Baseball is a pretty big deal in North Carolina, even if the closest thing to Major League Baseball in this state is the Chicago White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate Charlotte Knights or Tampa Bay Rays’ Triple-A affiliate Durham Bulls. If you want to play the geography game, the Washington Nationals are about a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Durham, and the Atlanta Braves are the same distance from Charlotte.
All that should translate into legions of local MLB bettors when North Carolina lawmakers finally decide to legalize and regulate online sports betting in the state. Many are already flocking to retail sportsbooks at the Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos in Cherokee and Murphy and the Catawba Two Kings Casino in Kings Mountain to bet on baseball.
Moneylines, run lines, and totals are the main MLB game lines. The 162-game season, plus the postseason and World Series, gives you plenty of wagering opportunities—more than just about any other sport. Check out the latest and best MLB betting lines right here.
Learn more about the changing North Carolina sports betting landscape and all the different ways you’ll soon be able to bet on MLB game lines.
This week’s MLB betting lines
The feed below includes MLB baseball game lines that are updated in real time. Once these sportsbooks are legal and licensed in North Carolina, you’ll be able to click on any bet to visit the sportsbook that posted it, sign up, claim a bonus, and place a bet.
NC sportsbooks with the best MLB lines
Caesars Sportsbook
Two retail Caesars Sportsbooks are already in North Carolina at the Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos in Cherokee and Murphy. That should leave no doubt Caesars Sportsbook will go online in North Carolina when it can.
As far as MLB betting is concerned, Caesars is an Authorized Gaming Operator of MLB and posts ultra-competitive MLB odds and game lines. Caesars also runs various MLB promos, including regular MLB odds boosts and its MLB Long-Ball SGP Club offer, which gives away a $100 bonus to anyone betting $10 on an MLB same game parlay.
DraftKings Sportsbook
DraftKings Sportsbook will most assuredly come to North Carolina, just as it does every other state that legalizes sports betting. DraftKings is also an Official Sports Betting Partner of MLB. That means it streams live MLB games on its app, offers more MLB betting options than anywhere else, and its MLB game lines are posted with extremely competitive sports odds.
MLB promos at DraftKings include a Bet $1, Win $100 on any MLB game offer and other MLB odds boosts.
BetMGM Sportsbook
BetMGM Sportsbook won’t be able to call itself the king of sportsbooks anymore unless it comes to North Carolina. BetMGM is also an Official Sports Betting Partner of MLB. That means MLB’s official stats feed is integrated into its platform and BetMGM’s MLB game lines and odds are always competitive.
MLB promos at BetMGM Sportsbook North Carolina include a Bet $10, Get $200 offer, and regular MLB odds boosts.
FanDuel Sportsbook
FanDuel Sportsbook tries to become the market leader in every state it enters. North Carolina should be no different. FanDuel is also an Authorized Gaming Operator of MLB. That means it uses official MLB data to settle bets, posts competitive MLB game lines, and focuses on live betting using MLB data.
MLB promos at FanDuel include futures bet bonuses, No Sweat First Bet offers, and various MLB odds boosts.
How to bet on MLB baseball lines in NC
Once legal North Carolina online sports betting launches, you’ll never be more than a few simple steps away from betting on MLB game lines. Here’s the process from beginning to end.
- Go to any legal and licensed North Carolina online sportsbook website through the links on this website.
- Sign up via the website, or download the sportsbook’s mobile app and sign up there.
- Complete the sign-up forms by entering all required personal and account information, including the last four digits of your SSN.
- Grab any NC sportsbook promo or bonus code required from this website and enter it in the space provided on the forms.
- Accept all terms and conditions.
- Once verified, log into your account.
- Click the cashier tab.
- Choose a method of deposit, e.g., credit and debit cards, online banking, and payment processors like PayPal. Then, make your deposit.
- Once the deposit is in your account, browse through the MLB game lines.
- Click on any bet and a bet slip will be created. You can add more MLB game line bets to the slip and choose to create a parlay or leave the bets as individual entries.
- Enter a betting amount for each bet on the slip.
- Confirm the potential payout is to your liking and click the tab at the bottom of the slip to place your bets.
Who sets MLB game odds & lines?
North Carolina sportsbooks will either employ MLB oddsmakers to set lines or copy the lines directly from Las Vegas sportsbooks that do employ baseball betting experts.
These experts often use algorithms that take home field advantage, weather, injuries, roster moves, pitching matchups, and all kinds of current and historical data into account to set MLB lines. Attention is also paid to public perception and ensuring there’s equal money wagered on each side of every single bet. That way sportsbooks can earn a profit without sweating the outcome of every MLB bet.
Differences between MLB Vegas odds and local MLB odds
Since most North Carolina sportsbooks copy MLB betting odds directly from Las Vegas sportsbooks, there will be little difference between the two. The only time you’ll find a difference is when a local sportsbook or a Vegas sportsbook moves a particular MLB game line to induce betting on both sides.
When is the best time to bet on MLB game lines?
MLB teams submit lineup cards directly to the league two to three hours ahead of games. Give it a little time once that info goes public to see if game lines move and if betting patterns are impacted. Then, place your own bets accordingly.
If there’s a day of the week that’s best for betting on MLB games, it would have to be Sunday. The Sunday Night Baseball TV game seems to draw more odds boost and promo attention than most, offering more value to bettors.
Can you live bet on MLB game lines?
These days, all the standard pre-game MLB bets are available during games too. You can even bet on an increased number of live props and just about every pitch in every at-bat.
The odds for these bets will change constantly based on the gameplay. These live MLB game lines are available on mobile sportsbook apps, which you can download and install on most phones and tablets.
What are the key numbers for MLB totals bets?
Around 30% of MLB games end with seven, nine or 11 combined runs, making these the key numbers for baseball totals. Keep this in mind when sportsbooks release over/under lines for MLB games.
What is betting ‘against’ or ‘with’ the spread?
Betting against the spread in MLB games means betting on the run line favorite. Most of the time, the favorite has to win by two or more runs to cover the spread.
Betting with the spread means backing the run line underdog and taking the cushion—typically 1.5 runs. That team can still lose the game by one run but win the run line bet.
What are ‘consensus’ MLB betting lines?
Consensus is found when the betting public agrees on what’s going to happen in an MLB game and bets on it. Because sportsbooks will move an MLB game line to battle the impact of consensus—trying to get the betting back to even—you can bet against consensus.
This means you’re backing oddsmakers’ original lines at better odds or an improved line. In this case, it’s a question of whom you believe: the experts or your fellow bettors?
MLB same game parlays
Correlated parlays combining different run lines, moneyline, totals, or props within the same MLB game used to be rejected by sportsbooks because they offered a slight betting edge. Nowadays, this type of same game parlay is one of the latest innovations at many sportsbooks.
Granted, you won’t get the same big odds as on other parlays because correlated bets are involved. Also, it’s up to you to make sure the legs in your same game parlay don’t contradict one another. However, these same game parlays can be a fun way to add interest and a fun sweat to any MLB game you are planning to watch.
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