Major League Baseball (MLB) has various relationships with the world of sports betting. Partnerships with sportsbooks such as FanDuel, BetMGM and Caesars.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred discussed the sport’s opportunities on “Marchand and Ourand Podcast” with the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand and Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand.
“I see that at some point coming as an alternate digital product. You’re always going to have that clean broadcast,” Manfred told the two sportswriters.
MLB inked its first betting partnership with DraftKings in 2021 and added FanDuel in 2023.
“From Day 1, we had two thoughts with respect to sports betting,” Manfred said. “No. 1, we thought the principal benefit of sports betting for us was going to be fan engagement. Deeper, more consistent fan engagement.”
Secondly, baseball is a family product. “We have tried to be cautious about the concept of ‘over-gamblification’—too much gambling in too many places in the sport. We think we have struck a balance there where we are getting some of the engagement boost without creating the potential of alienating the family audience.”
The UFC and NFL talk about gambling directly on shows and even in social media posts. But baseball as a game is well positioned to permit wagers on the screen. Pauses between pitches and at-bats allow bettors the time to offer the intimate betting resources fans seek.
