A Guide to the Best Illinois MLB Betting Sites Online
Chicago is home to two of the oldest and most successful Major League Baseball teams in the United States – the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs. Sports betting oin the United States has generally been a gray area for many years. Still, following the repeal of the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PAPSA) in 2018, things have slowly started to change. Each state now can determine its wagering laws, and Illinois legalized both retail and online betting on sports in June 2019. Sports betting is the only form of online gambling permitted in Illinois, and being a popular sport, locals in the Prairie State enjoy placing wagers on their favorite teams. This article is an overview of online sports wagering sites in Illinois, what MLB betting entails, and all you need to know to make maximum profit from your favorite teams.
Best MLB Sports Betting Websites in Illinois
The Illinois Gaming Board provides Illinois online sportsbooks with operator licenses and go to great lengths to ensure the safety and security of operations of gambling franchises in the state. The governor appoints the five-member board, which set a $10 million licensing fee for franchisees looking to launch online sports betting sites within the state. Illinois currently has five licensed real money wagering sites, and they all offer Major League Baseball markets.
BetRivers
This was the very first online sportsbook to set up shop in Illinois. Their land-based partner is Rivers Casino. The sportsbook has a mouthwatering welcome bonus offer for every new player and will 100% match your first deposit up to $250. The offer requires a bonus code like 250MATCH to be activated. There is a mobile app available on Android and iOS with extensive markets on Major League Baseball games. The sportsbook also has a tier-based iRush loyalty rewards scheme for existing players. As you play, you earn “Loyalty Level Points” and “Bonus Store Points,” and you can use the latter to buy things from the bonus store.
DraftKings
DraftKings is a household name on the American gambling scene, particularly for their Daily Fantasy Sports offering. They have been on the market for many years and transferred their experience to the sports wagering space, and partnered with Casino Queen to bring their online sportsbook service to Illinois. They offer you up to $25 in free bets, and 20% match your first deposit up to $1000 – no promo code required. Their mobile apps are great with a sleek design and excellent user experience, and their “Stats Hub” feature proves very useful for new users. They also cover the most popular baseball games within and outside the US – with incredibly extensive markets on the MLB.
FanDuel
Like DraftKings, FanDuel gained popularity for their DFS offering. In partnership with Par-A-Dice Casino, they began offering their online sportsbook service to Illinois residents in August 2020. Major League Baseball is one of the top sports they offer, and they have a special MLB promotion where you recieve $5 in bonus credit on all wins within the first ten matches if you place a futures bet of $50 or more on an MLB World Series team. They offer a unique welcome bonus – up to $1,000 in risk-free bets within the first 24 hours of signing up.
PointsBet
While PointBet might not have the pedigree that other online Illinois sportsbooks boast of, it does itself justice with the quality of service available. The sportsbook offers new players up to $250 in free bets when they sign up with a bonus code, e.g., BONUSNOW. As the name suggests, they offer a unique style of wagering on MLB games – points betting, which could increase or decrease your potential winnings depending on the match’s final score. Hawthorne Race Course is the sportsbook’s land-based partner, and they have an app available and free to download on both iOS and Android devices.
William Hill
The William Hill brand is popular across Europe and brings its wealth of experience to the Land of Lincoln. In partnership with Grand Victoria Casino, the gaming powerhouse offers an extensive range of betting markets on almost all Major League Baseball games. New players are entitled to a welcome bonus of up to $300 in free bets, which requires a bonus code – LEGAL300. They have a very long list of bet types you can place on these MLB games with an abundance of deposit and withdrawal methods. They also have a mobile app available on Android and iOS that is free to download.
All these sportsbooks use geolocation software to design their apps, to ensure that players are within the state whenever they play. More land-based operators can still pick up licenses, and as such, we can expect more online providers soon.
MLB Betting Lines
Run Line Bets
This is a form of point spread betting that is unique to baseball. Every game has a run line attached to it, and this is usually at 1.5. The favorite team’s run line is negative, and they must win the game by more runs than that set value for a wager placed on them to win. The underdog with a positive run line must not lose by more than the preset value for any bet on them to settle.
First Five Inning Bet
This is a recently popular and straightforward MLB bet type. You only need to predict the team that will be ahead after the first five innings. The odds usually appear as negative and positive money line values (explained below)
Moneyline
Moneyline bets are the most common type of bets across any sport or provider. You predict who wins the match and win or lose as a result. These bets usually appear as positive and negative money line odds. For example, in a game between Team A and Team B where Team A (the favorite) has an odd of -120, which means that for every $120 wagered on them to win, a winning ticket will yield an extra $100. On Team B (the underdog) with an odd of +130, this means every $100 wagered on them will pay an additional $130.
Over/under
If you predict that a game will be high or low scoring, you can place an over or under bet on the expected total. Bookies usually set a benchmark total based on their MLB predictions, and there are corresponding odds for predictions above and below that benchmark. Your bet wins if the eventual total is as predicted.
Series Bets
The MLB World Series is arguably the biggest Baseball game all year round. Predicting the winner of the world series is the most famous baseball futures bet. You can also check out the MLB playoff odds and place bets on them as well.
Prop Bets
You can also wager on proposition bets on your favorite teams. MLB Prop bets can be team-based or player-based. They are bets you place on events you predict to happen that might not have a significant impact on the eventual outcome of the game, like The Team to Score the First Run in a game, If a particular player will hit a home run, If either side will hit a triple, etc.
When is the Best Time for MLB Betting
In a typical calendar year, most Baseball is played between February and October. Within this period, you are almost always spoilt for choice with weekly MLB baseball odds. MLB championship odds. The MLB All-star game usually holds towards the end of the season and offers an exciting game with lots of markets to wager on. The MLB Finals usually wrap up the Baseball year and post some of the highest bets recorded all year.
Tips for Betting Effectively on MLB
To get the best of the available MLB championship odds, you should be careful not to bet too heavily on the favorites. Underdogs tend to cause upsets in MLB games frequently and could prove useful in cashing out. It is also a good idea to compare odds on the same event across different sportsbooks and pick the one that gives you the highest possible profit.
Live in-play MLB wagering could also offer an attractive angle, as you can place bets on the event in real-time based on events in the game. Many top sportsbooks also now have MLB betting mobile apps for iOS and Android, which allows you to wager on your favorite games on the go. Wagering on MLB futures markets like the World Series and Playoffs could also prove useful.
Conclusion
We have looked in close detail at Major League Baseball wagering in the United States and how to take advantage of the markets and lines available. With a little luck and the tips shared above, you will certainly have an exciting time betting on your favorite MLB teams in Illinois.
Read more about legal optinos for online betting in Illinois:
FAQ
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Can I bet on MLB online in Illinois?
- Yes, you can.
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Was the 2020 MLB Season canceled?
- No it wasn't. However, the season was significantly cut short with only 60 games scheduled instead of the regular 162 games.
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What is the main factor to consider while betting on MLB in IL?
- It is vital to ensure that any site you are betting on has an operating license from the Illinois Gaming Board.
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What is the MLB run line?
- It is a form of point spread betting that is unique to baseball.
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How do prop bets work in MLB betting?
- Like with other sports, proposition bets don't really affect the outcome of the game but are predictions on select events in the game.
