With legal online betting live in North Carolina, you can find the latest World Series odds right here. See below to learn why the offseason, spring training, and the early part of the MLB season can be the best time to dive head first into World Series future odds.
Current World Series odds
Find up-to-date World Series odds from top NC sportsbooks below. Just click the odds you like to go to the sportsbook, claim the NC sportsbook sign-up offers available, and get your bets down.
How does World Series betting work?
Sportsbooks release World Series futures odds in the offseason and adjust them throughout the year. That includes during spring training and throughout the MLB regular season.
When you pick a team you think will win it all and bet on them, you lock in the odds as currently posted. If the team you bet on wins the World Series, you get paid at the odds as posted when you placed your bet, no matter how much they shrink heading into the Fall Classic. Of course, the odds are almost always longer on the World Series favorites the earlier you get a bet down.
For example, the Houston Astros sat at +600 odds to win the World Series during spring training of 2023. Their MLB World Series odds shrunk to +190 late in the regular season after the Astros secured a playoff spot in the American League.
Coming off a World Series win, the Astros understandably stood as one of the favorites to become champion again in 2023. The closer they got to reaching that goal, the further those odds shrunk, meaning correct bets on Houston would pay less. Of course, the Texas Rangers thwarted the hopes of both the Astros and those who bet on them by knocking them out in the American League Championship Series on the way to capturing the 2023 World Series title.
Meanwhile, those who put a World Series futures bet down on the Rangers preseason likely earned a nice profit in November. The Rangers’ odds were a whopping +4500 or so at many sites before Opening Day.
Once the World Series is set, you’ll be able to bet on either team to win it at even further reduced odds. Plus, you can bet game by game and on various props inside each game.
What is the World Series moneyline?
The moneyline is one of the betting lines available for each World Series game. This is where you bet on game winners, booking a bet at the currently posted odds for each game. If your pick wins, you win.
Bet $100 on the Atlanta Braves at +115 against the Houston Astros at -120 in Game 1 of a hypothetical World Series, and you’ll collect a total of $215 if the Braves win.
What is the World Series run line?
The World Series run line is another game line available for each World Series installment. This one is like the point spread in other sports.
The run line must be factored into the final score to determine which side wins these bets. World Series run lines are generally set at 1.5 runs, but alternatives will be available at different odds.
Bet $100 on the Atlanta Braves on a +1.5 run line at +125 odds against the Houston Astros in Game 1 of a hypothetical World Series, and you’ll collect a total of $225 if Atlanta either wins the game or loses by just a single run.
Bet the World Series total
This wager is a bet on whether the total combined score in a World Series game will land over or under a line set by sportsbooks. These bets offer close to even-money odds with a small vig for sportsbooks built in.
Bet $110 on Over 5.5 runs for a hypothetical Atlanta Braves versus Houston Astros game at -110 odds, and you’ll collect a total of $210 if the teams combine to score six or more runs.
What is the World Series five-inning line?
Starting pitchers go an average of five innings in MLB games. That’s why sportsbooks make a “First Five” available. This is essentially a moneyline bet on which team will win the first five innings of a game.
It’s mostly a bet on the starting pitchers rather than the starters and bullpen combined. The odds will reflect which starter is perceived to be the better one, ignoring the rest of the staff. A five-inning line should be available for each World Series game.
World Series team and player props
World Series betting goes beyond futures, series bets and standard game lines to include a variety of team and player props. This is where you bet on the performance of the players and teams in each game and the series as a whole.
Most props surround different stats, which means betting on batters or teams to post RBIs and hit home runs, as well as pitchers and teams to record strikeouts.
There’s also World Series MVP betting at odds that change throughout the series. Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager won the 2023 World Series Most Valuable Player award. The odds for him to accomplish that feat ahead of the series were +550.
What are the Vegas World Series odds?
Las Vegas sportsbooks have been around longer than any others in the US. To this day, they set the standard for lines in most sports, including MLB betting and the World Series. In fact, most online sportsbooks across the US copy the Vegas lines when it is released.
From time to time, more money will come in on one World Series team than another. The sportsbook that sees that discrepancy in betting will move its line to entice the betting back to even.
That way, the book can realize the vig built into the line without worrying about who wins the series. That’s why that particular sportsbook may have a different line on the World Series than the Vegas standard, but there’s a good chance they started out the same.
Looking at the Major League Baseball teams closest to North Carolina, the Atlanta Braves (just a 4-5 hour drive from Charlotte) are among the teams with the shortest World Series odds right now. The Baltimore Orioles have a strong team and are up there as well. Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals are among the long shots.
Biggest ever World Series betting win
A Houston furniture shop owner has been running promos surrounding the biggest sporting events in the country for years. Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale wagers on a team to win the World Series or places a bet on the Super Bowl winner and promises to give full refunds on any mattress or bedroom set purchases leading up to the event if he wins.
The theory is that if McIngvale loses, the losses are covered by Gallery Furniture’s profits on the promo. However, the scheme has since turned him into the country’s biggest sports gambler.
McIngvale reportedly bet close to $10 million on the Astros to win the World Series in 2022. He cleared nearly $75 million when Houston beat the Philadelphia Phillies to win the title. That is reportedly the biggest win ever recorded in sports betting history.
More MLB futures odds
World Series futures are far from the only MLB futures available at North Carolina sportsbooks. Here’s a quick look at some of the most popular MLB futures:
- Bet on a team to win its division.
- Bet on a team to win the American League or National League
- Pick an MLB player to win an MLB award, including MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Reliever of the Year or Comeback Player of the Year.
- Bet on a team to win more or fewer regular season games than a line set by sportsbooks.
- Bet on a team to earn a Wild Card spot or make the postseason in any capacity.
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