2023 Legal MLB Betting Guide
- 2023 MLB World Series Betting Lines Are Active Now
- The 2023 World Series Begins This October
- Online Sportsbooks Produce MLB Betting Lines For All Games
When it comes to the number of bets placed at a sportsbook, no other sport comes close to the sheer amount of individual wagers placed on Major League Baseball.
Not only is it the top level of professional baseball in the world, but it also has the most games out of any major sport, with each of the 30 MLB teams playing a massive 162-game schedule every year.
With that many games to put money on (and potentially gain a profit), it’s no surprise that both US and international professional handicappers have said time and time again how much they love MLB baseball. But where can you participate in baseball betting and do it legally?
We’ll cover that and also help you get started on the right path with our MLB betting guide plus numerous resources you’ll want to use before placing a bet.
Is MLB Betting Legal?
There are two routes that you can use to legally bet on Major League Baseball. The oldest and most tried and true method is to bet at trusted online sportsbooks such as the ones below that are located outside the United States aka “offshore.”
The second and more recent (but also more limited) implementation is the ability to bet at sportsbooks at the state level following the Supreme Court PASPA overturn provided that you are in a state that has decided to legalize sports betting.
Best MLB Betting Sites 2023
| Site Name | Current Bonus | Age | U.S. | Visit Site | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | 50% Max $1,000 | 18+ |  | Visit Site Review |
| 2 |  | 125% Max $3,125 | 18+ | | Visit Site Review |
| 3 |  | 50% Max $1,000 | 21+ | | Visit Site Review |
| 4 |  | 50% Max $500 | 21+ | | Visit Site Review |
| 5 |  | 50% Max $1,000 | 18+ | | Visit Site Review |
| 6 |  | 50% Max $1,000 | 18+ | | Visit Site Review |
Where To Bet On MLB Games
If you’re looking for MLB season games, spring training matchups, or MLB playoff betting lines, you can find those at just about any sports news outlet. However, in most US states, your options for domestic sports betting remain limited. Fortunately, almost all baseball fans can safely and legally wager online at international sportsbooks!
Even better, these sites take action from residents across America, so the odds you’ll get are always going to pay out more than the lines you’ll find domestically, where wagering is limited to in-state bettors only.
For example, betting with a New York sportsbook won’t get you great payouts on Yankees games because so many New Yorkers are fans, driving up the action on the Bronx Bombers. If you live in NY, you’ll actually win more money on any given Yanks bet by wagering overseas.
The best MLB bets today can be found exclusively at offshore betting sites. All the operators we recommend will give you more bang for your buck – and better baseball sports betting bonuses – than any local book can offer.
Who Will Win The 2023 World Series?
At the onset of each MLB season, all teams are presented with moneyline odds projecting their chances to win the World Series.
For further information regarding the 2023 MLB champions, check out our World Series betting page or MLB Playoff picture guide that goes into further detail regarding the current top teams.
Mobile MLB Betting Apps
According to MLB sports betting trends, the vast majority of wagers placed on Major League Baseball are submitted over mobile sportsbooks. Whether you’re an iPhone user or an Android user, chances are that if you bet on baseball, you’re using your smartphone or tablet to make your picks.
That said, you won’t find native apps for any of the top international sportsbooks, as Apple and Google do not allow these companies to offer their betting apps on their American storefronts. Of course, that’s more “ball four” than “strike three,” because all you need to take your base is a modern mobile device and an Internet connection.
The top online betting sites operating overseas all use browser-based portals with responsive, device-agnostic designs to give you the best MLB bets of the day, delivered straight to your handset or tablet, wherever you are. There’s nothing to download or update, so you can step up to the plate and wager on MLB action 24/7 anywhere you have an active mobile network connection.
MLB Teams
Whether you're into the National or American League, a line for every single game on the 2023 MLB schedule will be featured at the baseball sportsbook sites we feature above. Here are the current 30 MLB teams and how they're aligned.
Guide To MLB Baseball Betting Lines
Betting on the MLB All Star game and other regular-season games is a bit unique when it comes to betting due to having different bet types and different strategies for turning a profit when compared to other sports. Below you’ll find tips for the most common types of bets on MLB with an explanation for what each one is along with an example of what you’ll see at an online sportsbook.
Other Types of Baseball to Bet On
MLB is not the only form of professional baseball that is popular to bet on. The Japanese pro league known as the Nippon Professional Baseball league (NPB) is extremely popular among sports bettors. When their season is in full swing, there is plenty of action to be had at legal NPB betting sites. You can also find betting lines to bet on the KBO, the Korean Baseball Organization.
MLB sims are another popular way to bet on baseball, while these games are virtual they have gained momentum during the offseason and the 2020 coronavirus shut-down.
MLB Betting FAQs
If you’re interested in how to bet on baseball and win, it’s one of the simplest sports to wager on – and one of the most profitable for avid gamblers.
MLB odds work the same way as for any other sport, with the exception that the spread bet – or the runline, as it’s called in baseball – is almost always going to be set at -1.5 for the favorite (and +1.5 for the underdog).
Otherwise, the process for placing a wager is identical across the board: Just sign up at any reputable overseas betting site, make a deposit, and pick the bets you like best. That’s all there is to it!
It’s important to understand how to read baseball odds (see above). In the simplest terms, baseball betting lines are the main kinds of wagers you’ll come across at sportsbooks. These include the runline (aka the point spread), the straight bet, and the over/under (aka the totals bet). These bets are all posted according to the American moneyline system.
When someone talks about baseball lines, they’re usually asking about which team is favored to win or how much the payout for a straight bet is on either team in a given contest.
Other wagers not usually considered part of standard MLB betting lines include things like player props, team props, live bets, and futures bets.
In betting, “action” simply means that a wager is active. In other words, if a bet has action, that means you can put money on it and earn a payout if you pick correctly.
Sometimes, due to various contingencies, a bet will be graded as “no action.” This means that – for whatever reason (usually a rain-out, delay, or other extenuating circumstance) – a given wager will be canceled and all the action (or bets) will be refunded to bettors.
Individual MLB props will often have action requirements. That is, if a player for whom a prop is posted doesn’t play in the game, the bet will be graded “no action” and all bets refunded.
The MLB moneyline is one of two things.
For one, bettors may be referring to the American moneyline system, which is how bets in the US are priced. A negative moneyline indicates how much must be wagered to win $100, while a positive moneyline shows how much you stand to win on a $100 bet. Every bet comes with a moneyline to show this risk-vs-reward ratio.
Alternatively, the MLB moneyline may also refer to the straight bet for a given game. Here, the negative moneyline shows the favorite, and the positive moneyline shows the underdog. Pick a winner in a straight moneyline bet, and you’ll be paid out according to the associated moneyline.
There are some notable 2021 MLB alterations that will be important for bettors to understand, as they will impact late-season and postseason odds going forward.
- Dropped third strikes that are interfered with by the batter will now result in an automatic out and all runners on the base path will be forced to return to their original base.
- Restrictions on baseball size variations are expected to lessen the pop for less lively action off of the bat.
- New bases are now 18 x 18 inches in size, a full three inches of increase in both directions. This causes for easier base stealing and safer basepath travel. It is also expected to reduce injuries. This is expected to be implemented in 2022 and was not ready for the 2021 season.
Yes, technically. However, you will almost never find minor league betting odds, as these games do not have a big enough fan base to justify the risk for the sportsbooks.
Additionally, Major League Baseball has specifically asked sports betting sites not to offer odds on the minors due to potential integrity issues and conflicts of interest.
Yes! While most legal online sportsbooks will have odds for the College World Series tournament, you can also sometimes find regular season odds and conference championship odds for the more prominent teams in the NCAA.
That said, the college baseball betting market is not nearly as big as the college football betting market, and far fewer games and clubs are supported.
Nope. And frankly, if you feel the need to bet real money on 10-year-olds playing at the local sandlot, you may need to reassess your priorities. Let the kids play, folks!
MLB Resources: Stats, Scores, and Streams
Professional baseball is a stat-driven sport and to be successful when betting, you’re going to want as many stats as you can stuff into your brain (or python projection model). Because we want you to get a leadoff on your first picks to bet on, below you’ll find an everything an MLB bettor will need, including a full database of statistics, live scores, and stats for games in progress, and a place where you stream all the games.
- Schedule for each team: ESPN.com
- Stat Database: Baseball Reference
- Live Scores: ESPN.com/MLB
- Live Streams: r/MLBStreams
