MLB Betting Guide: How to Bet on Major League Baseball in 2025
Written by: Eddie Griffin
Last Updated: Tue Mar 04, 2025, 09:49 AM
Read Time: 16 minutes
Over a century and a half since the first professional game was played, baseball remains one of America’s favorite pastimes. Just like the duels on the diamond, MLB betting is one of America’s favorite pastimes as well.
There are over 2,400 games in the MLB regular season and dozens more in the annual MLB playoffs. And in the regular season, most days on the MLB schedule feature ten or more games.
That represents many an opportunity to make money betting on MLB odds. It also represents many an opportunity to deal with a bad beat, a bad bounce, or a bad start.
However, if you use our MLB betting guide, the other MLB content we offer, and the many excellent industry resources available elsewhere, you will be well-positioned to have your share of success with wagering on baseball.
MLB Betting Guide Menu
- Best MLB Betting Sites
- Basics of MLB and MLB Betting
- Types of MLB Bets
- World Series Betting
- Betting Strategies and Tips for MLB
- MLB Betting Resources
- Other MLB Betting Information
Best MLB Betting Sites
In 2024, you can find MLB odds at all of the best online sportsbooks.
In addition to being able to make daily MLB betting picks for every game on the schedule, you can wager on other MLB betting markets like World Series winner odds, Cy Young winner odds, and MLB home run leader odds.
There are many sports betting sites where you can have a pleasant experience betting on baseball. However, here are the MLB betting sites we recommend the most.
Are you unfamiliar with any of the books listed above? If so, check out our reviews for any that you would like to become more familiar with.
What information is in our sportsbook reviews? Some bettors want to find the best betting value possible. Others are seeking a big bonus to get some extra cash for their MLB betting. And there are bettors who just want to send deposits and receive payouts without any stress about the security and safety of their money.
- BetOnline (review)
- Bovada (review)
- BetUS (review)
- BetDSI (review)
- Betwhale (review)
- Everygame (review)
- MyBookie (review)
- Sportsbetting.ag (review)
Our in-depth betting site reviews dive into those areas and others, including ease of use and available betting markets.
Basics of Major League Baseball and MLB Betting
If you are new to betting on baseball, what are the most important things to know about MLB and betting on the league?
Since 1998, there have been 30 MLB teams. The 30 teams are broken up into the 15-team American League and the 15-team National League. Both the AL and NL consist of three five-team divisions, each named East, Central, and West.
Here is the current MLB structure, which has been in place since 2013, when the Houston Astros moved from the National League Central to the American League West.
American League
- AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays
- AL Central: Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins
- AL West: Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
National League
- NL East: Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlin New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals
- NL Central: Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals
- NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
Each MLB team plays 162 regular season games, 81 at home and 81 away. The regular season starts in late March or early April and ends in late September or early October. The league takes a short break in July for MLB All-Star Game festivities, which include the MLB Home Run Derby.
Following the end of the MLB season, 12 teams take part in the MLB playoffs, six in the AL and six in the NL.
As with the NBA and NHL, the MLB playoffs consist of four rounds. There are some major differences between the MLB playoffs and those two leagues, however.
While all four rounds of the NBA and NHL playoffs are best of seven series, only the League Championship Series and World Series are best of seven series. The four MLB wild card series are all best of three, while the four series that make up the American League Division Series and National League Division Series are all best of five.
Structure of the MLB Playoffs
- Wild Card: The top two seeds in the AL and NL receive a bye to the Divisional Round. Teams seeded third through sixth in each league meet in this round. The #3 seed is the division winner with the worst record and plays the #6 seed (the Wild Card team with the worst record). The #4 seed is the best Wild Card team, and the #5 seed is the second-best Wild Card team.
- Divisional Round: The four remaining teams will meet in the AL Division Series. The teams that received a bye to the divisional round will have homefield advantage for the second series.
- Championship Series: The two teams still standing in each league will meet in the ALCS (American League Championship) and NLCS (National League Championship Series).
- World Series: The winner of the ALCS and the winner of the NLCS will face off in the World Series, which is also known as the Fall Classic.
Along with the All-Star Game and World Series, some other important dates and events to look out for are Opening Day, the MLB trade deadline, and the date of Game 1 of the World Series.
In the 2024 season, Opening Day was officially Thursday, March 28, though the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers had already kicked off things with the Seoul Series in South Korea. The 2024 MLB All-Star Game took place on Tuesday, July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas (the home of the World Series champion Texas Rangers), and the MLB trade deadline was Tuesday, July 30.
Types of MLB Bets
MLB Game Bets
Do you enjoy placing bets on MLB games? Are you interested in learning how to bet on MLB game odds? There are so many ways to wager on MLB games, starting with sides and totals.
What are sides and totals? Sides refer to moneyline and spread odds (or run line betting in baseball). Totals refer to what is also known as over/under betting.
Moneyline Bets
When you are betting on MLB moneyline odds, the only thing that is relevant to you is who wins and who loses a game.
If you have bet on one side and that team wins, that means your moneyline bet is a winner. If you bet on the other side and that team does not win, that means your moneyline bet is unsuccessful.
Total (a.k.a. Over/Under) Bets
Betting on MLB moneylines or run lines means that you are betting on some form of the outcome, as in you need one team to win or win by a certain number of runs.
However, who wins or loses does not factor in when betting on MLB totals. With total betting, also known as over/under betting, your focus is on how many runs will be scored in a game.
For example, say the Philadelphia Phillies are playing the Atlanta Braves at home tonight. You could place a moneyline bet on the Braves to win and a total bet on the over. If the total is set at 8.5, that means nine or more runs need to be scored between the two teams for the over to hit.
If the Braves win 6-2, your over bet will lose. However, you may still come out ahead with your bets because Atlanta would likely be a moneyline underdog in Philadelphia.
Over/under betting isn’t limited to just how many runs will be scored in a game. Over/under odds for the first five innings are popular with many bettors, and many MLB player props are over/under bets.
Run Line Bets
Betting on run lines is to MLB betting what puck line betting is to NHL betting and what point spread betting is to betting on things like the NFL, NBA, or college football.
With point spread, puck line, or run line betting, you are looking for either the favorite to win by at least a certain number of points, goals, or runs or for the underdog to win outright or lose by a certain number.
For example, if the Braves are playing the Phillies in Philadelphia, the Phillies would almost certainly be a run line favorite.
Most run lines are -1.5/+1.5, so if you are betting on Braves +1.5, that means you are betting on Atlanta to either win the game outright or lose by one run. If the Braves win 6-2, that means your run line bet would be a winner.
MLB Props – Player Props, Team Props, and Game Props
Do you want to look beyond betting on sides and totals? If so, MLB prop betting is another great way to bet on MLB games.
Most MLB prop betting centers around MLB player props. There are also team and game props.
What are some examples of MLB player props?
There are MLB hitter props, like total bases props (over/under bets on how many total bases a player will have), home run props (over/under or moneyline odds on if a particular player will hit a home run), and RBI props (over/under bets on how many runs batted in a player will have).
There are also pitcher props, which can include strikeout props (over/under or moneyline bets on how many strikeouts a pitcher will have in a game) or earned runs props (over/under bets on how many earned runs a pitcher will allow).
Perhaps the most notable example of team and game props is margin of victory props. If a team is on a hot streak at present and is scoring a lot of runs, you could add to betting on the over or for their game by betting on them to win by four or more runs at a sportsbook like BetOnline.
MLB Live Betting
Live betting is not new on the sports betting scene. But the advent of smartphones has taken live betting into a new realm in recent years.
Now, you can bet on anything from anywhere. As a result, it is a bare minimum requirement for reputable sports betting sites to have good mobile and live betting options.
There are many reasons to partake in MLB live betting. What are the main reasons?
Firstly, if you are watching a game in person or on TV, getting some live bets in is a way to add more fun to the viewing experience.
Also, if you placed some bets before the game, live betting offers the opportunity to hedge your bets if needed.
MLB Parlays and Same-Game Parlays
Parlays and same-game parlays (also known as SGPs) are a way to bet on multiple MLB betting lines together.
Throughout the week, all 30 MLB teams are in action most days. Therefore, it is not hard to find multiple options to put in a parlay or a same-game parlay.
What is the difference between a parlay and a same-game parlay? With a same-game parlay, the selections are from the same matchup. With other parlays, selections may be from multiple matchups.
Remember, when it comes to parlays, the fact that multiple bets are involved means that you should always operate with caution compared to other bets. Even if you are very confident in your selections, be careful.
Other Types of MLB Bets
MLB Futures Betting
If you’re looking to play the long game and not just bet on games, you can do some MLB futures betting.
What is futures betting? Futures are bets that pertain to a future outcome. The main example of MLB futures odds is World Series winner odds. Award odds like Cy Young Award odds, AL & NL MVP odds, and AL & NL Rookie of the Year odds are also MLB futures. Other MLB futures include home run leader odds, strikeout leader odds, and division winner odds.
Speaking of betting on the World Series, we will now dive into betting on MLB’s championship series.
World Series Betting
The World Series is a best-of-seven championship series between the ALCS winners and the NLCS winners. It is to MLB what the NBA Finals are to the NBA and the Stanley Cup Finals are to the NHL. The team that wins it will receive a shiny trophy, a place in baseball history, and a target on them for the next MLB season.
The first World Series took place in 1903. That year, the American League’s Boston Americans (now known as the Boston Red Sox) defeated the National League’s Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three. A World Series did not take place in 1904, but it has been the climax of every MLB season since, apart from 1994. That year, the season ended in August 11 due to the strike that did not end until the following April.
Who has won the World Series the most times? That would be the New York Yankees, who have 27 titles in 40 World Series appearances but no championships since 2009.
Next up are the St. Louis Cardinals, who have won the World Series 11 times in 30 appearances, with their most recent title coming in 2011.
Other than the Yankees and Cardinals, no other franchises have won the World Series ten or more times, and no other franchises have made 30 or more World Series appearances.
Check Out Our World Series Betting Guide
Betting on the World Series doesn’t attract the level of attention and interest that Super Bowl betting receives, but there’s no shame in that given the Super Bowl’s extraordinary popularity.
But it does attract significant interest, and along with wagering on World Series games every October, you can bet on World Series winner odds throughout the year.
When the World Series wraps up and the winning team is soaking up the championship celebrations, the trophy isn’t the only piece of hardware handed out. MLB betting sites also offer odds on who will be named World Series MVP.
Last year, the Texas Rangers won the World Series for the first time with a 4-1 series win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Corey Seager was named World Series MVP.
MLB Betting Strategies and Tips
Look at Splits and Trends
As with betting on most other sports, knowing relevant betting trends can be very valuable with MLB betting.
Also, looking at team, player, and matchup splits can also help with knowing who to back or fade.
For example, if a team excels against right-handed pitching and is facing a right-handed pitcher that is struggling, you might be inclined to bet on the over for that team’s run total or bet on them to win the first five innings, depending on the odds.
Tread Carefully with Big Favorites
In any team or individual sporting event, big underdogs can pull upsets on a regular basis.
But when it comes to the major American sports leagues, underdogs are equipped to come out on top much more often than in the NFL, NBA, or NHL.
Yes, baseball is a team sport just like football, basketball, and hockey are. But even the worst teams have extremely talented pitchers who can shut down the best teams on any given night. Also, because so few runs can often be scored in baseball, one big hit at the right time or one big mistake at the wrong time could make all the difference.
With that in mind, tread carefully when including big MLB moneyline favorites in your parlays or backing them to cover the run line. There are almost always better options than going that route.
MLB Betting Resources
MLB Picks
At Betting News, you can find MLB moneyline picks, MLB total picks, and MLB run line picks for every game on the daily MLB schedule.
Ultimately, how you choose to bet must depend on how you feel based on the research you have done and the information you have tied together.
So, our MLB betting picks should not be followed blindly. Also, they aren’t meant to be the only source we want bettors to use.
However, reliable sports betting picks from sports betting industry sources with a proven track record can be very valuable.
In addition to Betting News, there are many other great sources out there that provide free and/or premium MLB picks every day. If paying for picks is something that you are interested in, we suggest checking out our recommendations for the best places to buy premium sports picks.
Lastly, many knowledgeable sports bettors and industry personalities offer up sports betting picks and insight on Twitter, and we suggest checking our list of the best follows on gambling Twitter.
MLB Odds
Do you like to bet on only a few MLB games each week? Or do you like to bet on MLB games daily?
Wherever you fall, is locating the best value for the MLB bets you are making important to you?
It is worth noting that many MLB betting sites will have odds that are similar in some way. But if you know sports betting sites well and like to compare MLB odds, you will find some spots that can give you an edge.
With our MLB betting odds page, you can compare baseball moneyline, total, and run line picks from several of the best sports betting sites. Better yet, you can compare to your heart’s content without having to leave the page you are on or open a bunch of new tabs.
MLB Stats
Many people who bet on baseball or other sports have a big interest in following statistics for the sport or competition that they are betting on.
Do you have to be a stats nerd to have success with sports betting? No, you do not. However, knowledge of notable stats and information can help bettors pick their spots well.
For example, if Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. has been tearing it up recently at home against left-handed pitching and is set to face a southpaw starting pitcher tonight, this may be a good spot to invest in some of Witt’s player props.
Our MLB matchup pages include key betting stats for each game, but if you are looking for MLB statistical leaders, advanced MLB stats, or in-depth team and player hitting and pitching splits, there are a lot of great sources for MLB stats of all kinds.
Some of the places we recommend for combing through MLB stats include Major League Baseball’s official stats hub, Baseball Reference, ESPN’s MLB stats, and FanGraphs. FanGraphs is one of many options that offers premium content or memberships/subscriptions to members.
Other MLB Betting Information
Watch This Video to Learn More About MLB Betting
Other MLB Content by Betting News
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