Canadian Sportsbooks Face Huge Liabilities as Toronto Blue Jays Make World Series

Sportsbooks in Canada face the prospect of huge losses after the Toronto Blue Jays booked their spot against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

The Blue Jays are now at odds of around +180 to win The Fall Classic, but were available at a price as big as +9000 earlier in the season.

Toronto-based betting platform BET99 said fans of the team have been backing them to go all the way since the preseason. BET99 Manager Cliff Adelman commented, “A massive liability has been building on the Jays throughout the season, including preseason tickets at 75 to 1. If Toronto goes all the way, it could be one for the books!” 

The company has already incurred losses due to Toronto’s unexpected progress. Adelman reported that fans were heavily backing the team to beat the Mariners in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).

He said, “Betting volume was up 300% from last season’s ALCS, with 90% of bets on Toronto to advance. Needless to say, the result was a rough morning for the trading team.”

In addition, a FanDuel spokesperson told CasinoBeats that some Ontario bettors have backed the Blue Jays at odds of +9000. They added, “From October 12^th – October 20th, between 85% – nearly 95% of the Ontario bets were on the Jays to win during the ALCS games.”

Fans continue to back the Canadian team to continue their winning run, with FanDuel stating that “the majority of Ontarians are placing their bets on the Jays to win Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.” 

Traders may look to offload some of the risk in the future by using prediction market platforms. This week, Underdog announced it will leverage the emergence of sports markets on platforms like Kalshi and Crypto.com to reduce its liabilities.

Blue Jays Defy Expectations & Fly High

Entering the season, few expected Toronto to make an impact in their division, let alone make a run at the World Series. Of six CBS analysts, four predicted Toronto would finish at the bottom of the AL East, with the other two putting them in fourth place.

The bookies shared the experts’ view. The Blue Jays were +6,000 at BetMGM and +7,500 at ESPN BET preseason. They trailed in the AL East by as many as eight games in late May before rallying to win the division.

Even after entering the playoffs, they hit as high as +2000 when down 0-2 to the Mariners in the ALCS. BET99 also noted that fans piled in when the team was trailing in Game 7.

Adelman noted, “With comeback wins all season long, Jays fans knew the script. Bettors jumped on live betting odds as high as +425 before Springer’s clutch home run (in Game 7).”

US Sportsbooks Rooting for Toronto

The LA Dodgers, meanwhile, have been fancied since the start of the season to go all the way. They were preseason favorites at +225 and remain favored to get the better of the Blue Jays at odds of -220.

US sportsbooks will be hoping for a Toronto upset, as bettors have been backing Shohei Ohtani’s side to win back-to-back championships. ESPN BET stated that 30.8% of the tickets and 29.1% of the World Series champion futures market handle were on L.A., while the Blue Jays were getting 7.9% of the bets and 9.7% of the money. The Yankees were the second betting choice at many sportsbooks entering the season.   

The majority of the money continues to come on the Dodgers, with ESPN Bet reporting 56.7% of the bets and 89.9% of the handle is on LA since the end of Monday night’s game.

Sportsbooks have increasingly been targeting MLB as an area of focus as advertising costs on NFL games soar. MLB placements are about six times more efficient on a cost-per-impression basis than NFL ads. 

While companies want to attract gamblers, they are also fearful of results going against them. With liabilities on the line, the Canadian and US sportsbooks will be cheering on their cross-border rivals as the World Series begins on Friday.