Indiana Sportsbooks Ready For The New MLB Season With Futures Odds

One sportsbook has already started offering futures odds for every MLB team, anticipating the upcoming new baseball season.

Even though football holds the top spot for sports betting in the United States, the NFL season has ended.

Besides NCAA Basketball and the NBA, baseball is another alternative for bettors to fill the gap left by football.

In just a few weeks, most MLB teams will commence their spring training. The 2020 season will then kick off only a month later.

2020 will be the first complete MLB season since the initiation of sports betting in Indiana.

Although Indiana doesn’t possess its own major league team, it has a significant number of fans for franchises from Illinois and Ohio.

The odds for the teams Reds, Cubs, and White Sox.

Indiana has been enamored with the Cincinnati Reds since the era of the Big Red Machine. Regrettably, for the team’s fan base in the Hoosier State, the Reds haven’t experienced a winning season since 2013.

The preseason odds for this year mirror recent history. Here’s a glance at how the Reds are faring, as per DraftKings Sportsbook.

• Total wins in the regular season: 83.5
• NL Central Winning Odds: +280
• National League Winning Odds: +1,100
• World Series Winning Odds: +2,800

The NL Central lacks a clear favorite predicted to win the division. The Reds are third-most likely to emerge victorious. The Cardinals and the Cubs are jointly considered the frontrunners.

Since clinching the World Series in 2016, the team from North Side, Chicago has faced numerous struggles. The Cubs may no longer be perceived as a contender, but they continue to enjoy a substantial fan base across Indiana.

Here are their projected odds for the upcoming season.

• Total wins in regular season: 86.5
• The odds to win the NL Central are +225.
• National League winning odds: +1,000
• World Series Winning Odds: +2,200

The White Sox, another franchise with a fan base in Indiana, may be the least popular among the trio. However, there’s a possibility that this team from the South Side of Chicago could emerge as the best of the three.

The White Sox have only reached the playoffs once since their 2005 World Series victory. Despite an 11-year postseason drought, the team is optimistic that this season will mark its end.

This is how DraftKings has predicted the White Sox’s performance for the upcoming season.

• Total number of regular season wins: 83.5
• AL Central Winning Odds: +300
• American League winning odds: +1,700
• World Series winning odds: +3,500

Indiana could see an increase in business from MLB betting.

The fact that sports betting is not yet active in Indiana’s neighboring states could attract baseball fans from those areas to Indiana.

Of the four states that share a border with Indiana, three host a professional baseball team. Five distinct MLB franchises are located across Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan.

Currently, fans residing in the home states of these teams have no legal means to bet on them. However, for those living close to the state line, the solution could be effortless. They only need to cross the border briefly to use any of Indiana’s online sportsbooks.

The situation is favorable for the Hoosier State, however, it won’t be permanent.

Sports betting has already been legalized in Michigan and Illinois, but they have not yet been able to enter the market.

Kentucky is slightly lagging in the process, but is steadily progressing towards legalizing sports betting. Ohio finds itself in a comparable situation.

Indiana will continue to benefit from an additional boost to its handle, as long as its neighboring states don’t initiate similar actions. The state is well-positioned, with future bets pouring in on numerous sports such as professional baseball.