With the recent arrivals of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Christian Benteke, never has there been more attention and emphasis on MLS betting than now.
But finding out which are the best MLS betting sites, why they’re the best and what features are most important, is easier said than done. Don't worry; we’re here to help.
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Withdrawal limit
In the regular season, the 29 teams in the league are divided into the Western and Eastern Conferences. The teams play every side in their division twice, home and away, and one match against all but four or five teams from the ‘other’ Conference.
At the end of the regular season, the Supporter’s Shield is awarded to the side with the most points from across the two Conferences, who then have the bonus of home advantage during the Playoffs.
The top 7 from each Conference go to the Playoffs, whereas the teams who finished seventh and eighth in each Conference play each other in a one-off Wild Card match.
The winner of that Wild Card match automatically goes on to play the winner of their Conference in Round One of the Playoffs.
All Round One matches are best-of-three, meaning that if one side wins both of the first two matches, the third match doesn’t need to be played.
In Round One, if any match ends in a draw, then penalties will be played, and the winner of the shootout is deemed the winner of the match, just the same way as they would be if they had won in regular time.
The four winners from each Conference in Round One then progress to the Conference Semi-finals, where they play a one-off match, with home advantage based on seedings from the regular season.
The two winners of those semis then move on to the Conference final, where they again play a one-off match, with extra time and penalties coming into play, if needed.
The winners of the two Conference finals then play the MLS Cup (final) in early December.
Fans of Sports betting in Canada and the USA will know about the MLS’ features in terms of format and rules; but European football fans might not.
Here are some of the key differences to be aware of when engaging in Major League Soccer betting:
There are lots of MLS betting sites out there, and as always, some are better than others. Here’s what the best betting sites have in common.
Despite the key differences between the structure and rules of the MLS in comparison to European Leagues, wagering on it is no different to football betting on say the Premier League or Serie A.
Betting on MLS can either be done on individual matches or on Outrights, such as who will win the Supporters’ Shield, each of the Conference Finals, the MLS Cup, or who will be the Top Goalscorer.
Here’s how to go about betting on MLS:
You can track the results from your bet slip on our AskGamblers Live Scores page, together with statistics and live standings.
Here are some of the markets you’re likely to find at any MLS Sportsbook.
As a pre-match market, this applies to which team will score the opening goal of the game and will include a ’no goal’ runner. Once the opening goal has been scored, it’s then a live betting market that asks which team will score the second goal of the game, and so on.
Both a pre-match and live betting market where you’re predicting what the final score in the match will be. For example: 1-0, 2-1, 2-2 or 0-0.
This is the most popular Outright market, and here you’re betting on who will win the overall competition: the MLS Cup. Not to be confused with the Supporter’s Shield (Regular Season winner) or the Conference Winner (the team victorious from each of the two Conferences).
There can only ever be one first goalscorer, although if the match finishes 0-0 or there’s only one goal in the game and it was an own goal, it will be settled as ‘no goalscorer’.
There can, of course, be multiple anytime goalscorers, and each player you back who scores a goal at any stage will be settled as a winner.
The most common sports betting bonuses you’re likely to find at MLS betting sites are pretty much the same as those for other football competitions.
A Welcome Bonus, also known as a sign-up offer, is a reward for choosing that bookmaker and normally involves you making a deposit and placing a qualifying bet in order to be eligible for it. The Welcome bonus is usually in the form of extra money that you can use however you want or in the form of a free bet that must be used in a specific way.
A free bet is a one-off bet for a pre-determined amount that has been paid for by the MLS Sportsbook. In some cases, you can use it on any sport, competition or betting market of your choice, in other cases the bookie specifies how it needs to be used.
You get to keep winnings from the free bet (though they may be subject to wagering requirements before you can withdraw them) but the stake of the free bet is never returned to you.
Some MLS bookmakers may incentivise existing customers by giving them a cash amount, free bets or other bonuses if they introduce a friend to the bookie and the friend ends up opening an account there and depositing money.
Here the MLS betting site will increase the normal odds on a particular selection in order to attract more business. The best MLS betting sites do this with at least three or four selections a day. For example, rather than Lionel Messi being 4.0 to be the first goalscorer, they may boost his odds to 5.0.
Once you find the sportsbook that suits your needs, here are some MLS soccer betting tips to bear in mind when wagering on this league.
The so-called ‘Beckham rule’ has resulted in some world-class players like David Beckham himself, Steven Gerrard, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and more recently, both Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at Miami FC, playing in the MLS.
Though these amazing players make a big difference, the best teams are the ones who have great players throughout the side and are well-balanced, rather than just having one or two superstars. Bench strength is important, too.
Last year’s winners Columbus Crew were a good example of a side with no superstars at all but rather a team where the total was greater than the sum of its parts.
There are three good reasons why the regular season winner could well go all the way and win the MLS Cup.
The first is that it’s a sign they’re obviously very consistent, the second is that they'll play the (weaker) winner of the Wild Card round in Round One rather than a well-placed team in the regular season and the third is that they’ll have home advantage for the rest of the competition.
So, if you can identify the potential Supporters’ Shield winner nice and early, that could well be the eventual MLS Cup winner.
Unlike in European football where penalty shoot-outs are a rarity, here they can happen at every stage of Round One when a game ends in a draw and in the next rounds, too. A side with a strong record in penalty shootouts has a big advantage over those who crumble under pressure.
