Which Has Better Pay Off: Baseball Betting or The Lottery?

By Guest
Updated: January 17, 2019

Gambling: Risk vs. Reward

Gambling is all about risk. It’s about placing your hard-earned money on a set outcome that usually isn’t likely to happen. Whether its a game in the casino, a gambling event online or betting between friends on a game of chance, the odds are almost never in your favor.

So, why do people do it?

The potential reward.

Those who gamble their money are doing so in an attempt to leave the game with more than they started off with. The greater the risk they’re taking, the greater the reward they’ll usually want.

This is no different in the lottery, which many don’t see as gambling. Here, people are offered millions in a reward for the small price of a lottery ticket. The risk is so cheap that many buy multiple tickets over a regular period.

On the other hand, many people bet on sporting events with the same goal in mind. These bets can vary much more in amount and nature. But, the root desire is the same. The more statistical nature of baseball has made it particularly popular among sports gamblers. This has made gambling on both baseball and the lottery two of the most popular means of betting worldwide.

But, many people don’t treat their betting means logically. They often gamble in a way the “feel” is less risky or where they have a better chance. Usually, they’re unaware of what these odds actually are.

So, we decided to put together a guide on how these two means differ, and which has the better payout. Hopefully, this will not only help you make better choices with your means of gambling but also make you a better gambler.

The differences between playing the lottery and baseball betting

The potential payout between baseball bets and the lottery might seem obvious at first glance. After all, the lottery pays millions at a fixed-price ticket, whereas baseball bets only pay a percentage back of what you bet.

But, the key differences between these two means are what tells the true story of what will help you leave with more money in your pocket after gambling.

Knowledge, specificity and control

Aside from being cheap to play, the lottery is extremely simple. Place a bet on a certain combination of numbers coming up. That’s it. There might be some slight variation from game to game, but that’s the crux of it.

Baseball bets are far more specific and varied. You can bet on which team wins, if a certain player hits a home run, or steals a base. Anything that can happen in baseball can be bet on.

This might seem like the odds are against you with baseball betting then, right?

Not so fast.

The simplicity and nature of the lotto mean knowledge doesn’t play a big role in your chance of success. Everyone knows how it played and its pure chance if your numbers come up.

Meanwhile, you can make much more educated guesses on an event occurring in baseball by both knowing the sport and studying the stats. You can also make other bets on whether another event occurs in the same or different game to cover your losses if one bet falls through. This can increase the chances of victory with each bet, which brings us to our next point.

Odds vs. Chances

Many people may think I’m just playing with words here. But, there is a distinctive difference between the odds of you winning the lotto, and betting on sports.

Because of the number combinations and the means at which they’re picked, you have a roughly 1 in 130,000,000 chance of winning if you buy one ticket. This doesn’t change or vary.

In baseball, bookies will weigh the chances of an event happening or not, and give you favorable or unfavorable odds on it. So, if they think its very unlikely a team will win, you may get more money back on your bets.

Here’s the thing: Bookies can be wrong, the lottery can’t. The former is based on opinion, the latter on sheer statistical chance.

This is partly because the lottery has a vested interest in making there aren’t too many wins. If everybody won, there’d be little profit to be made. Meanwhile, bookmakers don’t control baseball itself, only the odds it gives, which it’s competing with other bookies to provide better value in too.

So, over multiple, smart bets, you may be given yourself far greater chances of success when betting in baseball.

Which has the better payout?

From reading the above, it should be obvious that baseball bets have a far greater payout in the long run. This is because of a greater chance of success with bets and greater control over a range of bets.

However, this doesn’t mean its impossible to win the lottery. Many have before. So, if you enjoy playing the lotto over sports bets, play away.