A betting guide for the IIHF Women’s World Championship

The IIHF Women’s World Championship is one of the world’s biggest ice hockey tournaments of the year. This tournament showcases the best female players from across the globe and offers a unique chance for fast-paced action and strategic betting opportunities.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Puck dynamics and power-play efficiency are crucial for your bets, especially with the top two teams.
• Canada and the United States are the two strongest teams, with Finland in distant third place.
• The format and the schedule strongly influence your wagers on this event.

Gamdom is a top platform for hockey betting. This guide will help you navigate the tournament and make smarter predictions. Have a look and see what makes the biggest event in women’s ice hockey the best tournament to check out.

Understanding the IIHF Women’s World Championship

The IIHF Women’s World Championship is the pinnacle of women’s international ice hockey. This tournament is held annually, so countries can prove they have the most talented squad in the world. The only exception to this event is during the years when the Olympics are taking place. 

This is arguably the biggest two-week period in women’s hockey, so it is a big deal for players and bettors alike.

Format 

The 2026 tournament will follow the established IIHF structure. Teams are split into two groups based on the world rankings. Group A will have the top nations, while Group B has the emerging teams. 

The group stage determines which teams will advance to the knockout rounds, where you can get to the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the medal matches. In total, 10 nations will compete for gold, while promotion and relegation are in the balance, as it could affect future tournaments.

Women's IIHF World Championship schedule

The 2025 edition of this tournament took place from April 9 to 20, 2025. The next edition of this tournament will likely be held in April 2026. The top division has an undermined location, while Division I will be split between Budapest, Hungary, and Puigcerdà, Spain. 

Historical dominance

Women’s ice hockey has long been defined by the Canada vs USA rivalry. Since the first-ever tournament in 1990, the two nations have won every gold medal between them. Finland has consistently been the ‘best of the rest’. 

Nations like Switzerland, Sweden, and Japan have done well to compete. However, the two North American nations continue to succeed, as the United States won their 11th title in the final against Canada after a 4-3 overtime win. 

Why it matters for bettors

Understanding the structure of the tournament is essential. Group-stage games usually see the top nations being more conservative with their performances, as they can rotate players. Knockout matches intensify, so bettors grasp this format to learn more about making the right wagers and possibly maximise sports betting promotions as well.

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Analysing the tournament favourites

For a tournament like the IIHF Women’s World Championship 2025, you must look at the favourites to win the event. With your knowledge of the favourites, you can fare better with your predictions for the 2026 edition of this tournament.

Canada: Consistent powerhouse

As the second-placed team in the 2025 event, Canada remains the benchmark in women’s hockey. They have fantastic depth, skill, and international pedigree. They won the 2024 event and were the runner-ups in the 2025 event against the USA. 

With players like Marie-Philip Poulin and a strong development pipeline, Canada is in a good spot to dominate possession and win games. They are a nightmare matchup for most opponents. 

Most bettors will know Canada is one of the most popular picks because of their sustained success. They have shorter IIHF Women’s World Championship odds, but the value lies in predicting their results with all the betting markets available at Gamdom.

United States: The perennial contender

With 13 championships to their name after the 2025 win, the USA is Canada’s biggest rival. They are known for their highly talented forwards and efficiency with power play. Speed and creativity are big parts of their success, which has led to emerging stars adding depth to the team over the years.

The current team gets the game, as it has a veteran like Hilary Knight and a strong group of players to help her. The knockout games of the IIHF Women’s World Championship tournament are apt choices if you want to place bets on Team USA. They find ways to win every year at this tournament before they play against their fierce rivals, Canada.

It is a coin flip between the two North American powerhouses over the years, but the USA had the last laugh in 2025. Now, that could change in future iterations of this event, as both teams want to stay relevant.

Finland: Europe’s best hope

With multiple bronze medals and a famous silver medal finish in 2019, Finland has been the best team outside the two powerhouses. They are mostly known for their defensive structure and superb goaltending, which has helped them keep up with the top two for a long time. 

For bettors, Finland is often seen as an underdog when compared to the top two. However, they can be considered favourites when held against the other teams. The goalie situation is a big part of Finland’s success, as they always find ways to play well on defence when playing against other teams outside the top two. 

Expect Finland matches to be low-scoring affairs, as the defence sticks out when betting on Finland’s games. However, you should still look further at the talented players in the squad. 

Switzerland: The rising team

Switzerland is not as accomplished as the other favourites, but they have a robust youth system that has led to increased player development. The Swiss team is not as close to the top two teams as Finland, but Switzerland has the potential to surprise the hockey world.

If you are betting outside the finals for the group stages or the quarter-finals, the Swiss have a good team you can reliably bet on. They have high-value odds and bets to look towards, especially against the other nations outside the favourites.

Dark horses for the IIHF Women’s World Championship

Beyond the established favourites of the women’s ice hockey world, a few teams could be surprising when the IIHF Women’s World Championship comes around. Here are some of the best teams: 

• Japan - Known for having quick and disciplined players, Japan is always looking to improve. They can cause headaches for some mid-tier nations with their strengths, like defensive organisation and speed during matches.
• Sweden - Once known as one of the strongest forces in women’s hockey, Sweden has struggled as of late. However, they are slowly but surely building a good program that could keep up with fellow Scandinavian country Finland, and possibly shock the rest of the world, including the two North American giants.
• Germany - Not considered by many as a threat to compete for a medal, Germany has a good group of players that could surprise other teams, especially those that showcase complacency issues.

As you look forward to making IIHF Women’s World Championship predictions in 2026 or in any other year, these are the nations you should expect to see.

Important factors IIHF Women’s World Championship betting

To get a leg up over other bettors who want to win their predictions, the IIHF Women’s World Championship has certain factors that you must remember. By doing this, you will know how to make the right decisions with this knowledge: 

Puck dynamics

Understanding how teams control and move the puck is important. Teams like Canada and the USA are known for dominating possession, so they will be relentless with their attack to score goals. This helps you anticipate how teams will perform in different matchups for this tournament.

Pay attention to the face-off wins, zone entries, puck recovery stats, and such numbers. Those details will be crucial in making the right bet. With the betting markets you can find here at Gamdom, this knowledge of puck dynamics can go a long way.

Power-play efficiencies

The most decisive teams often win matches in this tournament. A strong power play or penalty kill tilts a tight match towards a certain direction. The USA teams have always been one of the best teams with power plays, so they will be a favourite for most matches. Finland also does well with their penalty-killing, which you can see in the numbers.

By tracking the stats before placing bets, you can make informed predictions. Even if they are knockout games when the pressure is up, the decision could go in your favour.

Goal-tending matchups

Goaltenders are the biggest difference-makers in ice hockey. If a goalie is on form with her stops, teams can steal games. For bettors, you have to understand their importance and how talented a specific goalie can be. 

Teams like Finland and Switzerland might not have the same attacking firepower as the USA and Canada, but they have historically good goalies. With that knowledge, you can expect their defence to be solid enough to compete against other teams.

National team programs

Investment in developing players matters in international sports. That is the same for women’s ice hockey, as nations like Switzerland and Japan have solid domestic leagues for this sport. This has produced some good players for the national team.

Of course, the USA and Canada are still the best ones, but other countries are following up well. When the games pile up in future years, expect other countries to finally catch up. In the meantime, it’s still the USA and Canada.

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What to avoid when betting on the IIHF Women’s World Championship

You have a good chance of winning IIHF Women’s World Championship bets if you know what you must avoid. Here are mistakes you must stay away from:

• Relying too much on historical dominance - Yes, it is easy to bet on Canada and the USA to win games and the tournament. However, taking some risks with other teams and matchups can help you win a hefty sum with a well-timed prediction on an underdog or team outside the top two.
• Ignoring data - You won’t make it far if you do not look at the numbers to serve as context for your wagers. The numbers are crucial for accurate predictions, and you should always consult the data before finalising your wager.
• Overvaluing star players - Hockey is a team game, but a certain few players have stood out. That should be a factor, but that is not the only one you should remember. You must look at the overall team, and not just the star player, because the game has plenty of important factors beyond them.
• Disregarding fatigue and scheduling - Always consider the context of fatigue and injuries since they play a massive role in your predictions. The schedule can be tough over two weeks, so you'd better be prepared to make adjustments to your predictions depending on fatigue, injury status, and stats.

Standout players you must consider

• Marie-Philip Poulin (Canada): Known as Canada’s star player and the clutch performer. Poulin’s consistency in big moments and as a goal-scorer makes her one of the best players and a reliable person for your bets.
• Jennifer Gardiner (Canada): A rising star for Canada, Gardiner’s speed is one of the best assets a player can have. She combines that with creativity and firepower, which makes her a rising talent to watch in international hockey.
• Hilary Knight (USA): Another prolific scorer, Knight is one of the best players in women’s hockey history. She will always be a major offensive threat whenever she’s on the ice, so always consider her impact in the USA’s games.

How to bet on the IIHF Women’s World Championship

Now that you know more about the fundamentals of IIHF betting, get to know the steps to bet on the Gamdom platform:

1. Sign in to your Gamdom account and open the sidebar by clicking on the button found in the upper-left corner. Make sure you also connect your assured safe crypto wallet as well.
2. Press the ‘Sports Betting’ button in the sidebar.

3. Find the ‘Ice hockey’ button and press it. You can then navigate the page to find IIHF Women’s World Championship betting markets.
    

   

4. Browse and find the markets that best fit your preferences. The prediction you make shows up on the Bet Slip on the right-hand side of the screen.
5. Enter the bet amount you want to place for your prediction and finalise it by pressing ‘Place bet’ to submit your wager.

Enjoy betting on the IIHF Women’s World Championship at Gamdom

The IIHF Women’s World Championship is an opportunity to enjoy women’s sports and ice hockey to the fullest. You have plenty of markets to choose from, and you can do so with the help of the King of the Hill promotion. That could boost your rewards even further, allowing you to maximise the Gamdom gambling experience!

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