The Premier League’s new season has kicked off, bringing with it the excitement of world-class football and a title race that already has fans and bettors hooked. With Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal all tipped as serious contenders, sportsbooks are seeing heightened action as supporters wager on who will emerge on top after 38 games.The league has become one of the most dynamic drivers of Ontario’s sports betting market.
In this landscape, operators like PowerPlay are positioning themselves to deliver a seamless and engaging experience to soccer fans. From tracking title odds that shift weekly to offering innovative features such as live betting and Same Game Parlays, sportsbooks are adapting to the growing demand.
In an exclusive interview with Yogonet, Bill O’Brien, Sportsbook Manager at PowerPlay, shares his perspective on how betting trends are shaping up this season, the role of underdog stories, and soccer’s rising share in Ontario’s regulated gambling industry.
How is interest in Premier League betting shaping up this season compared with last year, especially with Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal seen as frontrunners?
This feels like it has been one of the most eagerly anticipated Premier League seasons in years. It often happens that there is a big front runner, or maybe 2, however there are three teams at the top that are genuinely difficult to separate. On top of this there are some other improving sides right below them in the betting, so there certainly has been lots of betting interest and because of the open nature of the season players are able to get decent odds!
Liverpool are favourites at +175, but City and Arsenal are close behind. How much movement in odds do you expect as the season unfolds?
The odds are going to move constantly – basically after every game that a contender plays in. We already see Arsenal as joint-favorites with Liverpool, with them having looked the slightly more impressive team so far. Man City are already out to +450 because of some dropped points. I anticipate many twists and turns throughout the 38 game season, it's still very early days!
What role do underdog stories play in driving betting engagement, given the dominance of the top three clubs?
Everyone loves an underdog story of course, but I don't think an underdog needs to challenge for the title for people to have a betting interest in them. There are lots of things to play for in the Premier League, such as qualification for the UEFA Champions League or other European competitions – or even just to avoid relegation! So I don't necessarily think betting on the league will summer if it does end up being a race between the Big 3. Also the beauty of the Premier League is that on any given day any team can beat any other team – so there's always something to play for, and bet on! Of course many of our players also prefer to go completely against underdog stories and take a mix of favorites in a parlay which can produce much bigger odds than just betting on 1 underdog.
Soccer and tennis together make up about 22% of Ontario's betting market. How has soccer's share evolved over the past couple of seasons?
At PowerPlay Soccer betting has been getting progressively more popular every year over the past few seasons. There are probably several reasons for this. Some leagues are becoming more accessible to view in Canada, the National team have been much stronger than they had been previously with stars like Alphonso Davies, the World Cup coming next year has stirred up lots of interest, and even Lionel Messi's arrival to the MLS has raised the profile of the sport. The betting product has also improved. Canadians are used to betting on Player Props on North American sports, and the amount of these that are available now through SGP on soccer has grown significantly, making it a much more varied and appealing betting proposition.
How has live betting and in-play markets changed the way fans engage with the Premier League in Ontario?
Players love being able to use their judgement when making bets. When they are able to watch a game live, they feel they are putting their opinion of how the game is going up against the opinion of the Sportsbook. They might believe they see something that makes a certain bet better value that they would not have been able to see before the game. It could be a certain team having momentum, a certain player looking like he is having a good or bad, etc! This allows players to have multiple bets throughout the 90 minutes and get even more entertainment from watching the game than they would with just their prematch bets!
What differentiates PowerPlay's platform from other sportsbooks operating in Ontario, particularly when it comes to soccer offerings?
We have a full coverage of Soccer leagues from all over the world, with lots of Player Props and of course Same Game Parlay – the betting offering that has taken over the industry. This allows players to choose a combination of different outcomes to all happen in the one event, and combine them for bigger odds! In the next few weeks we are also going to be launching 'Pre-Baked Same Game Parlays', which will do all the hard work for the players by suggesting combinations of different outcomes to happen and the players can just bet the suggestions they like the look of.
Are there particular features or betting markets that PowerPlay has found especially popular among Premier League fans in Canada?
Like I mentioned, it's all about Same Game Parlay nowadays! You want to combine a team to win, a certain number of goals, a player to score, a player to get a yellow card, a certain team to have over a certain number of corners? You can choose all of these options and create your own bet now.