2026 CFL Best Bets This Week: Week 5
Updated July 9, 2026
The 2026 CFL season is here and that means chances to wager on pro football all spring and summer long. Week 5 will give us four games, with teams trying to make an impact on Canada Day weekend, headlined by the undefeated Edmonton Elks. Here, you can continue reading to get our CFL best bets for every game of the 2026 season.
Up first in our CFL best bets this week, we'll take the Toronto Argonauts to win as a slight underdog on the road against the Calgary Stampeders. Toronto's offense has looked incredible with Chad Kelly back under center and that trend should continue here, as the Argos are averaging 38 points per game through their first three games.
The defending champion Saskatchewan Roughriders took their first loss of the season in their last outing against the Argonauts, but we aren't holding that against them given how good the Argos have looked offensively this year. I'll lay the points with the Riders this week, as they should bounce back nicely against an offense that is much less difficult to slow down.
On Saturday, the Edmonton Elks will look to continue their surprising undefeated start against the BC Lions, who are winless so far. Both of these teams should regress to the mean somewhat as this season wears on, but I'm taking the Elks in this game, as their running game has helped them to turn things around magnificently early in the 2026 campaign.
Finally, give me the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to win and cover the spread at home against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Bombers are averaging a CFL-worst 25 points per game through their first three games of this season. That won't be good enough to keep up with Bo Levi Mitchell and the explosive attack of the Ti-Cats.
With over two decades of experience in sports betting, our team of CFL experts brings unmatched insight into every game of the season. From the opening kickoff to the season to the always-thrilling Grey Cup finale, we specialize in identifying top CFL betting opportunities, providing CFL expert picks, and analyzing the latest odds.
Our dedicated analysts not only track player performance and team dynamics but also leverage cutting-edge data analysis to ensure you’re equipped with the best information available. Whether you're betting on regular season matchups or playoff showdowns, we guide you to smart wagers that maximize your value and minimize your risk.
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Each week, our CFL handicappers look at the schedule of games and the betting lines for each week’s action. They use their proprietary betting strategies to come up with the best bets for each week of CFL contests. We then share those bets with you right here, including some of the reasoning that went into each of those picks, for some of the best CFL betting analysis on the market today.
While the CFL is unique from the NFL, XFL, and College Football in many ways, the CFL is still a football league when all is said and done. That means bettors will see most of the same types of bets that they will see when betting on other football leagues.
The point spread is king when betting on football, and that remains the case when betting on the CFL. CFL point spread odds will be available for every game during every week of the season, and they make up the majority of the picks that you will see when we recommend our best CFL bets of the week.
Moneyline betting can also be an effective way to bet on the CFL, as there is the chance for plenty of value when wagering on underdogs on the moneyline in this league. Football can be unpredictable even at the highest levels of the sport, and even more so when you are dealing with spring and summer leagues that do not feature NFL talent. As a result, you will regularly see moneyline plays featured throughout the CFL season.
The other betting market that we regularly target when giving out our CFL best bets is the over/under market. Here, bettors are wagering on the amount of scoring that will take place in a game, rather than which team will win or by how much. This bet type is ideal later in the season, after getting a better idea of how teams approach the game from a tempo and game planning perspective.
Unfortunately, prop bets can be hard to come by in the CFL, as they are not nearly as plentiful as they are in football leagues like the NFL. However, our team of CFL handicappers does make sure to keep their eyes peeled for opportunities to bet on CFL props, as rare as they may be at most sportsbooks.
There are so many components to successfully betting on any sport, and the CFL is no exception. Bettors should do all of the in-depth research on the CFL that they do before placing bets on any sport. But there are some specific nuances to CFL betting that can make it a little different than betting on football in other leagues, including the following key points of differentiation.
It may go without saying to more experienced bettors, but new bettors should keep in mind that betting on the CFL is different from betting on other football leagues. There are several rules in the CFL that differ from leagues like the NFL and USFL. Those rule differences can really impact how games go, which means that bettors have to take them into account before placing any wagers.
For example, there are three downs to work with for offenses instead of four, while there is a one-point play in the CFL that does not exist elsewhere. These rules are the same for all teams, but simply being aware of them is key to avoid unnecessary mistakes when taking on the betting markets in Canadian football.
With offenses only having three downs to work with on each possession, offensive efficiency is even more valuable in the CFL than it is in the NFL. Bettors should take note of how teams perform on first down, and therefore what kind of distances they have to gain on second downs, which are the equivalent of third downs in most football leagues. Doing so can mean identifying advantages in the CFL betting marketplace.
Before betting on any sporting event, it is key to do a deep dive on the rosters and the statistics that those rosters have produced over the course of each season. But it is especially important to do so in the CFL, where teams may not have had as much time to play together as they do in leagues like the NFL where roster continuity is more attainable. Finding matchup advantages and disadvantages by simply developing knowledge of who is on each team and how they operate can provide an edge in a marketplace that bookmakers are not prioritizing.
At ATS.io, we have picks for all of the major sports and leagues, well beyond the action that is on the docket in the CFL on a weekly basis. Just click on the links below to get our best bets across a number of sports, from the mainstream offerings to niche sports and leagues.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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