Major League Baseball is very popular in Texas both in terms of viewership and betting action. The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers are both successful franchises with large fan bases, but Texas residents enjoy betting on games from across the league.
The 2024 MLB season will run from March 28th to September 29th, with the World Series scheduled to begin in late October. The season will be a full 162 games with 12 teams advancing to the post season.
On this page I will recommend our top rated betting site for Americans, touch on regulated sports betting in Texas, look at the three most common MLB bets, and finish with a simple 3 step guide you can follow to bet on MLB games online.
Best Sportsbook for Texas Residents
Bovada.lv is our recommended betting site for Texas residents looking to bet on MLB games. They have been in business since 2012 and have emerged as the most popular and trusted betting site serving the United States betting market.
Bovada offers a huge selection of fair odds for every MLB game.
Sports Betting in Texas
It is currently not legal to operate a sportsbook in Texas. Three was a push towards legalization during the 2023 Texas legislative session, but the sports betting bill that made it through the House was ultimately not considered by the Senate. Texas will now have to wait until 2025 at the earliest to revisit sports betting legislation because the Texas legislature only meets every two years.
That said, Texas residents can place bets through offshore betting sites that are licensed and regulated outside of the United States. Bovada.lv is the most popular offshore betting site serving the United States market (including Texas).
MLB Betting Options
There are three MLB bets that are featured for every game and take the majority of betting handle. These are the money line, run line and over/under bets.
To Win (Money Line)
The money line is simply a bet on which team will win the game. The oddsmakers set the betting line to reflect the each teams perceived chance of winning the game. The odds determine the risk vs reward of the bet.
Here’s an example with an Texas Rangers home game from last season.
In this example the Rangers are -138 favorites to win the game. This means you would have to risk $138 to win $100 betting on Texas. The Phillies are +115 underdogs, which means a $100 bet on Philadelphia would win $115 if they pulled off the upset.
Run Line (Spread)
The run line is always a spread of 1.5 runs for MLB games. The favored team must win by 2 or more runs, while the underdog must either win the game outright or lose by 1 or fewer runs.
In this example the Rangers are underdogs to cover the run line. A bet of $100 would win $170 betting on Texas Rangers to win the game by 2 or more. You would have to risk $200 to win $100 betting on the Phillies +1.5 (Phillies to win the game or lose by 1).
Total (Over/Under)
The total, also commonly referred to as the over/under, is a bet on the number of runs scored in the game by both teams combined. The oddsmaker will set a “total” and you can bet on whether the number of runs scored in the game will be over or under that number.
In this example the total is set at 6.5. If 7 or more runs are scored then over bets would be graded winners and if 6 or fewer runs are scored under bets would payout.
MLB Betting in Texas – How To Guide
Follow this three step guide to bet on the MLB online from anywhere in Texas.
Step 1. Open A Bovada.lv Account
Click the above link and fill out the registration form on the home page to open your Bovada account.
Bovada is our #1 rated betting site for Texas residents.
Step 2. Deposit
Log into your new account and click on the ‘Deposit’ button under your account silhouette drop down menu.
Choose your preferred deposit method (Visa, MasterCard, Bitcoin, Ethereum, MatchPay), enter your deposit amount, and follow the instructions to fund your account.
**You can cash out your winnings via bitcoin, check through the mail or bank transfer.
Step 3. Place Your MLB Bets
You’re ready to place your bets!
- Click ‘Sports’ from the top navigation bar.
- Open the ‘All Sports A-Z’ drop down menu and select ‘Baseball’.
- Select ‘MLB’ from the ‘Baseball A-Z’ drop down menu.
- Select the MLB bet you want to wager on to add it to your Bet Slip.
- Enter your wager amount and click ‘Place Bets’ to lock in your bet.
Ready to bet? Click here to visit Bovada.lv.
Tagged With : MLB betting • Texas Sports Betting