As the micro-betting market continues to see growth across sports, the betting world of Major League Baseball is seeing a major boon to start its 2024 season.
According to Simplebet, a legal sports betting technology provider and market leader in micro-betting products for books including DraftKings, bet365, and Caesars, the first two weeks of the MLB season have seen bettors place 2.2 million wagers, up drastically from the 992,000 placed during the same period last year.
In conjunction with the growth in raw wagers, Simplebet is reporting a staggering 157% increase in handle, with roughly 100,000 new users participating with an average $4 increase in bet size year-over-year.
Perhaps most interestingly, the pitch clock’s increased prominence – now in its second year of operation and shortened even further from last season with runners on base down to 18 seconds – has reportedly increased stickiness per the micro-betting provider, with each bettor placing roughly 18 bets on a variety of pitch-by-pitch markets over the first two weeks of the MLB season.
Increase follows postseason growth last year
While Simplebet continues to report major YoY gains in micro-betting, the strong start to the 2024 MLB season certainly doesn’t appear to be an unforeseen surge.
Last October, in spite of poor viewership ratings during the World Series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks, micro-betting markets throughout the MLB postseason remained strong, particularly later into games despite multiple blowouts.
MLB’s micro-betting growth has also been in line with other record-breaking numbers from across the world of sports and sports betting. This past February, Simplebet reported a 29% increase YoY in Super Bowl bets, as well as a 33% increase in handle up to $17 million. Those numbers followed a record-breaking 2023 NFL regular season as well, which saw drastic increases in both the sheer numbers of bets and the total amount wagered on The Shield.
“As we reflect on our record-breaking Super Bowl performance and NFL Season, we’re thrilled to see the deep engagement from bettors across the country.” Simplebet CEO Chris Bevilacqua said following the Kansas City Chiefs fourth Super Bowl title. “The increased engagement with Simplebet markets we’ve seen this season is consistent with the overall increase in the NFL TV ratings. With such strong performance metrics across the board this season, our team will be focused on continuing the momentum by improving and expanding the product come kickoff next fall."
