, the XFL will differ from traditional football formats by offering a shortened and action-oriented format.

A Flooded Market or Endless Content?

The goal behind the USFL and XFL is to capitalize on downtime in the NFL and CFL. Given the US’s propensity for over-the-top entertainment, there’s certainly a market for non-stop football coverage. However, American football fans also have the NCAA’s year-round football coverage to look forward to.

Will the USFL and XFL survive or will there be a proliferation of football content without enough dedicated viewers? The USFL’s first successful season hints that the league has staying power. As the season advanced, the USFL picked up more viewers at a steady pace. Additionally, USFL rosters feature head coaches from the NFL, CFL, and NCAAF. With solid leadership comes better play, which can lead to more dedicated fans.

Still, it’s far too soon to see how the XFL will pan out—and how its success or failure might help or hinder the USFL. Additionally, there have been concerns about the availability of pro football players, and in which league they might end up as contracts and salaries start to become more standardized. For now, football fans can simply dive into the added coverage without worrying about missing any games due to overlapping schedules.

Todayville Content Team

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The bizarre story of Taro Tsujimoto

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The bizarre story of Taro Tsujimoto

Published on March 28, 2025

Todayville Content Team

The National Hockey League (NHL) has seen its fair share of strange moments, but few compare to the bizarre and hilarious tale of Taro Tsujimoto, a player who never existed. His “selection” in the 1974 NHL Draft remains one of the most legendary pranks in hockey history. If you want to wager on actual players, making the 1xBet app download is definitely a great idea.

In the 1970s, the NHL Draft was a much less glamorous event than today. It was a tedious process conducted over the phone, with teams calling in their picks. The 3 biggest highlights of what happened during that year’s draft were:

the draft dragged on for hours;
there were multiple rounds and teams selecting unknown prospects from obscure leagues;
frustrated with the monotony, Buffalo Sabres general manager Punch Imlach decided to have a little fun.

As the 11th round approached, Imlach instructed his team’s representative to draft Taro Tsujimoto, a supposed forward from the Tokyo Katanas of the Japan Ice Hockey League. The name sounded authentic enough. The league officials, unfamiliar with Japanese hockey, accepted the pick without question. By downloading the 1xBet app you will also be able to wager on great NHL teams too.

A small problem

There was a small problem with all of this, as 2 things didn’t exist: Tsujimoto and the Tokyo Katanas. Imlach had completely fabricated the player as a joke, taking advantage of the NHL’s lack of verification. When it comes to NHL wagers, there is no better platform than the 1xBet Canada site.

For weeks, the league listed Tsujimoto as an official draft pick, and even some newspapers reported on Buffalo’s mysterious new Japanese prospect. Eventually, the Sabres admitted the hoax, and the NHL was forced to retroactively erase the selection from its records.

Despite being a fictional player, Taro Tsujimoto took on a life of his own. Buffalo Sabres fans embraced the prank, and over the years, his name has become a cult legend in hockey culture. Some fans even wore jerseys with “Tsujimoto” on the back. The joke persisted so much that when EA Sports released NHL video games, players could occasionally find Tsujimoto in the game’s draft pool as a hidden Easter egg.

More than just a prank, the story of Taro Tsujimoto highlights 2 things: the quirks of old-school sports management and the creativity of one of hockey’s most colorful executives. Today, with the draft process being highly scrutinized and broadcast live, such a prank would be impossible. But Tsujimoto’s legacy lives on as one of hockey’s greatest inside jokes. What is not a joke are the great rewards that a platform like the Canadian 1xBet site can give you.

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60% of Canadians gamble each month – why the industry is going from strength to strength

Published on March 26, 2025

Todayville Content Team

When it comes to regulating gambling, Canada has a somewhat relaxed approach. The Canadian Gaming Association oversees the industry, but it’s up to individual provinces to enact and enforce any laws relating to online casino gaming, sports betting, traditional casino gaming, and other forms of gambling.

Canada’s online casino gaming laws are not totally clear, but individual provinces are starting to put this right. Ontario was the first and did so when it launched its own regulated igaming market in April 2022. Now some other provinces have followed suit, creating a safer igaming environment for players in those provinces. Below is a look at gambling in Canada compared to other parts of the world, at gaming laws in Alberta compared to other provinces, and at the future of the Canadian, US, and UK gambling industries.

Canada: a forever love of gambling

Gambling in some form or other has always been popular in Canada. Way back in the 1990s, research found six in ten Canadians (60%) gambled every month. Additionally, four in ten (43%) spent between 1 and 20 Canadian dollars on gambling. Fast forward to today and the Canadian gambling market is worth 14.2 billion US dollars as of January 2024, according to data on the website of consumer and market data company Statista.

It seems Canada enjoys wagering just as much as two other countries that love a gamble: the US and the UK. Data on the Statista website shows that 49% of US adults took part in gambling activities in 2023. Fifty-six percent said their attitude towards gambling had relaxed, compared to the 50% of 2019.

The UK returned similar stats for the same year. Forty-eight percent of adults reported engaging in gambling activity. Online casinos generated the most gross gambling yield in 2023, but it was the nation’s National Lottery that people played the most.

Alberta: following Ontario’s lead

The regulatory developments in Ontario have triggered movement in Alberta. In May 2024, Bill 16, the Red Tape Reduction Amendment Act, made it through the process and later received Royal Assent to become law. The act removes the monopoly of gaming by a single government entity and will allow private operators, licensed by Alberta’s provincial regulator, to provide online gaming services in Alberta, meaning players will have a choice of more than one Alberta online casino to play at.

The regulation transforms Alberta into one of the more liberal provinces when it comes to online gambling, others being Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia.

Several provinces, such as Novia Scotia and Northwest Territories, have no provincially regulated online gaming sites. Some also restrict betting on horse racing and/or other types of sports betting, obliging citizens to use international betting sites for freedom from caps and betting on as many events as they wish.

What lies ahead for the Canadian, US, and UK gambling industries?

Canada’s appetite for gambling is clear, and the industry’s online sector is beginning to thrive. Ontario has enjoyed vast success by creating its own regulated market, one which, in just its first year, saw Canadians place billions in wagers and the industry itself generate more than a billion in total gaming revenue.

Canada can expect to see other provinces follow Ontario’s lead and allow private operators to provide services in the province under license. The purpose of the regulation is player protection. Any province that develops a regulated market will focus on this, so there will also be regulations around the advertising of gambling services.

The US

Gambling online is the future for the US, too, although states are slow to legalize it. As of September 2024, 38 states had legalized sports betting, following the US Supreme Court’s ruling that states could regulate sports gambling directly.

Despite allowing sports betting, some states only permit in-person betting, and only a few states allow online casino gaming. Operators believe online casino gaming is the future of gambling.

The UK

In the UK, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) will get bigger and bigger. Companies have realized AI can enhance players’ experience and are embracing it more and more. For instance, sports betting websites can use it to crunch data and provide iGamers with stats and other data to make better betting decisions. They’re also understanding they can use AI to prioritize content players are likely to be interested in and to personalize their offerings and services to players’ preferences.

Canada enjoys gambling as much as America and the UK. Although laws around igaming are more of a grey area in Canada, some provinces are clearing the issue up by creating regulated markets and experiencing great success. As time goes by, more are sure to follow.