Best betting apps, sites, promos for 2025 MLB Playoffs: Where to bet Blue Jays-Mariners and Brewers-Dodgers
Bettors have plenty of sportsbook and promo choices when betting on the MLB postseason on Friday, Oct. 17
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a win away from returning to the World Series as they lead the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 in the NLCS, while the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners square off in a pivotal Game 5 on Friday night with the series tied at 2-2. Game 5 of the ALCS begins at 6:08 p.m. ET and Game 4 of the NLCS is at 8:38 p.m. ET. Those interested in MLB betting have plenty of promotions at the top sportsbooks to choose from for both of Friday's playoff games.
Where to bet on 2025 MLB Playoffs
DraftKings, FanDuel and bet365 are all offering "bet and get" promotions where new users receive bonus bets after a first wager of $5 or more. FanDuel and DraftKings are each offering $300 in bonus bets if your first bet wins, and DraftKings is also offering three months of NBA League Pass as part of this offer. As for bet365, the sportsbook offers $200 in bonus bets, but it doesn't matter if your first bet wins or loses.
BetMGM has two new-user promotions going on where bettors can get either $1,500 in bonus bets if their first bet loses or $150 in bonus bets if their first bet of $10 or more wins. The offer available to you varies by state. Fanatics Sportsbook offers bonus bets across multiple days as new users get up to $200 in FanCash every day for 10 straight days if they place a bet of $1 or more on any market at -500 or longer odds. If any of those bets lose, users get their stake back in bonus bets up to $200 per day.
The offer from Caesars Sportsbook is different from the rest as instead of bonus bets, it offers profit boosts. New users get 20 100% profit boost tokens after placing a first bet of $1 or more.
Best MLB bets for Friday, Oct. 17
The road team has won every game of this wacky ALCS so far, with the Mariners taking a 2-0 lead in Toronto before the Blue Jays took Games 3 and 4 in Seattle. The series remains in Seattle for Friday's Game 5, and the winner will head back to Toronto needing just one win to clinch the pennant. The Jays' bats have been hot the last two games, knocking Mariners pitching around for 21 runs over that stretch. Kevin Gausman, who allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings in Game 1, will look to avenge that loss when he gets the ball for the Blue Jays in Game 5. Bryce Miller, who gave up one run in six innings in Game 1, starts for Seattle. The SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every MLB game 10,000 times, sees the Mariners leaving this one with their first home win of the series as Seattle wins in 56% of simulations.
The Dodgers have dominated this NLCS from the very start, getting elite starting pitching performances from some big-name arms. Blake Snell set the tone with eight scoreless innings in Game 1, Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw a complete game with just one run allowed in Game 2 and Tyler Glasnow and the bullpen allowed one run in a 3-1 win in Game 3. The Brewers season is on the line, and they will face Shohei Ohtani, who gets the nod for the Dodgers after last allowing three runs in six innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. It's an all-hands-on-deck game for Milwaukee, which is expected to have essentially a bullpen game to try and lengthen this series. The model has the Brewers winning in 50% of simulations at plus money.
Responsible gaming
Sportsbooks take responsible gaming very seriously, and they offer tools and resources for bettors to utilize like different timeout options as well as various gaming limits, like time and deposit limits. BetMGM and DraftKings also have live chat features for users, and all sportsbooks have contact information for different helplines like 1-800-GAMBLER (call or text 24/7).
