World Series betting is a busy time for sportsbooks, and bettors in Virginia can take part in it. With multiple online sportsbooks in play, there are several ways to bet on the World Series before and during each game.

You can even get your money down on the World Series winner well in advance of the season itself, long before the matchup is even announced. That’s thanks to the World Series futures market, an active part of the betting landscape.

In this guide to MLB World Series betting, we’ll walk through everything you need to know and touch on the history of one of the best betting events of the year. We also point you to the top online sportsbooks to make your World Series bets in Virginia.

Best World Series Betting Odds

See below for current World Series futures odds for every MLB team at Virginia online sportsbooks. Check back when the series is set to see game and series lines. Use the drop-down menu to see other futures boards including AL/NL winners and division winners. Click on any odds to claim your bonus and make your World Series futures bet!

Top World Series Betting Apps in Virginia

As the legal and regulated sports betting industry grows and evolves, so does the number of sportsbook choices at your disposal. Here are our top three picks for Virginia sportsbook apps to use for World Series betting.

1. DraftKings Sportsbook

DraftKings has done daily fantasy sports right for years, and it’s now doing the same with online sports betting. Folks in Virginia will find lots to love. Given its slick app and live FlashBet feature, DraftKings is a go-to app for betting on all sports, including MLB. Expect:

• Moneylines, run lines, and totals for each World Series game
• World Series futures markets
• Exclusive promos and odds boosts for World Series teams, games, and players

2. FanDuel Sportsbook

FanDuel was another driving force behind the explosive growth of DFS, and the company is now doing the same with sports betting. As a market leader in most sports betting markets entered to date, FanDuel is clearly doing something right. Virginia bettors have plenty to look forward to, including:

• All of the standard bet types for the World Series.
• World Series live betting.
• User-friendly interface and World Series promotions.

3. BetMGM Sportsbook

This is the sports betting arm for the iconic MGM Resorts, a huge brand for casinos in the US and beyond. BetMGM is aiming to be one of the top destinations for sports bettors across the nation. We fully expect it to become a top option here in Virginia.

• Bet on the World Series with a trusted brand name.
• World Series prop betting.
• Competitive odds and all the markets you need.

You can get up and running with each of these apps quickly. Use any link on this page to claim the exclusive bonus offers. Enter your info at the sportsbook landing page and download the app from the main website.

How World Series Betting Works

When it comes to betting on the World Series, there are a number of ways to go. We’ll start with the three main bet types for each of the individual games.

World Series Moneyline

This is a popular bet type for MLB. You simply pick the winner of the game. The favorite in the game has negative odds; the underdog is positive. A close range of odds indicates a tight game while a wide span points to a clear-cut favorite. Here is a sample World Series moneyline:

• Houston Astros +120
• Washington Nationals -130

World Series Run Line

The run line works similar to the point spread in other sports. The line is generally set at 1.5 runs, but there are alternative run lines to be found. To cover, the favorite has to win the game by more than the margin, while the underdog can cover by keeping it closer than that or by winning outright. For example:

• Houston Astros +1.5 runs (-110)
• Washington Nationals -1.5 (-110)

World Series Totals

A totals bet allows you to focus on the score of the game without worrying about winners and losers. Sportsbooks set an estimated total, and bettors pick if they think the total combined runs will be over or under that amount. MLB totals start at 6.0 on the low end and can go to 10+ runs for potential slugfests. For example:

• Over 8.5 (-110)
• Under 8.5 (-110)

Those three bet types will attract plenty of action for the World Series, but there’s much more to see as you poke around the baseball betting menu at online sportsbooks and betting apps.

World Series Outright Winner

You can also bet on the outright winner of the Series itself. At most sportsbooks, there will also be options for picking the team to win in a designated number of games, such as Astros in four or Nationals in seven. For example:

• Astros to win World Series +110
• Nationals to win World Series -120

World Series Prop Betting

You’ll have a wide range of prop opportunities to consider for each of the individual games. If you click through the game listings, you’ll see all of the bets available for the game at hand. For example:

• How many strikeouts for Max Scherzer — over/under 7.5
• Total hits plus walks for Jose Altuve — over/under 2.5

World Series Live Betting

Live betting affords you the chance to wager in real time as the game plays out. The market moves fast, and offerings will vary based on what’s going on. You can also bet on the outcome with new odds that reflect the current situation.

That leaves you with plenty of ways to bet as the World Series plays out, but you also don’t have to wait to get in on it.

Baseball Futures Odds

Futures are wagers that you can place on an outcome that won’t be known until a later date. For MLB, there are a number of bets to consider, including:

• Division and league winners.
• Team regular-season win totals.
• Individual award winners — MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, etc.

The biggest futures market for MLB, naturally, revolves around the winner of the World Series. The market stays pretty active all year with the biggest spikes coming when odds are initially released and right before the season gets underway.

How To Read World Series Futures Odds

Oddsmakers set the World Series futures market for all of the league’s teams. The initial release happens soon after the current World Series is in the books. At most sportsbooks, the futures odds will be listed in descending order. That means favorites will be up top, longshots will be at the bottom, and everyone else will be in the middle.

For the top five favorites to win the whole thing, you might see odds that look something like this.

• New York Yankees +450
• Los Angeles Dodgers +550
• Minnesota Twins +1100
• Atlanta Braves +1200
• Houston Astros +1300

Each of the 30 MLB teams are listed, and the odds rise based on the team’s perceived chances, as long as they are not eliminated from postseason contention. There will be some movement in the market based on market action and what’s going on. We’ll explain why that happens in a bit.

A World Series futures bet can be pretty lucrative if you make the right choice. As an example, if you place a $100 bet on the Twins to win the World Series at odds of +1100 and they pull it off, you’d be in line for a $1,200 payout — the initial stake of your bet plus a profit of $1,100.

There are many bettors who remain engaged with the futures market all year round as they hunt for appealing prices, while others may take a long-term view and just hold their initial tickets.

In the unlikely event that an entire MLB season is canceled, futures bets would likely be considered void and refunded. You can consult with the sportsbooks you play on for exact terms and conditions on how extreme events are handled.

World Series Line Movements Explained

After World Series betting odds are released, they don’t stay still. Why is that? The betting action that comes in. Once odds are released, the public gets to have its say. At times, one outcome will attract much more of the action than another.

When it does, sportsbooks respond. They tweak the World Series betting lines to try to even out the wagering action. They make the side that’s getting the majority of action less appealing and make the other side more attractive.

For example, for a game in which the New York Yankees are decent-sized -130 favorites over the +110 Los Angeles Dodgers, with the bulk of the betting volume going toward the latter, the book might shift the odds to something like this.

• Los Angeles Dodgers +100
• New York Yankees -120

A winning bet on the Yankees at these odds would offer a better payout than the original odds, so that may have the desired effect. If it doesn’t — or if bettors keep piling in on the Dodgers — there could be some additional tweaks in advance of game time.

Getting the action split right down the middle is challenging, but sportsbooks often prefer that scenario. It limits liability on their end, and they already have some profit built in via the vig charged for facilitating bets.

There’s also movement in the World Series odds based on betting action, so keep that in mind. Those who look like favorites in advance of the year may suddenly become less appealing when they hit a rough patch, and dark horses that catch fire can suddenly become popular, for example.

MLB Playoff Format

There are 12 MLB teams invited to the postseason dance — three division winners and three wild cards from each of the AL and NL. The top two division winners in each league receive byes, while the third division winner hosts the wild card team with the worst record. The other two wild card teams in each league play each other in the wild card round. The winners of the two wild card series advance to play the division winners that received first-round byes. The playoffs rounds are as follows:

• Wild Card: Best-of-three playoff series
• Divisional Series: Best-of-five
• League Championship Series: Best-of-seven
• World Series: Best-of-seven

NL vs. AL World Series Betting Trends

At the end of the MLB season, the pennant winners from the AL and NL square off to decide the World Series. On an all-time basis, the AL is on top by a margin of 67-51. While that makes it sound like the AL is the superior overall league, recent history says otherwise.

• The NL and AL are tied at 5-5 for the last 10 World Series.
• Since 2001, the NL has led AL 11-9. 12-10
• The Series has gone the distance in seven of the last 22.
• Four of the last nine have gone the distance.
• Just four of the last 20 contests have been sweeps.
• There hasn’t been a repeat winner since the 1998-2000 Yankees.

If we were to drill down to just the last five years, the NL holds a 3-2 advantage while three of the five Series have been decided in six games. Over the last three seasons, it’s a 2-1 margin for the NL with all three ending in six games.

Which Team Has the Most World Series Wins?

There is one team at the top of the charts in World Series wins, and no one else is close. Here’s a look at the franchise records in the World Series, listed in order by total number of appearances.

Team	Series Record	Last Appearance	Last Win
New York Yankees	27-13	2009	2009
Los Angeles Dodgers	7-14	2020	2020
San Francisco Giants	8-12	2014	2014
St. Louis Cardinals	11-8	2013	2011
Oakland Athletics	9-5	1990	1989
Boston Red Sox	9-4	2018	2018
Detroit Tigers	4-7	2012	1984
Chicago Cubs	3-8	2016	2016
Cincinnati Reds	5-4	1990	1990
Atlanta Braves	4-6	2021	2021
Pittsburgh Pirates	5-2	1979	1979
Baltimore Orioles	3-4	1983	1983
Philadelphia Phillies	2-6	2024	2008
Minnesota Twins	3-3	1991	1991
Cleveland Guardians	2-4	2016	1948
Chicago White Sox	3-2	2005	2005
New York Mets	2-3	2015	1986
Kansas City Royals	2-2	2015	2015
Houston Astros	2-3	2024	2024
Toronto Blue Jays	2-0	1993	1993
Miami Marlins	2-0	2003	2003
San Diego Padres	0-2	1998	NA
Tampa Bay Rays	0-1	2020	NA
Texas Rangers	0-2	2011	NA
Arizona Diamondbacks	1-0	2001	2001
Los Angeles Angels	1-0	2002	2002
Washington Nationals	1-0	2019	2019
Milwaukee Brewers	0-1	1982	NA
Colorado Rockies	0-1	2007	NA
Seattle Mariners	0-0	NA	NA

World Series Betting Tips

There are some key differences between betting on World Series futures and the games themselves. For the former, it’s a matter of projecting out the season as a whole. If you have the time to go through all 30 teams, that’s fantastic. For the time-pressed, here’s a quicker process that you can use.

• Review the odds for all teams.
• Make a mental note of teams that jump out.
• Go through the list again and do the same.
• You should walk away with a shortlist of teams to research.

From there, it’s a matter of going through your shortlist in full detail and finding the wagers you feel best about.

When it comes to the games, you can go through your normal handicapping routine, but there are some key factors to really zero in on come World Series time.

• Fully understand what the odds say: The odds for the World Series as a whole and the individual games can paint different pictures, so be sure to keep that in mind. For each game, study up on the numbers and shop around to see what the prices are at multiple sportsbooks.
• Overall momentum for both sides: The teams are obviously doing something right when they’ve made it this far, but they may have taken different paths. Is one team rolling while the other has had to fight and claw every step of the way?
• Who has the pitching advantage? This is always applicable for MLB betting, but it can really be the key to winning the World Series. You need to spend time examining each projected pitching matchup and both bullpens in full detail for an idea of how the games may play out.
• Hotter bats for postseason as a whole: This also falls under momentum, but it’s worth examining on a stand-alone basis. Has one side been crushing the ball lately? Has either team been struggling to get it together at any point in the postseason?
• Historical splits when teams have played in past: This one is mainly useful when the teams have faced off during the preceding regular season. If they have, there could be some valuable intel on how batters have fared versus pitchers, etc.

Remember that the goal of the handicapping process is to make the case for one side over the other. Do your best to leave preconceived notions at the door and let what you uncover be your guide on which way to go with your wagers.