These days, there are many issues that separate Canadians and Americans.  Leger, a Canadian market research and analytics firm, claims that their shared passion for sports betting and fantasy sports isn't one of them.

NHL's top pick for Canadian bettors

In order to assist clients in making better decisions, Montreal-based Leger specializes in offering consumer insight, data analytics, customer experience measurement, strategic advice, and AI-powered market research services.

The company claims that between August 29 and August 31, 2025, it polled 1,621 Canadians and 1,015 Americans who were 18 years of age regarding their sports betting and fantasy sports participation. This was timely because the NFL season was about to begin.

Sports Fantasy

People won't be surprised by the findings.  In Canada and the United States, there are a few fewer sports bettors and fantasy sports participants than there were a year ago, but both pursuits are still very popular.  In the recent year, 19% of Canadians and 26% of Americans wagered on sports, up from 21% and 30%, respectively, in the previous year.

This was unexpected given how big of a betting powerhouse the NFL is; among Canadians, the NHL is still the most popular sport to wager on or participate in fantasy sports.  In the past year, 41% of Canadian sports gamblers have placed a wager on the NHL, compared to 26% for the NFL and 21% for the NBA. NHL fantasy hockey was played by 32% of Canadian fantasy sports players.

Americans Are Betting More on Baseball

Nonetheless, the NFL continues to be the most popular sport among Americans for both activities: 59% of American sports bettors wagered on the NFL last year, and 52% of American fantasy sports players played NFL football.

The percentage of Canadians who wager on the NFL has decreased from 37% the previous year.

However, Americans are wagering more on the national pastime; the percentage of Americans who wagered on MLB rose from 28% to 40% over the previous year.

Likely to Rise in Betting

Particularly in the United States, individuals who plan to keep betting this fall are probably going to be more active than they were last year.  56% of American NBA bettors, 42% of American NHL bettors, and 45% of American NFL bettors from the previous year stated they will raise their wagering expenditures this year.

One intriguing aspect of the study was the problem of sports betting advertisements.  75% of Canadians and 59% of Americans believe there are too many sports betting advertisements, up from 52% in the US the previous year.

According to 49% of gamblers in both nations, real-time odds displayed on screens make them more likely to place a wager.