The Evolution of Baseball Betting in the United States

For decades, baseball has occupied one of the top spots in the hearts of the American public. Nevertheless, fundamental changes have occurred in society and the game to impact its relevance. A direct shift happened recently, stemming from the groundbreaking 2018 Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. About six years later, as of April 2024, 38 states and Washington D.C. have legalized sports betting in some form or fashion. 

With sports betting legalized in many jurisdictions, MLB and betting companies have been partnering up. A recent study conducted by the American Gaming Association showed that MLB could indirectly pull in $1.106B from sports betting, broken down by $154M from the operators themselves and $957M from fan consumption and interaction. As long as it’s safe, compliant, and fair, having both parties on the same page makes sense as a win-win.

One company, Simplebet, a player in the micro-betting space, offers its markets as free-to-play and as real money games to businesses, and they play a significant role in the odds-making business. In 2022, they provided the odds for organizations like Bet365 and DraftKings (and others). Simplebet, using the previously mentioned type of wager called “micro-betting,” allows for the placement of bets throughout a game on other outcomes that, at one point, may have been considered irrelevant throughout a nine-inning game. These differ from more prominent wagers like the overall moneyline, runline, or the under/over throughout a nine-inning game. 

Their company has deeply studied what data science understands about a baseball game to facilitate this. It makes its odds by examining an array of plate appearances; previous trends and probabilities of the exact count or situation might tell it what is likely to happen next. In this way, Simplebet can go much further and use more information to create more granular markets. 

Betting on a pitch outcome, aka whether a pitch would be a strike or ball, accounted for 40% of all wagers that year. In 2022, Simplebet reported $262M in MLB Handle, with $16.7M occurring that April (you’ll see why that is relevant in a moment). 

As MLB implemented some rule changes in 2023, some speculated this could negatively impact the betting experience by offering less time between pitches to place a wager. In March 2023, Casey Brett, Senior Vice President of Business Development at MLB, stated to Legal Sports Report, “I don’t think it’s going to have any negative consequences.” He continued, “If anything, I think the pitch clock is only going to improve wagering and the overall fan experience.” 

That same year, it was reported that Simplebet markets were wagered on more during the MLB regular season, with an increase of 230% (meaning above $500M in handle). In 2023, the MLB Postseason also brought in 2.4M micro-bets (not dollars) through its markets, up 88% from the previous year.

Casey Brett was right.

In speaking on their 2023 successes, Simplebet’s CEO, Chris Bevilacqua, stated, “We are thrilled by the results we’ve seen from this year’s MLB season and postseason. We were able to showcase how our markets can still keep users interested, even if the game is a blowout, as seen in multiple games in the World Series. Simplebet looks forward to continuing to build on the success of this postseason as we gear up for 2024.” 

So far, they have. 

Yesterday, Simplebet reportedly shared that its betting volume and total handle doubled between April and mid-May to 120% of what it was the year prior during that stretch.

It’s also fair to conclude that several items are making people more interested in professional baseball these last few seasons. The first and most apparent is that the games move along at a brisker pace, which makes them appear more streamlined. Then there’s the fact that, for the first span in history, the gambling angle is being openly and enthusiastically advertised on T.V., radio, social media, and billboards. Whether customers are making wagers from home, at the local sportsbook, or from their seat at the ballpark, many people are betting on baseball and finding a new level of involvement and interest beyond their favorite player or team. 

But is this early reported growth sustainable? Well, with the approach of summer, the sports world turns its attention to baseball. Basketball, hockey, and football all take a backseat until autumn. These next few months are crucial for continued expansion in baseball betting. If past trends hold, we will see a current rise and a new regular season record in the number of wagers placed, as reported by Simplebet, anyway.

The baseball betting sector has seen explosive growth in recent years. The industry has found room for innovation in its betting options and how fans can engage. Some operators even offer a live game that can be viewed in their application. Others may allow you to navigate from their dedicated scores and highlights app to quickly toggle into their betting app when you select a line. Too, in another groundbreaking move, X (formerly known as Twitter) and BetMGM came to an agreement earlier this year to have BetMGM be the live-odds provider for sports in their app and allow users who click those lines to be directed to BetMGM’s website or application for a more seamless and efficient experience.

Baseball and the gambling industry stand to gain much more from that outcome at the bottom of the ninth inning. 

Batter, or shall I say, Bettor up.

If you or someone you know is struggling with gambling, you can visit the NCPG website for available resources by state at https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/help-by-state/.  

*For transparency, please note that I work for a betting company as my primary job. However, the information shared in this article is solely based on publicly available data and information. I am not speaking in my capacity as an employee of that company but as an independent blogger. The views and opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of said employer.