The ever-growing interest in North American soccer also coincides with the growth of legal sports betting across the United States. That means fans of Major League Soccer now have many MLS betting opportunities at online sportsbooks.
This is in addition to odds and lines already offered for the world’s biggest soccer leagues like odds for the EPL, La Liga, and Bundesliga. Below see how to start betting on MLS online including live MLS odds direct from top MD online sportsbooks.
Today’s MLS odds: Moneylines, spreads, totals
See our feed below for live MLS betting odds direct from Maryland online sportsbooks. Use the drop-down menu to change your odds board from moneylines to spreads to totals.
D.C. United odds
The closest thing that fans of MLS in Maryland have to a hometown team is D.C. United, which is a founding member of the league. The club plays its home games at Audi Field in Washington D.C. and is one of the most decorated teams in the history of MLS.
D.C. United won three of the first four MLS Cups from 1996 to 1999 and was the runner-up in the one final it didn’t win, instantly establishing itself as a powerhouse. In total, D.C. has the second-most MLS Cup appearances and victories and won its most recent championship in 2004.
The franchise is known for having some legendary names be part of the organization. Former USMNT manager Bruce Arena was the first head coach in history and the longest-tenured coach is Ben Olsen, who was at the helm from 2010 to 2020 after playing 11 seasons for the club.
Most of D.C. United’s offensive records are held by Bolivian national Jaime Moreno, who played with the team from 1996 to 2002, and then again from 2004 to 2010. Moreno holds the franchise records for games played, goals, and assists among other things.
Check the DC United odds for the next game in the feed above and click right on the odds to claim your sportsbook promo offer in Maryland and start the betting process.
How to bet on MLS in Maryland
Before you can start betting on MLS, you first need to know a few things including how to read odds, how to calculate the potential payout for a given bet, and the MLS odds that are offered at MD online sportsbooks.
Those who aren’t used to legalized betting in the United States may not realize the seemingly endless options for soccer bettors, and we’ll get into that. But to begin, let’s cover the basics with some help from DraftKings’ sports betting odds for DC United, which is the closest thing Maryland has to a hometown team in Major League Soccer:
MLS moneyline betting
When you open up a sportsbook application and visit the soccer section, the above photo is how odds are listed for each game. These are moneylines, the most common type of soccer bet out there.
A moneyline (ML) bet involves picking which club will win a game, regardless of the score. Conventional soccer odds are three-way moneylines, which include an option for a tie. This means that if regulation time ends in a draw, all bets on both clubs would be graded losses.
Some betting sites, including the DraftKings Online Sportsbook app, also have a two-way moneyline option without the draw included. In this case, a tie means that the original stake is returned to the bettor. This will be a more easily recognizable option for those accustomed to betting on other American sports such as basketball and football.
To figure out how much the wager will pay, bettors must be able to read and interpret the lines. American odds will either have a positive or a negative symbol next to it, and this is how to calculate potential risks and winnings.
It helps to look at moneyline odds based on the number 100. With negative odds, the moneyline is the amount you must risk to win $100. For positive odds, the moneyline is the amount you stand to win with a $100 bet. From there, the math is much easier. In our example, all the options are plus odds, and that makes things pretty simple.
A wager on DC United (+150) means that a bettor can win $150 in profit on a $100 wager. For a $50 bet, the winnings would be $75 and if risking $10, the bettor can win $15. Keep in mind that both the profit amount and the initial stake are returned to the bettor’s balance.
The Chicago Fire (+160) has a similar line, and a $100 bet would win $160, a $50 risk wins $80, and a $10 bet could profit $16. Betting on a draw (+265) can be difficult, which is why it pays higher than both teams do. In this example, a $10 bet means winning $26.50 while a $100 wager would earn
MLS totals betting
Totals, also known as over/unders, are another quite popular soccer bet. Betting on points totals involves predicting whether the combined score for both teams will go over or under a figure set by oddsmakers. Most MD online sportsbooks offer a wide range of spreads and totals to choose from, with the odds altering for each option.
Continuing with the DC United vs. Chicago match as our example, BetMGM Sportsbook lists over 2.5 (-150) as an option. This means that it will take a $150 wager to win $100 in profit.
Bettors can also take the over at 3.5 (+160) for a better payout, but also take the added risk of needing an extra goal. The choice is also there to go the other way to make the bet easier to win. But taking over 1.5 (-450) means risking much more than you stand to win.
If you’re looking to bet an under, it’s the same but in the opposite direction. The under at 2.5 (+110) means winning $110 for every $100.
Bettors can go for a big payout by lowering the total to 1.5 (+290) and still going with the under, which would be a $100 risk for $290 in profit. If choosing to go under 3.5 goals (-225), it will take a much larger risk of $225 to win $100 because of the extra breathing room afforded by a third goal.
The benefit of all these choices is that sportsbook users can pick any total they want and decide the degree of risk they want to take. No longer are bettors contained to a limited number of options offered by the site.
MLS prop betting
Speaking of options, that is exactly what prop bets are all about. In soccer, props are essentially any wager that isn’t the moneyline or the total. Many of these markets are completely independent of the eventual winner of the match and go deeper into a specific event within the match. They are offered in spades for every MLS game.
MLS props can be broken down into three categories: game props, player props, and team props. All Maryland online sportsbooks will offer some form of each for MLS games and many sites could have matching markets, but some of the prop betting options will be exclusive to certain sites.
After combing through some of the biggest sportsbooks out there, here is some of what MLS bettors can expect to find in these sections:
- First, Last, & Anytime Goal Scorer
- Home/Away Team Totals (Halves & Full Match)
- To Win One Half/Both Halves
- To Win In Shutout
- Correct Match Score
- Team To Score First & Win
- Both Teams to Score (Yes/No)
- Winning Margin
- Will There Be A Goal In The First X Minutes? (Yes/No)
MLS props are a bit different because in other sports many of the props are unique but modest-paying markets. With soccer, some props have conventional odds but many options pay extremely well compared to the moneyline.
If you’re looking for the big payday, MLS props are for you. Selecting a goal scorer (especially first or last) always pays well, as does picking a team to win in a shutout and selecting the exact match score.
Home and away total goals have many alternate options, just as game totals do, so there’s another avenue for cashing a big bet.
MLS futures odds
In addition to daily MLS lines for individual games, soccer bettors using sports betting sites in Maryland also have the option of placing online futures bets on the MLS.
The most prevalent market for MLS futures is the MLS Cup winner, which can be bet on before the start of the schedule or throughout the season. While it is generally difficult to pick the champion of a season so far in advance, the attraction is that these are high-paying odds that only require a small investment to earn a potentially large reward.
Other futures, such as bets for the Golden Boot winner (leading scorer) must be placed before the beginning of the season.
Live MLS betting via sportsbook apps
Live betting, also known as in-play betting, is growing in popularity along with online sports betting. A sportsbook app offers bettors the chance to get a bet at nearly any point throughout a sporting event, and easy access can be especially valuable in soccer.
Here are some of the MLS live betting options that you can expect to find when using online sportsbooks in Maryland, such as the FanDuel Maryland Sportsbook app:
- Moneylines, Spreads. & Totals
- Next Team To Score
- Correct Match Score
- Total Goals – Listed Time
- Half Time/Full-time Result
Because the clock never stops, live odds are continuously updated throughout the 90-minute match. Bettors need to be ready to act quickly on in-game odds, adding them into a bet slip and submitting a wager immediately. Readiness can mean the difference between getting or losing the odds of your choice. That’s one reason why it also helps to watch the match you are live betting on.
MLS Playoffs & MLS Cup betting
The MLS season culminates with the playoffs and ultimately, the MLS Cup final. Even though the regular season is over at this point, bettors still have the same variety of betting options that have been available for months.
The MLS Cup Playoffs include 14 teams, seven from each conference. In total, the postseason consists of 13 single-elimination matches including MLS Cup.
Every postseason game is accompanied by dozens of markets to choose from. If anything, sportsbooks create new and even more unique markets to match the demand from the soccer-betting public.
Soccer betting tips for MLS
It isn’t easy to win money betting on soccer, especially at the beginning. It’s not enough to simply know each team, as further education on each club is needed to make informed betting decisions. Throw in a potentially overwhelming amount of choices, and it can be a bit of a whirlwind.
Luckily, we are here to help with that. The following tips and betting trends are just some of the things to keep in mind when you begin placing bets on Major League Soccer:
- Two-way moneylines are safer: Unlike other sports, draws are common in soccer, and this results in the three-way moneyline being the most popular bet. But when first starting out, make things simpler for yourself and look for the market that erases the tie, the two-way moneyline. If you are used to betting on other sports, this will make much more sense to you, even if the lines are a bit more modest.
- Value is on the road team: Because so many club teams tend to have more success at home and casual bettors know this, lines on the home team can be inflated. Especially when that team is the favorite. If you can find one of the rare teams that perform well on the road, those odds could have some value.
- Supporters’ Shield winners rarely win MLS Cup: One of the most popular times to place MLS Cup futures wagers is after the regular season and before the postseason. When this time comes, remember that it’s rare to see the winner of the Supporters’ Shield (the club with the most regular-season points) go on to lift the MLS Cup trophy. Look a little further down the odds board for your champion, which will also get you a bigger payout.
Recent MLS winners & results
Every Major League Soccer team starts each season with the same goal of winning the MLS Cup and being crowned champions. To this point, over a dozen different franchises have won the title, including the following in recent years:
| Year | Champion | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | New York City FC | Portland Timbers |
| 2020 | Columbus Crew | Seattle Sounders FC |
| 2019 | Seattle Sounders FC | Toronto FC |
| 2018 | Atlanta FC | Portland Timbers |
| 2017 | Toronto FC | Seattle Sounders FC |
| 2016 | Seattle Sounders FC | Toronto FC |
Top Maryland players in MLS
Since 1996 when Major League Soccer first debuted, there have been several players and coaches that have come from Maryland. The most notable players spent huge chunks of their careers in MLS and playing for the United States Men’s National Team as well.
- Kyle Beckerman (Crofton, MD): An MLS legend that played 21 seasons for three clubs, most notably Real Salt Lake from 2007 to 2020. Won an MLS Cup with RLS in 2009. Also made 58 appearances for the USMNT, including at the FIFA World Cup.
- Kenny Cooper (Baltimore, MD): Came up in the Manchester United system but eventually played 10 seasons in MLS for six teams. Most known for his time in Dallas, scoring 40 goals in 90 appearances. Also played in four matches for the USMNT from 2007 to 2009.
How to watch MLS online in Maryland
In 2014, Major League Soccer signed an eight-year deal with ESPN and Fox Sports in English and Univision in Spanish. Because ESPN owns out-of-market streaming rights, the best way to view MLS games is by signing up for ESPN+. For $4.99 per month, you can gain access to hundreds of matches in a wide range of cities outside of your own.