A Major League Baseball team hasn’t won the World Series in back-to-back seasons in a quarter of a century. That isn’t stopping bettors from piling on the Los Angeles Dodgers to be the first franchise to do so since the New York Yankees won three in a row from 1999-2000.
The reigning champs have made plenty of intriguing offseason moves and even won two regular-season games already during the Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs, so it’s no surprise that the Dodgers are the favorite to do it again with World Series odds of +240.
Those preseason odds make the Dodgers the biggest preseason betting favorite in the last 20 years, according to ESPN BET.
Will the 2025 Dodgers succeed where the 2003 Yankees failed? 🧐🏆 pic.twitter.com/peMIvjNEuL
— ESPN BET (@ESPNBET) March 25, 2025
Many bettors aren’t concerned with history heading into Thursday’s MLB Opening Day. The Dodgers remain atop the list of betting favorites entering the season.
"They dominate the offseason 2025 MLB World Series winner betting with approximately 55% of all tickets so far, an eye-watering 23% rise on the pace entering last season," bet365 trading leader Aron Wattleworth told Covers on Wednesday.
"No prizes for guessing who the worst result would be (for the sportsbook) for winning the World Series."
The Dodgers, who opened with odds of +400 that have steadily come down, are BetMGM’s biggest liability in the World Series winner market. They’re getting 17.2% of the tickets and 37.1% of the money. No other team has seen a double-digit percentage of handle.
The Mets are second at 9% while the Yankees are at 7.5%.
Of the 50 largest wagers @BetMGM has taken on the World Series, 35 of them (70%) have been on the Dodgers! 🤑@Dodgers +240 favorites to repeat. pic.twitter.com/h7Htl3vhbr
— John Ewing (@johnewing) March 26, 2025
ESPN BET reported even more tickets on the favorite as the Dodgers are getting 39.1% of the bets and 31.2% of the handle at the online operator.
A large dropoff follows. The Philadelphia Phillies are second with 8.8% of the bets and 12.5% of the handle. The Yankees are getting 10.5% of the money, followed by the Mets and Atlanta Braves at 6.9% each.
More Dodgers love
Los Angeles is also the leader in the National League Pennant winner market with odds of +140. The Dodgers are seeing 20.2% of the tickets and 32.7% of the money at BetMGM.
The Dodgers are getting nearly 49% of the handle at ESPN BET to win the NL. The Phillies are second at 12.4%.
As for winning the NL West, the -450 odds on L.A. aren’t scaring off DraftKings bettors. The online sportsbook reported that 89% of the money and 91% of the bets are backing the Dodgers.
More than 66% of the money has come in on L.A. at BetMGM, but the Arizona Diamondbacks have the highest ticket count in the market, while the Colorado Rockies are the biggest liability to win the division.
It should come as no surprise that designated hitter/pitcher Shohei Ohtani is getting 51% of the handle in the NL MVP odds market at BetMGM. The Dodgers star is the odds leader at +150.
ESPN BET bettors, however, are piling on Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz, who’s getting 27.1% of the bets and 24.6% of the money, ahead of Ohtani’s 13% handle, to win the NL’s best player award.
It’s a Central world
Bettors also like De La Cruz’s team to do big things in 2025. With odds of +450 at BetMGM, Cincinnati is the most-bet winner of any division and third in handle. The Reds are the sportsbook’s biggest liability in the NL Central market, which is the second most-bet division.
The Cubs (+125) have taken 56% of the handle and 50% of the tickets at DraftKings.
ESPN BET has seen 5.6% of the bets and 8.9% of the money to represent the NL in the World Series on a Reds team that won 77 games a year ago and finished fourth in the division. Only the Dodgers and Phillies have seen more action on the NL winner market.
The AL Central is the most popular division for wagering at BetMGM. The Detroit Tigers are the biggest liability to win the AL pennant, and they’re the second most-bet team to win any division with odds of +250.
Other division insights
There’s not a single division favorite that’s also the biggest liability at BetMGM.
Typically, the Bronx Bombers are a very popular betting pick. This year, they’re the +175 favorite to win the division and +300 favorite to claim the AL, but the Yankees aren’t leading ticket and money counts at BetMGM.
Boston has seen one of the biggest jumps in odds to win the World Series, going from +4,000 when the market opened to +1,800 at the start of the season. And the Red Sox are getting 46.3% of the tickets and 56.6% of the money to win the AL East with odds of +250, making them the biggest liability in that division’s market.
The Houston Astros are the favorite to win the AL West at +160, but the long-shot Los Angeles Angels (+2,800) are the biggest liability. The Texas Rangers are getting a division-high 36.6% of the bets and 43.2% of the handle to capture the AL West crown.
The Braves saw their six-year run of winning the NL East come to a close with the Phillies claiming the crown last season. Atlanta is back on top as the +115 favorite and getting a leading 35.3% of the handle to get the title back. The Mets (+230) lead in ticket count while the Washington Nationals (+8,000) are the biggest liability.
Individual honors
New York’s Aaron Judge and Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. are +300 favorites to take home the AL MVP award at BetMGM, but Witt leads the market with 21.2% of the bets and 26.3% of the handle. He’s getting 34.6% of the money at ESPN BET while Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez is second with 10.9%.
At bet365, Judge carries even shorter odds at +275 and is seeing 8.1% of the bets, but he trails Witt by a wide margin in overall plays.
"Witt Jr. is currently seeing approximately 32% (of AL MVP bets), with his opener price of +500 now laying +350," Wattleworth said.
He added that Juan Soto's move from the Yankees to the Mets impacted both Judge and Witt's probability of winning the award, and lessened the likelihood Ohtani would win MVP again in the NL.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitching phenom Paul Skenes is the odds leader at +210 in BetMGM’s NL Cy Young market, but Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is getting the most bets and money, while new Dodgers hurler Roki Sasaki is the biggest liability. Skenes is leading the market at ESPN BET with 21.2% of the handle.
Boston’s Garrett Crochet dominates the ticket and handle counts in the AL Cy Young market. Jacob Wilson is doing the same in the AL Rookie of the Year betting, while Sasaki is the +250 favorite rookie to beat on the NL side.
The biggest liabilities in the Comeback Player of the Year markets are two former league MVPs. The odds leader at +300 in the AL, Angels star Mike Trout is getting 47.7% of the handle at BetMGM. Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. has seen 42.4% of the money with the leading odds of +250.
