We have compared World Series futures on many different online sportsbooks for all 30 MLB teams. What is displayed is the best available number for each MLB team.
World Series Futures
The World Series is one of the most popular events to bet on in all of sports and represents the championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). The winner of the historic series, that dates back to 1903 comes from either the American League or National League pennant winner. Because the series is the most important one of the MLB season, bettors pay very close attention to the MLB futures odds for it.
The World Series takes place at the end of October and can often run into the beginning of November. There is a Wild Card Round, Division Series, and Conference Series that eventually decides who will face off in the World Series. The 2022 World Series saw the Houston Astros emerge victorious over the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.
The New York Yankees hold the record for most World Series titles in MLB history with 27, far more than any other franchise.
What are World Series Futures?
There are three primary markets to wager on when it comes to World Series futures betting. Here is a look at the trio of bet types:
To Win the World Series
By a wide margin, the largest futures betting market for the World Series is placing wagers on who will ultimately win the series. This market is typically available throughout the calendar year and odds open up immediately following the previous season’s World Series.
The odds for World Series winner are always shifting with offseason news, major acquisitions, and injuries playing a key role in an individual teams’ championship aspirations. In one way or another, the odds will be guaranteed to shift for every team at some point in time.
If you are interested in placing any kind of bet on the winner of the World Series, we recommend closely following MLB odds, news and trends. In doing so, you will be able to find value much better within the odds.
World Series Matchup & Outcome Exacta
These are extremely difficult to win considering the amount of results that have to be correct to be a winning wager, but they do exist and are popular. This is essentially a multi-leg parlay where you need to get the correct pennant winners to make the World Series, the correct winner of the World Series, and the amount of games they will win the series in. It sounds like a lot because it most certainly is!
An example of a World Series matchup and outcome exacta bet would be to take the San Diego Padres to defeat the New York Yankees in the World Series in six games. It is difficult to get all of this information correct, but if you do, the odds are quite rewarding. It is absolutely an enjoyable experience to place bets of this nature and track the likelihood of your bet winning as the season progresses.
Many sportsbooks do not offer this type of bet until the start of the World Series, but some do at the beginning of the playoffs.
World Series MVP
Another common form of World Series futures betting is to bet on the Most Valuable Player for the series. This market does not typically open up until the start of the playoffs and at some major sportsbooks, the option to bet on World Series MVP doesn’t open up until a few days before the World Series begins.
There is excellent value considering the long odds of selecting the correct MVP, but if you believe someone will be an outstanding contributor on the World Series winner, go for it!
FAQs
The process of betting on World Series futures is a straightforward one. All major sportsbooks properly label their sports, along with categories and subcategories for each bet type. This makes it a much easier venture to find the exact bet type you’re looking for.
For those looking to place a wager on World Series futures, you should head to the ‘MLB’ section of a sportsbook, click on ‘Futures’, and then in most cases, the only futures wager available will be the ‘World Series’ subcategory. The exact names of these categories may vary by sportsbook, but they should be relatively similar. The guarantee, though, is that all reputable sportsbooks hold some form of World Series futures betting market at some point throughout the calendar year.
On the main page for the World Series futures at a sportsbook, there will be all 30 teams listed with associated odds of winning the series at the season’s end. As previously mentioned, these odds will shift dramatically across the course of both the season and offseason.
With the exacta wagers, they will likely only be available prior to the World Series at your favorite sportsbook, but some major ones do in fact offer it well in advance of the series.
Another outstanding aspect of the World Series futures betting market is that the selections can be parlayed with other major sports leagues futures including the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL. An example of a futures wager parlay would be to have the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Finals and the Carolina Hurricanes to win the Stanley Cup along with the New York Mets to win the World Series.
Outside of the primary futures bets for the World Series, there are many different types of bets available across the series. For each individual game, the standard moneyline, run line, and totals wagers are available. Player props where you can bet on pitcher strikeouts, hits, and players to hit a home run are also popular. A form of wagering that is gaining traction in the MLB market is to bet on the outcome of the first five innings of the game with the same bet types applying.