Betting on kids sports: Little League World Series wagering rising in popularity

SEATTLE — Citing this current time of year as “somewhat light” on the proverbial sports calendar, BetOnline, a privately-held international online gambling company, announced the 38 games in the Little League World Series (LLWS) tournament will be available to gamble on through its sportsbook — including the games the South Hill Little League baseball team from Puyallup are set to compete in.

The Puyallup Little League team is currently representing the Northwest section of the U.S. in the Little League World Series bracket.

This is the fourth year BetOnline has made the Little League World Series available to gamble on, with BetUS and Bovada also offering wagers on the event.

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“We create Little League World Series odds in the same manner we do other sports such as baseball, football and basketball,” Sportsbook Manager Adam Burns told MyNorthwest. “At the basic level, our oddsmakers conduct research by watching the teams play, collecting information through stories and combing through box scores for data. Other factors come into play for our power ratings, and we know some of these clubs have pedigree so we have to respect that.”

The Southeast representative, a team from Florida, is the tournament favorite, while the Puyallup team pulled the seventh-best odds for an American club, according to BetOnline. Seventeen-time champ, Chinese-Taipei, representing the Asia-Pacific part of the international bracket, is the favorite among the international teams. America has captured five consecutive Little League World Series championships.

“We tend to see the same geographical pattern dominance as high school football,” Burns said. “The southern states, such as Texas and Florida as well as California, always seem to be stronger in general. It’s not always the case, but more often than not.”

The Puget Sound region is becoming the exception to that rule, as the South Hill Little League team became the fourth consecutive squad out of Washington to make the LLWS tournament.

BetOnline argues that its sportsbook competes with anything it sees as an entertainment or political betting option, including eSports and the Olympics, making the LLWS event fair play.

“The Little League World Series is an exciting tournament that our customers absolutely love to watch and wager on,” Burns said. “This might come as a surprise, but we’ll take more bets on these Little League games than we will on any professional tennis or soccer matches over the next two weeks.”

According to Chron, a digital media outlet in Houston, BetUS has not provided specific figures as to the amount of bets or total money the sportsbook took on the 2023 LLWS.

Some denounce betting on the Little League World Series

Other sportsbooks, primarily U.S.-based entities, have renounced the idea of gambling on the LLWS.

“The only sportsbooks that offer lines on the Little League World Series are pervasive illegal and offshore operators that have no concern for the communities where they operate,” Griffin Finan, Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel with DraftKings, told Chron. “No jurisdiction where DraftKings offers sports wagering would permit wagers on such events.”

BetOnline disagrees with this statement, claiming this only increases the popularity of the LLWS while other events, like pro wrestling — which has a predetermined outcome — are still available to wager on in certain sportsbooks.

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“I point to the Olympics as an example, which witnessed widespread wagering this year,” Burns said. “There were 12- and 13-year-olds competing in the Summer Games and people could wager on those events. The LLWS is a first-class organization with a long tenure of success. Allowing people to wager on this incredible tournament only puts more eyeballs on this league, these teams and their incredibly talented athletes.”

The numbers regarding the amount of money was wagered during the 2024 Paris Olympics have yet to be released, but the sheer volume of potential bettors dwarfed previous Olympics. In 2021, 97 million American adults were able to place a bet, according to NBC Sports. Also, 164 million American adults were able to wager this year as more than 30 states now allow some form of sports wagering, a significant increase from the last Summer Olympics.

As for what sport will explode next in terms of gambling, Burns said it’s too hard to predict, but he can’t wait to see what’s on the horizon.

“Perhaps if they start putting a flag football league in front of a national audience, that could take off,” Burns added.

The 38 LLWS games will be televised daily on ESPN starting Wednesday. The event ends Saturday, Aug. 25.

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