Baseball is firmly established as one of the “big three” sports in the USA and Major League Baseball also has a significant fanbase in the UK. In this article we’ll be revealing our top baseball betting sites and explaining exactly why they have been chosen. Furthermore, we’ll be sharing some top baseball betting tips that will help you hit some home runs in the bookies’ direction!
Before we answer the question “How does baseball betting work?”, here’s a list of what we consider to be the 10 best baseball online betting sites:
Selecting the baseball betting site that meets your individual needs most effectively is easier than you think. You just need to judge them by a specific set of criteria, depending on what your priorities are. And to help you, we’ve outlined below the benchmarks we use to gauge the best baseball betting sites.
The trustworthiness of a sports betting site is our number one priority, so all the sportsbooks featured on this page are licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. In addition, they all take steps to protect their customers’ sensitive data. However, if safety is a big consideration for you then we would recommend heading to the more established names that even novice bettors will probably have heard of, such as BoyleSports.
Baseball may be growing in popularity in the UK but it has not yet reached the stage where sportsbooks are offering baseball-specific promotions. However, there are plenty of existing customer deals available that reward you with free bets for making baseball wagers.
At QuinnBet and BoyleSports you can take advantage of baseball Acca Bonus & Acca Insurance offers. 888sport will reward you with a £5 free bet if you win a wager at a price of 4/1 or more. And sites such as Betway, VirginBet and LiveScoreBet offer deals where you will be rewarded with free bets for placing a certain number of accumulators each week.
888sport offers a baseball Bet Builder where you can combine multiple selections from one game into a multiple bet. When it comes to the World Series winners market , BoyleSports has a “Combined Bets” feature where you can create a multiple wager with up to three different selections from the same market to increase your chances of winning. In addition, BetVictor and Betway also offer a nice selection of baseball price boosts.
If you are new to baseball betting and would like to learn more then you will be able to find useful information at betting blogs housed within some of the sites featured on this page. And Betway are probably the best example of this as their baseball blog features a host of betting guides and features. In addition, if you’re a fan of Major League Baseball then you will appreciate the MLB tips ahead of selected matchups.
One thing we have discovered after visiting lots of online baseball betting sites is that the range of markets varies from site to site. Of course every one will feature World Series and individual match winner markets, as well as handicap betting and runs totals. However, not all sites feature what are called “Player Props”, where you can back a certain player to score more than a certain number of runs. So if you’re looking for a wide range of team and player markets, check out BetVictor.
With some games taking place at more UK-friendly times, many MLB UK fans enjoy wagering in-play. In general, the live betting service offered by British sportsbooks is excellent, with many offering a wide range of live markets and even play-by-play graphics so you can follow every ball as it’s pitched. Baseball live streaming is rare though, so hats off to Betway for being the only baseball betting site on this page to feature live coverage of MLB games.
Mobile betting apps are an absolutely essential element of a sportsbook’s betting offering. The best apps need to mirror their desktop couterparts as closely as possible, while being easy to navigate. The 10Bet app has undergone a recent revamp and is certainly one of the best apps for betting on baseball that we have come across.
In our experience, most punters are not hugely concerned by whether they get the best prices every time. And that’s because it’s hard work cross-referencing prices across multiple sportsbooks, even with the help of odds comparison sites. So we reckon that unless you’re a high stakes bettor your best bet when it comes to MLB odds would be to find price boosts such as those available at VirginBet and BoyleSports.
Debit card deposits are the most common way to fund your UK betting account but punters are increasingly looking for alternate methods. And if you’re looking for the widest range of payment types possible then 888sport and 10Bet both fit the bill, as they offer Mastercard and Visa debit card payments, PayPal, multiple eWallets, along with Apple Pay on mobile.
The fact that Betway is the only sportsbook in this article to offer baseball live streaming warrants a place in our top five baseball betting sites by itself. However, the sheer number of special offers and site features relating to baseball secures the number one spot for one of Britain’s most popular sportsbooks.
You can wager on games from the USA, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan at Betway. However, it’s MLB betting where they really come into their own, with a wide range of markets ahead of each game, including player props and special bets not found anywhere else.
There’s an excellent baseball section within the Betway blog that contains MLB tips, news and features, as well as a baseball betting guide. And you can also earn a £10 free bet each week when you wager £25 on multiples, including baseball selections.
888sport is known as a USA sports betting specialist and their NFL betting offering is one of the best there is. However, baseball fans will also find lots to like at the site, and not just Baltimore Orioles supporters whose team shares 888’s orange and black colour scheme! When it comes to special offers there are a couple relating to baseball, including the 888sport Acca Club and a unique offer where punters can earn a £5 free bet once a week if they secure a winning wager at odds of more than 4/1.
888sport are also one of the only sites we found that offers a baseball Bet Builder. Furthermore, their pre-match and in-play baseball betting service is enhanced by a huge range of markets including player props, statistics, baseball betting guides and price boosts.
The accumulator is one of the most popular multiple bets there is and often features heavily on a sportsbook’s promotions page. And there are three main “Acca” offers. Acca Boosts award bonus winnings to successful bets, Acca Insurance refunds your wager if exactly one selection lets you down, and Acca Loyalty Clubs reward you for placing a certain number of multiple bets. And when it comes to baseball betting, BoyleSports features all three!
One of the UK’s most well-known bookies also offers a huge number of price boosts across multiple sports, including baseball. Furthermore, they have a baseball Bet Builder, price boosts and special bets. BoyleSports also offers punters a unique feature where they can combine three different selections within the same market, in this case, the winner of the World Series, to increase their chances of winning.
A common criticism of UK sportsbooks is that football and horse racing betting fans are prioritised when it comes to special offers. That’s understandable given the popularity of these two sports. And you could argue that those sites are missing out on taking advantage of the growing popularity of stateside sport on these shores. However, that is certainly not the case at QuinnBet as they have a great selection of existing customer deals relating to sports in the USA.
You can earn Acca Boosts and benefit from Acca Insurance when placing USA-centric multiple bets. In addition, every day QuinnBet will credit your account with a free bet of up to £10 based on 5% of your total in-play bets on US Sports. That’s not the end of the cashback deals though as QuinnBet will also refund 25% of your sporting losses if you have had a losing week overall.
As you will find out later in this article, we value research above almost everything else when it comes to formulating effective betting strategies. 10Bet is one of the best baseball betting sites when it comes to available statistics. And you can find recent results, head-to-head stats, previous league tables, team stats and much more at the site.
The 10Bet new customer deal is also excellent, offering a 50% bonus of up to £50. Furthermore, the 10Bet Acca Boost could reward punters with a cash bonus of up to £5,000. In-play betting is enhanced by the opportunity to fully or partially cash out certain baseball wagers. And higher-spending punters can take advantage of “The Ten Club”, which is 10Bet’s boutique betting service.
Bets placed before the start of the season on the winners of a particular baseball league are called “ante-post” wagers. The most common market is the winner of the World Series, which is the culmination of the MLB season in America. Furthermore, you can bet on the winners of the American and National Leagues, which are the two leagues constituting MLB.
In addition, ante-post markets will remain during the campaign. And a team’s price can potentially change a lot depending on their results throughout the season, which could lead to some favourable betting spots. Check out BetVictor for a great range of ante-post markets from USA, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
The MLB awards a number of end-of-season accolades to the best-performing players and you can bet on the winners of these awards at baseball betting sites such as QuinnBet. Similar to the NBA and NFL, the most prestigious prize is the MVP award. In addition, there are batting, pitching and fielding awards as well as Comeback Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
Moving on to individual baseball games, the most common wager is on the winner of a particular game, often called a “moneyline” bet. Baseball betting moneyline bets consist of backing either the home or the away side to win, with one team being the “favourite” and available at a lower price than the other side, known as the “underdog”. Head to Betway for game-winner markets.
A popular way to bet on baseball is handicap betting, which is often called the “Point Spread” or the “Run Line”. The main feature of handicap betting is that the underdog is given a head start. So if you back them in the handicap market you have two chances to win, if they win outright or lose by less than the head start they have been given. On the other side of the coin, you can back the favourites to overcome that handicap.
There are numerous advantages to baseball handicap betting, the first of which is that it lets you back the favourite but earn a much more attractive price than backing them straight up. And secondly, if you’re backing the underdog they don’t even need to win for you to win your bet. You can even bet on multiple handicap markets at sites such as BoyleSports.
Baseball scoring is pretty simple with just one way to get a “run” on the board. And that’s a player advancing around first, second and third bases and returning safely to the home plate. How you get home can vary but the result is always the same! Teams have nine innings plus potential overtime to accumulate runs and the side that has the most at the end of the game is the winner.
The lowest possible outcome is 1-0 to either side and the highest ever recorded MLB score was 26-23. So any score between the two is possible! You can bet on the total runs scored in any given game, which is a wager that can be successful no matter who wins. The bookies will set MLB betting lines and you can wager on whether the runs total will be above or below that line. And some sportsbooks, such as Betfred will offer multiple markets.
You can also bet on individual teams’ runs totals in the same fashion as wagering on the total runs scored in a particular game. In the MLB, team runs have averaged between four and five in recent years but lots of other factors go into the bookies’ decisions when it comes to setting their MLB betting lines, such as current form and the quality of the opposition. Check out 888sport for team runs markets.
A home run is scored when the batter hits the ball so well that they are able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one go. Home runs are generally scored by hitting the ball over the outfield fence and they are often the highlight of any baseball game. A player hitting a home run adds one run to his team score but if any of their teammates are occupying the bases when the home run is hit then they can head home too and another run will be scored for each player that gets home.
You can bet on team and individual home run totals at some baseball betting sites. In addition, some sites will let you wager on when the first home run will be scored in a game, just like in the example below from LiveScoreBet.
One way to get better odds than baseball betting moneyline prices is to try and predict the exact winning margin. And the markets below that are available at sites such as QuinnBet are typical when it comes to betting on winning margins.
Betting on certain elements of a player’s performance is very popular, as you are able to narrow down your focus and research to just one member of a team. Furthermore, the fate of your bet is not linked to the overall match result. Typical baseball “Player Props” are the number of runs or home runs scored by a batter. And when it comes to the pitcher, it’s usually how many strikeouts they can secure, which is when a pitcher throws three strikes to a hitter. Player props aren’t available at every baseball betting site, but we were impressed by the number of markets on offer at Betway.
Often a baseball betting site will create unique bets that you can wager on. These special bets can be combinations, similar to a Bet Builder, single bets, or quite literally anything in between! And BoyleSports and Betway have a nice array of baseball special bets such as the ones below!
Due to the huge range of matches and markets on offer, there is simply no way to guarantee that the particular sportsbook you are wagering at will always have the best baseball betting odds. However, what you can do is narrow your focus to specific matches and markets at a particular sportsbook and use odds comparison sites to see how they compare to other sites. And if a particular sportsbook isn’t included you can head over and check the MLB odds yourself.
However, if baseball odds really matter to you then you should always check out the price boosts section to see if any bet boosts are on offer. And of course, you should be willing to sign up for lots of different baseball online betting sites, which will also means you’ll be able to collect lots of different new customer bonuses!
BetVictor – Bet £10 Get £30 In Free Bets + 100 Free Spins
888sport – Bet £10 And Get £30 In Free Bets + £10 Casino Bonus
VirginBet – Bet £10 Get £30 In Free Bets
Betting on a baseball game while it is happening is a uniquely immersive experience, as you need to use information from the match itself to make quickfire betting decisions! Luckily, the best baseball live betting sites have excellent in-play offerings with lots of markets to bet on, ball-by-ball graphics to keep you up to date and statistics galore! And some wil even offer live streaming.
Betway – £30 Matched Free Bet If Your 1st Football Acca Loses
LiveScoreBet – Bet £10 And Get £20 In Free Bets
QuinnBet – Get 50% Back As A Free Bet Up To £35 + 10 Free Spins
There were no baseball-specific offers available at the time of writing this article, but here are the top three existing customer promotions that you can earn by betting on baseball.
QuinnBet: US Sports Acca Bonus. Place a US Sports accumulator bet with a minimum of two or more selections across any sport including American Football, Basketball & Ice Hockey. The minimum odds per selection must be greater than 3/10 (1.30). If it wins you will be credited with a free bet of up to £50. The free bet is calculated as a percentage of your winnings with the percentage varying depending on the number of selections. A winning double will lead to a 2% bonus, 5% for a treble, 10% for a 4-fold and 20% for a 5-fold or more. The free bet can be used on all QuinnSports events at minimum odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater with maximum odds of 100/1. Any returns from a free bet will be paid back into your account minus the free bet stake. Other Ts & Cs apply.
888sport: £5 Free Bet When You Win at 4/1 Or Bigger. If you secure a winning wager at odds of at least 4/1 (5.00), you will be rewarded with a £5 free bet. Minimum qualifying stake is £10 on any sporting market. Multiple bets and Bet Builder count towards the offer. Available once a day, every day. Free Bet credited upon bet settlement and expires after 7 days. Free Bet must be claimed within 3 days. Other Ts & Cs apply.
Boylesport: £20 Free Bet When You Win at 2.0 Or Bigger. If you secure a winning wager at odds of at least 2.0, you will be rewarded with a £20 free bet. Minimum qualifying stake is £10 on any sporting market. As long as the qualifying bet settles for the first time within an hour, the free bet will be applied. Other Ts & Cs apply.
Virtually every productive betting strategy has effective research at its heart. Knowledge is power when it comes to baseball betting and the more information you can gather ahead of a particular matchup, the more chance you will have of making winning wagers. And we’re not just talking about research relating to teams and players. And that’s because you should be across all other factors such as what city a game is being played in, the weather, team schedules (more on that below) and injuries.
As well as researching recent results and player performances it’s also a good idea to check out recent “trends”. A trend is an occurrence that has happened more than once in recent games, meaning it has a high likelihood of happening again. They can relate to individual teams and players or even specific matchups. Examples of trends are “The total has gone OVER in 7 of Chi White Sox’s last 9 games”, or “Kansas City is 5-0 Against the Spread in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Detroit”.
Taking the MLB as an example, each team plays 162 regular season games over a period of six months every year. That’s a brutal schedule right off the bat which equates to a game pretty much every day! And if you keep an eye on individual team schedules you can identify some potentially favourable betting scenarios.
For instance, a team playing a game after a day off is going to be fresher than a team that played the day before. And a team at the back end of a long road trip may also experience more travel-related fatigue than a team in the middle of a series of home games.
Seeking out expert baseball predictions can be hugely beneficial for a number of reasons. The first one is that if you don’t have time to do your own research, basing your bets on the opinions of experts is certainly the next best thing. Secondly, even if you have done your own research you could uncover a new betting angle that you hadn’t thought of previously. And lastly, novice bettors in particular will find that reading or listening to baseball betting previews will help them learn about the game, understand the terminology and also pick up the type of research you should be doing when placing a baseball bet.
Every bettor needs to have a plan when it comes to how much they intend to spend on betting. And that’s because with all the will in the world, in the age of rapid online transactions it’s so easy to lose track of how much you are spending! Some set wagering limits for themselves each week and use daily, weekly or monthly deposit limit tools to help them. Others put a certain amount of money in their betting account each month and use it as their “bankroll”. And when it’s gone, it’s gone!
However you manage your finances the key is to be aware of what you are spending and make sure you are only betting with funds you can afford to lose. And managing your finances effectively extends to your betting habits too. So you need to avoid common mistakes such as chasing losses by betting on a random event straight after a loss and betting on events you know nothing about just because you’re bored.
To use an American term, Major League Baseball is the granddaddy of them all when it comes to worldwide baseball leagues. And so it follows that most betting on baseball is done on MLB matchups.
MLB is comprised of 30 teams, 29 from the USA and just the Toronto Blue Jays hailing from the Great White North! Teams are split evenly between the National League and American League and each one plays 162 regular season games between late March/early April and late September/early October.
Teams never play each other just once and move on to their next opponent, instead, they play each other on several consecutive days in the same ballpark. The top 12 teams then advance to the playoffs, which culminate in the World Series, where the American and National League champions play a seven-game series for the right to lift the Commissioner’s Trophy!
College sport is huge in the USA and baseball is no different. The highest level of college baseball is the NCAA Division 1 Baseball Championship, which is held in May and June each year. 64 teams take part with eight making it through to the College World Series. The championship attracts huge crowds, lots of media coverage and of course leads to a spike in NCAA baseball betting! The University of Mississippi, affectionately known as “Ole Miss”, won the title in 2022.
Many sports fans do not know that baseball is also hugely popular in Japan. America’s pastime gained popularity in the Land of the Rising Sun after World War II, thanks to the US soldiers who promoted the sport and the Japanese corporations that sponsored MLB teams.
The main professional league in Japan is Nippon Professional Baseball, or NPB for short. 12 teams are split evenly between the Central and Pacific Leagues and play 146 regular season games at roughly the same time as the MLB is taking place. Then the two League champions face off in Japan’s version of the World Series, the Japan Series, with the current champions being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
Another league you may come across on a baseball betting site is the Chinese Professional Baseball League, which is the top baseball league in Taiwan. There are five teams in the league with the current champions being the CTBC Brothers.
They’re also huge baseball fans in South Korea and the KBO League is the top tier of baseball in the country, with 10 teams fighting it out each year. And the magnificently-named KT Wiz are the current champions after securing their very first title in 2021.
After a deep dive into the world of baseball, we have not only answered the question “How does baseball betting work?” but we’ve also come to the conclusion that Betway is the best baseball betting site in the UK. No other site can match their overall baseball betting offering which features a huge range of worldwide matches and markets, special bets, price boosts, live streaming, a superb baseball betting blog. There’s also an Acca Loyalty Club to reward you for your baseball multiple bets. We highly recommend you check them out and we wish you every success on your baseball betting journey!
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