Offshore betting on Little League Baseball World Series irks managers - ESPN

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — This week, as usual, sports bettors can get action on MLB games from U.S.-based gambling sites. Meanwhile, at least a couple of offshore bookmakers are offering odds on games at the Little League Baseball World Series.

Team managers, and Little League itself, are not pleased.

«I'm not a fan,» said South Carolina's manager Dave Bogan, noting he visits Las Vegas twice a year. «It's just not appropriate, it feels dirty, quite honestly.»

In news conferences throughout the tournament, U.S. team managers have voiced their displeasure with gambling on their games — players at the tournament top out at 12 years old. Little League International also released a statement last week denouncing sports betting on youth competition.

«Little League is a trusted place where children are learning the fundamentals of the games and all the important life lessons that come with having fun, celebrating teamwork, and playing with integrity,» the statement said. «No one should be exploiting the success and failures of children playing the game they love for their own personal gain.»

BetOnline and Bovada are among the offshore sites offering daily odds on LLBWS matchups. They are both based outside the United States and are both illegal to use in the U.S. and not subject to its laws. BetOnline is located in Panama and has offered sports betting and gambling since 1991. Bovada, a Costa Rica-based company, joined the scene in 2011.

BetOnline's brand manager Dave Mason said in a post on X that BetOnline is making the money lines itself and that it «ain't easy.» He has posted odds on X throughout the tournament.

Jon Solomon, the community impact director of Project Play, an initiative of the Aspen Institute's Sports and