This year more than any other, the Toronto Blue Jays are big betting business.
Canada’s team’s electrifying run to its first World Series in 32 years has sparked a frenzy both north and south of the border. The preseason-longshot Jays took down the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners to win the American League pennant thanks to George Springer’s already-iconic Game 7 three-run dinger.
Now, it’s a grandstand finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers starting Friday at Rogers Centre.
As the Jays have amped up, so too has the betting fever. Canadian Gaming Business got the lowdown from numerous sportsbooks this week.
New MLB record action in Canada
At both Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), the ALCS decider was the highest-selling MLB game in history, with BCLC reporting “Stanley Cup Final-level” betting.
Toronto-headquartered BET99’s Sportsbook Manager Cliff Adelman said volume was up 300% from last season’s ALCS, with 90% of wagers on Toronto to advance. “Needless to say, the result was a rough morning for the trading team,” he noted.
Another Ontario-focused book, PowerPlay, reported that betting volume on the Jays has increased more than tenfold in the seven months since Opening Day. “It shows that underdogs can surprise when least expected – and that’s where real value lies for those placing wagers,” noted Powerplay Sportsbook Manager Bill O’Brien
Larger multi-national operators have felt the Canadian passion, too. Between Oct. 12-20, more than 85% of bets on the ALCS on FanDuel Ontario were on the Jays to win, and at BetMGM Ontario 96% of Game 7 handle and 89% of Game 7 bets backed Toronto.
American bettors like Jays’ value
Now, the Jays take on Shohei Ohtani and Co. as they look to upset the reigning champion Dodgers, most books’ pre-season pick to win it all. Most Canadian-facing sportsbooks Canadian Gaming Business spoke with reported that gamblers are generally overwhelmingly backing the Jays.
For example, at Toronto-based theScore Bet, which has close ties to the Jays, 71% of bets and 80% of handle on World Series winner bets since Monday night are on the Jays. In comparison, at PENN Entertainment’s U.S.-facing ESPN Bet, those numbers are 79% and nearly 97% respectively on the Dodgers.
At BetMGM, most money across North America was on the Dodgers to repeat as World Series champs until now. But things change.
As of Wednesday, the majority of World Series winner bets across all of BetMGM’s jurisdictions since ALCS Game 7 ended are on the Blue Jays to win and around two-thirds of all Ontario money wagered on the outcome backs the Canadian team. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is Ontario’s pick at BetMGM to win World Series MVP, with 32% of bets. Elsewhere, it’s Ohtani.
It’s a similar story at DraftKings, Sportsbook Director Johnny Avello said on Wednesday.
“We’re totally one-sided on the Blue Jays up there [in Ontario] and it’s been that way for each of these series,” Avello said. “But in the U.S., we’re also seeing some Toronto money with people taking the underdog thinking there’s value there. Dodgers won four straight and had a few days off, whereas Toronto had to really grind hard to win this series and have a lot of momentum. The betters are feeling that and going with that.”
As of Thursday, three-quarters of World Series outcome betting on DraftKings in Ontario was on the Jays.
You win some, you lose some
While the Dodgers were short-odds favourites to repeat as champions from preseason, the Jays’ odds were long, to say the least. At OLG’s PROLINE, they opened the season at +6100. At DraftKings, they were +6500. At BET99, they were +7500. PowerPlay’s O’Brien described the shift in the Jays’ championship odds from March to October as “one of the most significant odds swings in modern baseball history.”
While a third Blue Jays World Series win from three attempts would be celebrated coast to coast, it could be cause for consternation for Canadian sportsbooks.
“If we were in Ontario only, this would not be a good outcome!” Avello said. “But we are in 30+ different states, so while there were some pretty lucrative odds, other teams always take money like the Cubs, the Yankees, the Mets, so we had quite a mix. If we’re talking about Ontario only, yes, if Toronto wins it, that’s going to be a loser there.”
Ontario-focused sportsbooks including OLG, BET99 and PointsBet described a potential Jays championship as a “big liability.” PointsBet’s trading team noted that they’ve lost on every single Blue Jays win in the postseason so far, and they would be in the red overall on Jays World Series futures betting if Canada’s team prevails. On that topic, as of Tuesday, 100% of World Series winner bets at PointsBet in Ontario were on the Jays.
As BET99’s Adelman put it: “If Toronto goes all the way, it could be one for the books.”
