Baseball Returns to Sportsbooks

Baseball has returned.

And sportsbooks across the U.S. of A. can breathe a long sigh of relief. After some four months when major sports went on a coronavirus pandemic hiatus, major league baseball resumed play July 23, the first of the four major traditional sports to do so.

The Oneida Indian Nation greeted the return by re-opening sportsbooks at its three casinos in Central New York.

The NBA will start the end of the month too, with the NHL not far behind and the NFL on schedule to begin play in September.

But this is about baseball, the new look baseball—at least for 2021—the one with just 60 games, where both leagues feature the designated hitter and where extra innings start with a runner on second base.

“We’ve seen increased action on recent returning sports like UFC, soccer and golf, but baseball will bring an additional wave of customers back to sportsbooks. Baseball’s volume of games provides extra ways for customers to bet with us,” said Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading, for William Hill U.S.

But it’s more than just adding baseball to golf and soccer. “The big boost will come from new and returning customers who prefer to bet on sports they commonly watch on a daily basis,” Bogdanovich said. “While more customers are betting on other sports, there’s still a significant group waiting for baseball.”

Kevin Hennessy, director of publicity for FanDuel, is glad to have baseball back on board.

“Baseball’s return is a big deal for our retail and online sportsbooks. There are just so many opportunities for customers to win in baseball from spreads, in-game play, futures and prop bets,” Hennessey said.

All this and fanless games too.

Bogdanovich doesn’t see the lack of fans reducing betting, not with a thirst for something more familiar to wafer on. “For other sports that recently returned without fans in attendance, we’re seeing increased action due to the pent-up demand for sports,” he said.

To Johnny Avello, director of operations for DraftKings, baseball is an important cog in the sports betting wheel. “There are numerous games in a lot of markets.”

The 60 game season—compared to the typical 162 game schedule—carries a lot of unknowns, Bogdanovich said. “We’ll adjust accordingly as we receive more information on how teams will utilize players and how rule changes affect the game.”

Because of the late start and the resumption of play by the NBA and NHL and the start of the NFL season, the longer season won’t be missed.

The impact of fake crowd noise as opposed to the noise made by real fans has yet to be determined. “As far as we’re concerned, teams will make adjustments, but we’ll know early on,” he said.

The designated hitter rule in the National League will increase the overall number of runs scored simply by not having the pitcher waste a bat.

So, with that in mind, play ball.

Sportsbook Execs Weigh In on Winners:

Johnny Avello, director of operations for DraftKings:

NL Central is wide open, with the Pirates a long shot. But anyone can win.
NL East has four of five teams who could win.
In the AL Central, the White Sox improved. The Twins and Indians are in the mix.
With the AL East you have the Yankees and Red Sox.
The AL West has the Astros as well as the Angels at the top.
In the NL West the Dodgers are the big favorite.

Kevin Hennessy, director of publicity for FanDuel, says these are the teams customers are backing in the World Series market by handle: