New Baseball Betting Rules For The Season

Baseball is going to be more different than ever this season, and the MLB just started last week. As bettors, it is important to keep up with how oddsmakers are treating this new season. Many online betting sites have changed their rules for baseball betting this season, and here are some main changes.

Bookmaker

One of the largest sites for sports betting, these are the changes brought in by Bookmaker. The first one is for full game bets to stick, games must go 8.5 innings. They will be official only if after 8.5 innings, the home team is ahead, or after 9 complete innings, the visiting team is winning. This will be applicable to full-game bets such as Moneyline, total runs including over/under bets, and Run Line bets. All wagers which will be set henceforth, not limited to the MLB, will be action-wagers. 

This rule will be applicable unless the wager explicitly says so otherwise. This includes college games and foreign pro leagues as well. The bets for listed pitchers are not offered this season - and all its variants will not be available too. That includes sides, Run Lines, first five innings, props per inning, etc. An action of wagers is all wagers’ actions at the confirmed price. Eg. if you pick your wager at +150, but a last-minute lineup change brings the odds to +120, your wager will still be locked in at +150. 

With respect to postpone games, they have to be completed and a winner must be declared within a specific time period for the game to be counted in the wager. For the MLB and the Dominican League, it is by 5 am of the time zone of the venue. For the NCAA, International pro leagues, and even softball, it should be within 36 hours of the game’s original start time. 

Bet Phoenix

The first change made is that when the bets are for totals or run lines, both the pitchers have to start the game. If not, the wagers become no action or push/cancel. Parlays move to the next lower level in this case. A game will be eligible for money line betting after 4.5 innings in case the home team is leading and 5 complete innings if the visiting team is. Totals and run line bets will have no action. 

But when the question of run lines and game totals, including over/under, comes up, a game is official and bets will stand only if after 8.5 innings the home team is leading or the visiting team is leading after complete 9 innings. When a game is suspended or canceled due to any circumstances, the winner is the one with the leading score after the last completed inning. 

Wagers will be refunded only on money line bets if the game is canceled or suspended, and the home team ties. If a game does go past nine innings but then it is canceled/suspended, then the wager is an action wager. All bets are no action if the game doesn’t happen on the scheduled day and location. 

Due to Covid-19, some sites like Bookmaker will not refund bets if a starting pitcher is changed due to an injury or illness. This is obviously as long as the pitchers have been advertised ahead of time. Many sportsbooks are refunding bets if they don’t go up to 8.5 innings, but some are still paying out wages if they have an early winner. Before you place your bets, read the rules of the site you intend to use very carefully. 

This season, all bets on the line will be locked when making the bet. You can’t go back to adjust your line when there are last-minute changes made to the playing team. The reasons for these rule changes have been widely discussed, and the best way to understand it is this. The shortened season and the unpredictability of the virus have made it impossible to guess what can happen next. In MLB, in the same way, it will be hard to see which pitcher is doing what as there are so many variables. Bookmakers could have also lost manpower to do the necessary research. These rules will most likely be revoked once things come back to normal.

The best takeaway as a bettor, in this case, would be to place your bets as close to the starting time as possible. Don’t bet days ahead of a match, but wait until ten minutes before the game starts. This will make sure you’re not just forfeiting money to the unknown.