World Series Odds

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the 2024 World Series champions? 2025 World Series odds are available at the best MLB betting sites. The Dodgers opened as the early favorite with +400 odds, followed by the New York Yankees (+800) and Atlanta Braves (+850). Compare live pro baseball futures prices and bet on championship odds below.

World Series odds

Compare World Series futures for the 2025 MLB season below. Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers currently have around +300 odds to repeat.

How World Series odds are changing

Here we will look at how World Series odds change during the 2025 season.

Basics of MLB Futures

Betting on the World Series is available all season long in the form of futures bets. It’s simple — find a team that you like and bet on them at their odds to win it all. For example, the Dodgers had a +900 preaseason price to win the 2024 World Series. If you bet $100 on Los Angeles to win it all before the season began, you would have won $900 with a total payout of $1,000. A $10 bet would have netted you $90.

Futures bets may also include the winner of the American League, National League, and each division. Some sportsbooks delve deeper with “prop bets” on individual achievements, such as who will lead the Majors in home runs, wins, strikeouts, etc.

Generally, books take bets on futures in between game action. When teams are competing on a full slate of night games, your sportsbook of choice might hold off on updating odds in the event there is a catastrophic injury or another event that might change the prospects of a contender.

Here is a quick summary of how the odds are displayed for MLB Futures bets:

• Some sportsbooks will use a system that shows the odds as 5/1, while some display them as +500. This is just semantics, as both systems indicate that a winning $100 bet on the team would cash out at 5x that amount ($500).
• Odds can also be split into fractions. A team may be listed as a 9/2 favorite on one book, which is the same as a +450 favorite, i.e. a winning ticket pays out 4.5x the amount of the bet.

History of MLB futures

Placing a long shot Futures bet on baseball is a very risky proposition. In NBA betting, for one, it’s almost akin to throwing away your money. The NFL is a bit more unpredictable with its single-elimination postseason, and the MLB is somewhere in between.

Rarely has a team come out of “nowhere” to win the World Series over the past several years, but plenty of fringe contenders have started the season with long odds before getting hot at the right time. According to archives compiled by Caesars Sportsbook, the Kansas City Royals were listed with +3300 odds to win it all during the first month of the 2015 season. Those odds dropped to +1400 in May, +1000 in June, and were down to +550 by the time the playoffs began.

The Texas Rangers opened the 2023 season with +4500 odds and were still +295 heading into the ALCS. The Houston Astros (+185) and Philadelphia Phillies (+210) had shorter WS odds.

In 2014, the San Francisco Giants opened the season with +2500 World Series odds and went on to win it all. The Boston Red Sox were getting +2800 odds prior to the 2013 season, and the St. Louis Cardinals were getting +2500 odds prior to the 2011 season.

Hence, there is value in placing a small bet on an underdog early in the season. There is a chance that an unexpected champion is crowned, but it is not guaranteed in today’s MLB due to the importance of pitching in the postseason.

Recent World Series winners and preseason odds

Here is a look back at recent World Series champions along with a consensus of the winner’s preseason odds. The 2020 regular season was reduced to 60 games as a result of the global pandemic. It also included an expanded playoff field.

Other ways to bet on the World Series

For those with wagering experience in other sports, much of the baseball terminology and concepts will be familiar. However, as with all sports, there are certain bet types and props that naturally are particular to the individual sport.

Here are the various ways to get a wager down on the World Series.

• Moneyline: As with other sports, the moneyline represents the odds of a team winning a game. A “minus” sign indicates the favorite.  The number next to the minus sign represents the amount of money a bettor would need to wager to win a theoretical amount of $100. A “plus” sign indicates the underdog. The amount next to the plus sign represents the amount of money a bettor would win on a theoretical amount of $100.
• Run line: Typically set at either -1.5 or +1.5, the run line functions much like the point spread in other sports. In a conventional run line scenario, the favored team must win by two or more runs or the underdog must lose by two runs or less in order for the run line to be covered. Odds are assigned next to the favorite (which is designated with a run line of -1.5) and underdog (which is designated with a run line of +1.5).
• Total runs (over/under): The total combined number of runs projected to be scored in the game by both teams. As with other sports, bettors can place bets on the total either being exceeded or being greater than the amount of total runs scored.
• Series line: With baseball usually being played in multi-game series between two teams — three- or four-game series being the most common — wagers are also available on which team will emerge as the winner in each matchup.
• Player props: A variety of wagers based on individual players reaching certain benchmarks within a game or in a season.  Seasonal examples include over/under wagers on the number of hits, extra-base hits or home runs a player might hit in a season. In-game examples include over/under wagers on the number of hits, walks or home runs a player might hit in a game.
• Team props: A variety of wagers based on teams reaching certain benchmarks within a game. Examples include over/under wagers on whether a team will score a team will score a certain amount of runs in a game. Or, how many runs a team will score by a certain inning within a game.
• Parlays: Parlay wagering is defined as a series of bets that must all be correct in order for a bettor to be paid. Parlay bets feature more favorable odds and payouts due to the increased difficulty involved in predicting multiple outcomes correctly.

For states that have yet to legalize online betting, you can also play MLB daily fantasy sports or check out free-to-play betting sites, like these California sports betting apps that offer social wagering.

MLB betting FAQ

Where can I bet on the World Series in the US?

Currently, 38 states and the District of Columbia offer some form of legal sports betting. Residents of those states can use best sports betting sites, betting apps, or casino sportsbooks to place legal, real-money bets. In 2024, North Carolina sports betting apps launched and joined this list of MLB betting states.

Who is the favorite to win the World Series in 2025?

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the current favorite to win the World Series with (+400) odds followed by the Atlanta Braves (+750).