Betting on the Dodgers

Though there is no legal California sports betting yet, the LA Dodgers were among the top teams expected to win the World Series this year (until the Padres beat them in the NLDS). If and when California sports betting is authorized, bettors will be able to place wagers on the MLB team.

If you’re looking for LA Dodgers sports betting options, you’ve come to the right place.

Below, we’ll cover everything you need to know about betting on the Dodgers in California. 

Best Dodgers Odds at Major Sportsbooks

Note that we would normally include odds, but the Dodgers have already been eliminated.

Where Can You Bet on the Dodgers?

If you’re looking for Dodgers sports betting options in California, unfortunately, they’re pretty slim. California hasn’t legalized sports betting. Even if California does legalize sports betting, it could take over a year for platforms to pass through the regulatory process and launch. 

However, there are a few options for Californians who want to bet on the Dodgers. They’re not overly convenient, but they are doable depending on where in CA you live. 

Online Sportsbooks

California borders three states with legal online sports betting: Nevada, Arizona, and Oregon. If you live near the border of any of these states, you can use their online sportsbooks, though Nevada comes with a caveat. 

Oregon borders CA to the north and has one sportsbook live: DraftKings. If you drive over the border and sign up, you can place bets on the Dodgers at DraftKings Oregon. One perk for Oregon bettors is the minimum age, which is 18 years or older compared to 21 in most other states. 

Nevada has online sportsbooks too, but you need to register in-person at a land-based casino. So it’s best if you already have a trip planned to a Las Vegas casino or another property elsewhere in Nevada that also offers a sportsbook. Once you’ve completed registration, you do not need to visit the casino again to place more bets. 

Arizona has plenty of online sportsbooks for anyone within the state who is 21 years or older. You can bet on the Dodgers in Arizona if you hop across the border from CA and meet the requirements. 

Retail Sportsbooks

You might ask: Can I bet on the Dodgers in California at retail sportsbooks? For now, no. There are no retail sportsbooks in CA.

For now, you can travel to Nevada, Oregon, or Arizona and enjoy the retail sportsbooks in those states. 

Sweepstakes and Free-to-Play Sportsbooks

Fliff Sportsbook is a sweepstakes site that allows you to win cash prizes based on your “bets” in the platform. You can buy more credits to bet with and if you play with Fliff Cash, you can potentially win gift cards or cash prizes. 

oddFlex is also available in California. It’s a free-to-play sportsbook that does not allow you to win any real money; it’s purely for fun and bragging rights. 

How MLB Betting Odds are Calculated

Sportsbooks have fully dedicated teams of traders and oddsmakers responsible for setting lines on Dodgers games and any other sport on which you can bet. 

A variety of factors can influence sportsbook odds, including:

• Coaching
• Roster changes
• Injuries
• Past Performance
• Weather

Plus, Dodgers lines may change based on how many people are betting on them. For example, if the Dodgers play the Cubs and the lines are set like so:

• Dodgers -300
• Cubs +250

If the public places many bets on the Dodgers, those odds will go down (becoming worse for those seeking a payout). Sportsbooks do this to snake they have an edge and can earn a profit regardless of the game’s actual outcome. 

For this reason, odds should be a reference point, but never a completely reliable indicator of a team’s likelihood to win. 

How Dodgers Odds Work

Let’s assume you’ve found the best Dodgers odds and you’re ready to place your bet. Perhaps you want to bet on the moneyline on the Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks game; these odds are from Caesars Sportsbook, by the way. 

• Arizona Diamondbacks: +228
• Los Angeles Dodgers: -285

Here, the Dodgers are the favorite to win. The odds tell us how much certain bets would pay out. If you were to bet $285 on the Dodgers to win and they did win, you’d get a payout of $100 (plus your initial $285 back). Whereas a $100 bet on the Diamondbacks would pay $228 (plus your original $100). Essentially, because the Dodgers are favored to win, bets on them won’t pay quite as well. 

What Kinds of Bets Can be Placed on the LA Dodgers?

You can place all sorts of bets on the LA Dodgers. Baseball is a great sport for betting thanks to its slow pace of play and a deep well of statistics. 

Moneyline, Spread, Totals

These three are the standard bets offered on almost all team sports. Here’s how they work in baseball.

Moneyline bets are the simplest form of wagering available. When you bet on a team’s moneyline, you’re betting on that team to win. Often the odds are imbalanced, with the favorite providing an okay possible payout but the underdog offering a better chunk of change because they’re less likely to win. 

Point spreads — often called run lines in baseball betting — even out the odds by giving phantom points to the underdog team and negative phantom points to the favorite. For example:

• Arizona Diamondbacks +1.5 (+112)
• LA Dodgers -1.5 (-134)

In run line betting, you add or subtract the phantom runs once the game is over. Here the Dodgers need to beat the Diamondbacks by 2 or more runs in order to cover the spread. If the final score is Dodgers 9 Diamondbacks 6, the Dodgers cover and that bet wins. However, if the Diamondbacks lose but come within 1.5 runs of the Dodgers, they cover. A final score of Diamondbacks 6, Dodgers 7 would mean Arizona covers the spread and that bet wins. 

Totals bets are wagers on the total number of runs scored in the game. It doesn’t matter which team scores those runs; only that the total is above or below the line set by the sportsbook. If the line is set at over/under 7 runs, a final score of 6-3 would mean the over hits. A final score of 3-1 would mean the under hits. 

There are other types of bets you can make, including series wagers, parlays, and others. We won’t cover them in detail here, but you have various options. 

What is an LA Dodgers Futures Bet?

A futures bet is a wager on something that will happen in the future. But doesn’t that mean most bets? Yes, but futures typically involve major outcomes happening in the mid-to-distant future. For example, you might want to bet on the Dodgers to win the World Series or to win the National League. Those types of bets are called “futures.”

You can place futures bets as early as a year in advance, provided the sportsbook offers the lines. The offseason is a popular time for futures bets, because bettors are looking at past season performance to inform smart wagers. You can also place futures bets mid-season, but the odds will change based on how your team has performed thus far. This can be a boon or a disadvantage. 

Usually, futures bets come with long odds and high potential payouts. This is because it’s difficult to pick one team to win out of a group of 30 MLB teams. 

How to Place LA Dodgers Prop Bets

Prop bets usually involve a specific outcome that isn’t tied to the result of the game itself. For example, you might bet on Max Muncy to hit a home run. Whether the Dodgers win or lose, a Muncy home run would win you that bet. Props come in all shapes and sizes, and baseball has them in droves. 

Other popular baseball props include players to record a hit, RBIs, total bases, and more. 

How to Bet on the Dodgers in California

LA Dodgers sports betting is pretty simple, provided you have easy access to a legal market. Again, California does not yet have legal sports betting. 

In this example, we’ll walk you through signing up and placing a bet at DraftKings, which is available in both Oregon and Arizona. 

To sign up, follow these steps:

1. Download the DraftKings app or visit the desktop site. 
   1. If using a desktop, be ready to download a separate geolocation plugin. 
2. Sign up by providing the requested information:
   1. First and last name
   2. Phone number
   3. Email
   4. Home address 
   5. Date of birth
   6. Password (you will create one based on DraftKings’ parameters)
   7. Photo ID
   8. Social security number
3. Make a deposit using your preferred payment method. We recommend PayPal. 

Now you’re ready to place a bet. Here’s how:

1. Find your desired Dodgers bet by navigating to the MLB page or searching for it. If there’s a game today, chances are it’ll appear on the homepage. 
2. Click or tap your bet to add it to your betslip. 
3. Step 2 will likely open your betslip automatically. Now, type the amount you’d like to bet. DraftKings will tell you how much you’d win if the bet hit. 
4. Select “Place Bet.”

Once you’ve done that and the sportsbook has confirmed your bet is placed, you’re all set. 

How to Bet on the World Series 

World Series futures provide a fun betting market for baseball fans. You can bet on a team to win the World Series well before the season begins. 

As of this writing, the Dodgers are the favorite to win the 2022 World Series at most sportsbooks. In a situation like this, it pays to find the best odds, which we listed near the top of this page. DraftKings has the best odds on the Dodgers to win the World Series compared to FanDuel CA and Caesars California, which is good news for Northern Californians traveling to Oregon to bet, considering DraftKings is the only option. 

You can place other futures, such as the winner of the league or division, depending on when you get your bet in. The Dodgers have clinched their division this year, so futures markets are closed on that market until next season. 

Betting on the Dodgers FAQs