Brewers draw 91% of BetMGM World Series handle as books expect lower volume

BetMGM reported that 91% of its handle on the World Series is on the Milwaukee Brewers to win the best-of-seven series against the Tampa Bay Rays, with more than 60% of bets also backing Milwaukee. The report, published on 23 October, said the World Series winner odds moved from -165 at open to -175 on Friday.

FanDuel reported that the Brewers, at -182, are taking 70% of the money despite a more even ticket split. DraftKings told Covers that the -180 favourites are seeing the most action, a trend also reported at Caesars.

Eric Biggio, Caesars Sportsbook's head of baseball, told Covers that overall volume may fall short of the past two World Series without major-market teams. He said Milwaukee opened as -160 series favourites and had moved to -180.

Biggio said Caesars had posted a number of player props for the series, with Any Batter to Have a Multi-HR Game at 3-1 drawing attention, and that a Brewers sweep had been bet down from 12-1 to 9-1. FanDuel told Covers that a Brewers win in six games is its most popular outcome.

It was reported that Jackson Chourio, a Milwaukee outfielder, tops FanDuel's list of the most popular MVP selections. At BetMGM he sits at +550, and the book has taken a market-high 9.6% of the handle on him. In tickets he ranks third at 6.4%, trailing two Brewers: pitcher Jacob Misiorowski and catcher William Contreras. On the liability side, BetMGM's largest MVP exposure is Milwaukee pitcher Aaron Ashby at +5,000, with Jake Bauers (+800) next and Misiorowski (+900) after him.

Covers put Milwaukee at -190 on the Game 1 moneyline, drawing 83% of the handle and 57% of the bets. Tampa Bay +1.5 at -150 accounts for only 12% of the run-line handle. The total of over 6.5 runs is backed by 70% of the handle and 66% of the bets.

BetMGM's most popular Game 1 player prop is Misiorowski over 6.5 strikeouts at -135. The most-bet home run pick is William Contreras at +400, with Junior Caminero at +350 the third-most-bet home run pick; other popular props are Garrett Mitchell under 0.5 total bases and Misiorowski over 15.5 outs.

Reportedly, the Brewers and Rays have never won a World Series, and their fan bases are far more local than those of recent participants. It was reported that sportsbooks worry the lack of major-market clubs could depress overall handle, though prop bets and the MVP market are still attracting interest.