MLB Betting: How Gambling On Baseball Will Be Different In 2020

Several changes have been implemented for the 2020 MLB season, and sports bettors will be affected as much as anyone. With a shortened schedule, new rules and empty stadiums, wagering on baseball is going to be different this year.

The coronavirus pandemic delayed Opening Day by four months, forcing the league to move from a traditional 162-game schedule to 60 games for each team. Instead of a six-month slog, the regular season will be a two-month sprint to the playoffs in October.

The best teams sometimes have projected win totals of at least 95 games. In a 60-game season, the Los Angeles Dodgers lead the way at sportsbooks such as FanDuel and DraftKings with an over/under of just 37.5 wins.

There is much more variance in a shorter schedule. One or two major injuries can potentially derail a team’s World Series hopes, whereas clubs have more time to overcome a significant loss in a 162-game season.

Players could potentially miss several weeks at a time if they are diagnosed with COVID-19. The coronavirus pandemic has already forced the league to alter its schedule once, and there’s no guarantee that it can’t happen again.

“Futures action is slow because people are wary of tying their money up on something when there might not be a result,” William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich told The New York Post. “Nobody is going to be surprised if the season gets canceled.”

Many sportsbooks, including the world’s largest, are changing the practice of listing the scheduled starting pitcher for each team in an individual game and offering refunds if that pitcher doesn’t take the mound. If someone, for instance, places a wager on the Dodgers because Clayton Kershaw was the probable starter, but he is a late scratch, that bettor won't get their money back simply because of the pitching change.

MLB has introduced a three-batter minimum rule, which will force pitchers to face at least three hitters or finish an inning before he can be removed from the game. It’s a new aspect of the game that bettors, especially those that make in-game wagers, must consider.

The importance of home-field advantage is a bigger question mark than ever before. The league-average winning percentage at home is .530, according to Baseball-Reference. Will that change with no fans in the stands?

It’s just one of many new questions that bettors will have to ask themselves during what could be the most unique season in MLB history.